Let the “2012 MTV EMA” festivities begin! MTV has unveiled the nominees for its annual celebration of the biggest musical artists from all over the globe, with reigning pop princesses Rihanna and Taylor Swift topping the list with six and five nods each, respectively. Justin Bieber and Katy Perry have each scored four EMA nominations, followed by a roll call of buzzworthy acts, including Lady Gaga, Nicki Minaj, Lana Del Rey and newcomers Carly Rae Jepsen and fun., earning three nominations each.

Taking place at Frankfurt’s historic Festhalle on Sunday 11 November, the nineteenth annual MTV EMA will broadcast live across Africa on MTV Base (DStv Channel 130) on Sunday 11 November at 22:00 CAT and on MTV Base (DStv Channel 322) on Monday 12 November at 21:00 CAT.

Rihanna and Taylor Swift will both compete for the Best Female and Best Pop titles, and will vie against other well-known trend-setters in the brand new Best Look category, which highlights the most unique and eye-catching personal styles emanating from the music world. Rihanna is also up for Best Song and Best Video for her smash hit “We Found Love” and Biggest Fans, while Swift received nods for Best Live and Best World Stage. Hot off his wins last year for Best Male and Best Pop, Justin Bieber could repeat in those two categories, and he also landed nods for Best World Stage and Biggest Fans, while two-time EMA host Katy Perry will battle for Best Female, Best Pop, Best Video for “Wide Awake” and Biggest Fans. Also, given the resurgence of electronic music, MTV is reintroducing the Best Electronic category to honour the biggest names in that genre.

Africa’s hottest contemporary artists could also be in the frame for an EMA award, as Sarkodie, Camp Mulla, Wizkid, Mi Casa and D’Banj fight it out for a slot in the Worldwide Act category, where they will compete against their peers in India and the Middle East (from Monday 15 October).  The final Worldwide Act nominees from each region (Europe, Latin America, North America, Asia Pacific and Africa/India/Middle East) will be announced the week of 30 October and the winner will be named at the show in Frankfurt.

Other notable EMA nominees include Lady Gaga, Carly Rae Jepsen, fun., Lana Del Rey, Nicki Minaj, Jay Z and Kanye West, who are each up for three EMA nominations, while Green Day, Gotye, Pitbull, Rita Ora, Flo Rida, Muse, Arctic Monkeys, Jack White and One Direction are up for two awards.

MTV will announce EMA performers and presenters at a later date.

The MTV EMA – MTV’s global celebration of the hottest stars in music – features nominees from across genres, recognizes artists from every corner of the world, from the UK to Hungary to India to Australia and everywhere in between, and brings music fans around the globe together for a unique and incomparable experience. For the second year in a row, MTV is inviting fans everywhere to have a say in which artist deserves the Biggest Fans award. Since 30 August, viewers have been voting for their favourite EMA artists from a pool of 20 acts; their votes have helped narrow down the field to the five official nominees announced today. The more fans engage with the EMA content featured on MTV’s digital platforms in the weeks leading up to the show, the more their participation and points can boost the chances for their favourite artist to win the Biggest Fans prize on 11 November. Beginning yesterday, Monday 17 September, viewers can vote for EMA categories such as Best New, Best Live and more by visiting www.mtvbase.com online. Voting for EMA categories is open now until 23:59 CAT on Friday 9 November 2012.

Here is the list of nominees for the “2012 MTV EMA”:

BEST SONG

Carly Rae Jepsen – ‘Call Me Maybe’

Rihanna feat. Calvin Harris – ‘We Found Love’

Gotye – ‘Somebody That I Used To Know’

Pitbull feat. Chris Brown – ‘International Love’

fun. feat. Janelle Monáe – ‘We Are Young’

BEST NEW

Rita Ora

fun.

One Direction

Lana Del Rey

Carly Rae Jepsen

BEST FEMALE

Rihanna

Katy Perry

P!nk

Taylor Swift

Nicki Minaj

BEST MALE

Justin Bieber

Kanye West

Flo Rida

Pitbull

Jay Z

BEST POP

Justin Bieber

No Doubt

Katy Perry

Taylor Swift

Rihanna

BEST LIVE

Taylor Swift

Lady Gaga

Jay Z & Kanye West

Green Day

Muse

BEST HIP HOP

Jay Z & Kanye West

Nas

Rick Ross

Drake

Nicki Minaj

BEST ROCK

Linkin Park

Green Day

Muse

The Killers

Coldplay

BEST ELECTRONIC

David Guetta

Swedish House Mafia

Avicii

Skrillex

Calvin Harris

BEST ALTERNATIVE

Jack White

The Black Keys

Arctic Monkeys

Florence + The Machine

Lana Del Rey

BEST VIDEO

M.I.A. – ‘Bad Girls’

Lady Gaga – ‘Marry The Night’

Katy Perry – ‘Wide Awake’

Rihanna feat. Calvin Harris – ‘We Found Love’

PSY – ‘Gangnam Style’

BEST LOOK

Nicki Minaj

Rihanna

Jack White

Taylor Swift

A$AP Rocky

BIGGEST FANS

Justin Bieber

One Direction

Lady Gaga

Rihanna

Katy Perry

BEST WORLD STAGE

Arcade Fire

Arctic Monkeys

B.o.B

Evanescence

Flo Rida

Jason Derulo

Joe Jonas

Justin Bieber

Kasabian

Ke$ha

LMFAO

Maroon 5

Nelly Furtado

Red Hot Chili Peppers

Sean Paul

Snoop Dogg

Snow Patrol

Taylor Swift

BEST PUSH

Nov – Foster The People

Dec – Lana Del Rey

Jan – Mac Miller

Feb – Michael Kiwanuka

March – Gotye

April – Rebecca Ferguson

May – fun.

June – Rita Ora

July – Conor Maynard

August – Of Monsters And Men

September – Carly Rae Jepsen

WORLDWIDE ACT

Sarkodie

Camp Mulla

Wizkid

Mi Casa

D’Banj