Taylor Swift and Selena Gomez Are up for the Same VMA: What Other Awards Have They Competed For?
Taylor Swift and Selena Gomez may be best friends, but they’re both celebrated artists. After a decade of attending the same music industry events, they have videos nominated in the same category at the 2020 MTV Video Music Awards. Have they competed for awards in the past?
Selena Gomez and Taylor Swift go to award shows together
At past events, Swift and Gomez have been one another’s support. Swift brought Gomez as her date to the 2016 Grammy Awards, where they walked the red carpet together. Other award shows they’ve both attended include the American Music Awards and the Teen Choice Awards.
In addition to supporting one another during their performances, wins, and losses, they’ve gone a step further. Gomez was the one who presented Swift with Album of the Year for 1989 at the iHeartRadio Music Awards in 2016. She even personalized the announcement, calling Swift, “My girl, T-Swizzy,” as seen in this YouTube clip.
Both of their music videos are nominated for this VMA
This year, award shows are looking a little different. While the VMAs are still taking place, they’re going to be happening “across all five boroughs,” according to Entertainment Weekly. It’s unclear exactly what this will look like, but it sounds as though unless two artists are performing together, they won’t interact.
As stated, Gomez and Swift are up for the same award. Their music videos “Boyfriend” (Gomez) and “Lover” (Swift) are nominated in the Best Art Direction category. But it’s the videos’ art directors who will receive this award. What’s more, it’s not one that’s given out during the telecast.
Gomez and Swift competed at the VMAs before
This wouldn’t be the first VMA for either artist. Gomez won her first and only VMA to date in 2013 for Best Pop, and Swift was there to cheer her on. Meanwhile, Swift has won 10 “Moonmen” in the past. While Gomez is only up for the one award this year, Swift has five total chances at a 2020 VMA.
In addition to attending the ceremony together, they’ve competed against one another at the award show twice before. In 2015, both were up for Song of the Summer (neither won). Swift took home the Best Collaboration VMA in 2017 over Gomez. But Gomez was also there at Swift’s side when she won for “Bad Blood” in 2015, as she co-starred in the video.
What other musical awards have both been nominated for?
The VMAs isn’t the only place the artists have competed against one another. Both competed in the Top Social Artist (in 2015 and 2016) and Top Female Artist (in 2016) categories at the Billboard Music Awards. Swift also beat Gomez for Female Artist of the year at the 2016 iHeartRadio Music Awards, and for Best Music Video (for “Delicate”) in 2019.
There are also the various “Choice” award shows, like the People’s Choice Awards, Nickelodeon Kid’s Choice Awards, and Teen Choice Awards, where both have been nominated multiple times. Gomez and Swift have gone up against one other in broad categories, such as Favorite Female Artist, and specific ones, like Choice Summer Song and Choice Fandom.
