2013 MTV Video Music Awards: Who Will Win Best Female Video?

Mike Wass | August 20, 2013 5:30 am

Remember when MTV showed music videos instead of reality shows about pregnant teenagers? Well, there must be a couple of people at the network who still remember their glory days because they still have an awards show celebrating the increasingly lost art. With the MTV Video Music Awards (airing Sunday, August 25) now less than a week away, it’s time to prep you for the event. So let’s focus on a category that strikes a particular chord with us — that of Best Female Video.

Talk about hot competition. The Best Female video nominees reads like a who’s who of chart-conquering divas. You have Rihanna‘s bath-time romp pitted against Miley Cyrus‘ master class in twerking. Meanwhile Taylor Swift‘s journey of self-exploration does battle with Pink‘s robo-teddy extravaganza. Oh and who could forget Demi Lovato‘s black jazz hands?

Let’s take a closer look at who’s up for a Moonman in the Best Female video category below.

BEST FEMALE VIDEO NOMINEES: Rihanna feat. Mikky Ekko, “Stay” Taylor Swift, “I Knew You Were Trouble” Miley Cyrus, “We Can’t Stop” P!nk feat. Nate Ruess, “Just Give Me A Reason” Demi Lovato, “Heart Attack”

THOUGHTS ON THE NOMINEES: This could be the evening’s toughest category. All five ladies dropped excellent videos but if the focus is simply on visual artistry instead of heartwarming comebacks or chart momentum, Demi Lovato should be out of the running. Her Chris Applebaum-directed “Heart Attack” clip looks inexpensive and basic in comparison to the other contenders. The black paint was a nice touch but horror movie hands don’t really constitute art.

Diane Martel helmed two of the nominees but Pink’s “Just Give Me A Reason” is possibly the weaker entry. I mean, pop’s ultimate rock chick just rolls around in bed with a spooky looking teddy bear for most of the clip! Sure, there’s a hot guy, some smoke machine action and an underwater sequence but it’s not exactly “Thriller”. The sing-a-long ballad is one of 2013’s highest-selling songs, so that will definitely work in its favor but it certainly doesn’t boast the most visually arresting clip by a female artist.

It will be interesting to see how the voters interpret “Stay”. The Sophie Muller-directed clip is quite possibly the classiest of Rihanna’s career. It’s beautifully filmed and suits the song perfectly. I’m just not sure it’s epic or timely enough to win the trophy. But don’t be surprised if it does — RiRi is definitely the dark horse of the field. Taylor Swift, on the other hand, has to be a front runner with expansive “I Knew You Were Trouble”. The only problem is that it borrows rather heavily from Lana Del Rey‘s superior “Ride” video. (Why wasn’t it nominated?)

That leaves Miley’s “We Can’t Stop”. Diane Martel’s quirky twerk-fest certainly captured the zeitgeist in a similar way to Robin Thicke‘s “Blurred Lines”, which she also directed. It definitely caught the public’s attention and the 20-year-old is the comeback queen of the year.  It’s the hot favorite going into the event and will most likely claim the Moonman.

WILL WIN: Miley 2.0 has been referenced by Jay Z, sparked a twerkin’ trend and relaunched the former Hannah Montana as an adult pop star. As such, “We Can’t Stop” is a safe bet to win.

SHOULD WIN: I would argue that Lana Del Rey’s “Ride” is better than any of these clips but Miley definitely has the most talked about video, so she would be a deserving winner. If the winner is based on pure artistry then it really should go to Rihanna’s elegant “Stay”.

Who do you think will win the award for Best Female Video at this Sunday’s MTV VMAs? Let us know below, or by hitting us up on Facebook and Twitter.