Source: Allhiphop.com

MTV announced their VMA award nominations this morning and Rihanna and Drake got five nods each.

The music channel’s website reported that Rihanna picked up Video Of the Year, Best Pop Video and Best Female Video nominations for “We Found Love”. She received a Best Choreography and Best Visual Effects nomination for  ”Where Have You Been”. In addition, the singer’s video with Coldplay “Princess of China” received nominations for Best Cinematography and Best Direction.

Drake may have been “hurt” by Rihanna on the relationship-front, but the professional collaboration definitely didn’t hurt his career. For their music video “Take Care”, Drake received Best Male Video, Best Art Direction and Best Cinematography nominations. His video “HYFR” with Lil’ Wayne was nominated for Best Hip-Hop Video.

So out of 15 categories, Rihanna’s name shows up (either solo or as a feature) in 8 categories, with “Take Care” and “We Found Love” both receiving Video of the Year nominations.

Not too shabby for one of the richest entertainers under 30. The starlet heard the news of her nominations this morning and tweeted a thank you to her fans:

Source: Twitter.com/Rihanna

As for the rest of the nominations, Digital Spy reports:

Katy Perry also did well, earning three nods for ‘Wide Awake’ and one for ‘Part of Me’, while acts such as Frank Ocean, The Throne, Beyoncé and MIA won three nominations each.

Justin Bieber, fun., Linkin Park, Avicii, Gotye, Chris Brown, Kanye West, Nicki Minaj, Duck Sauce, Skrillex and Lana Del Rey all picked up two nods, as did One Direction – winning the boyband battle with The Wanted, who got one.

Battling with Rihanna and Drake for The ‘Video of the Year’ category is Gotye’s ‘Somebody That I Used to Know’, Perry’s ‘Wide Awake’ and MIA’s ‘Bad Girls’.

Click here for the full list of nominations.

Who do you think will take home the win in these categories?

Follow Alissa on Twitter @AlissaInPink

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By Charlotte Young

Rap and hip hop fans can argue over who beats who lyrically between Jay-Z, Kanye West and Lil Wayne, but Lil Wayne holds a clear win on album sales this time around. His newest album “Tha Carter IV” sold a record setting 300,000 downloads on iTunes in its first four days, according to MTV News. This tops the first week sales for the Jay-Z and Kanye West “Watch the Throne” collaboration.

Lil Wayne, aka Weezy, released his album digitally directly after the 2011 VMAs last week. The Hollywood Report predicts he is set to bring in 850,000 sales this week, earning him the second biggest first-week sales of 2011, right behind Lady Gaga’s “Born This Way,” which gained 1.3 million in its June debut, although considering Lady Gaga sold her album at $1, it’s no surprise she sold more albums. Nielsen SoundScan also expects “Tha Carter IV” to come in at #1 on the Billboard 200 chart next week.

The numbers show that although Lil Wayne’s album leaked five days before its debut, the fans are still willing to spend to get his album. The rapper admitted after the VMAs that he was even glad it leaked as it allowed fans to get a sneak peek.

“It just means people want to hear it,” he told MTV News.

Cash Money CEO Birdman and Lil Wayne’s mentor had complete faith in Lil Wayne’s appeal. He promoted the album in the two weeks before its release and predicted it would sell just a million copies in the first week, but Birdman was no stranger to Lil Wayne’s achievements in the past. High album sales are no new feat for the New Orleans rapper.

“Tha Carter III” sold 1.01 million in its first week in June 2008. The combined numbers for “Tha Carter VI’s” physical and digital sales will make for the biggest first week for a hip hop album since its predecessor “Tha Carter III.”

In addition to Lil Wayne’s record breaking sales after the VMAs, other performing acts also saw a boost in record sales. Chris Brown saw a 43 percent increase for his album “F.A.M.E,” Beyonce’s 4” jumped up 87 percent and Adele’s 21 saw an 88 percent gain.

(The Grio) — Beyonce and Jay-Z’s spawn doesn’t even have a name yet, but it was the indisputable breakout star of Sunday’s MTV Video Music Awards.  Beyonce stole the show before it even began when she announced on the black carpet that after more than three years of marriage, the dazzling couple had produced the ultimate all-star collaboration. Dressed in a loose fitting, off-the-shoulder red-gown, she clutched the baby bump that so many celeb-watchers had been predicting since the two wed. Her publicist later confirmed the pregnancy to The Associated Press.  Later, Beyonce performed “Love on Top,” and if Twitter hadn’t already spread the news, her outfit gave clues to her impending motherhood; instead of her typical Hot outfits, she dressed in conservative spangled tux — but still danced around in her signature stilettos.

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