MTV Video Music Awards: picks and predictions

British boy band "The Wanted," who had a hit this... — British boy band "The Wanted," who had a hit this year with the party jam "Glad You Came," are contenders in the MTV Video Music Awards' best new artist category. (Aug. 22, 2012) Credit: AP

By GLENN GAMBOAglenn.gamboa@newsday.comSeptember 5, 2012

It's time to celebrate the music video once again.

Thanks to YouTube, the right video has more sway in creating a hit now than it has in nearly 30 years, back when they were MTV's main priority instead of Snooki and teen moms. This year's biggest hits, Gotye's "Somebody That I Used to Know" and Carly Rae Jepsen's "Call Me Maybe," owe their success to their videos going viral -- though the more influential video for Jepsen isn't the one that starred her, but the homemade one that starred Justin Bieber and his pals.

But do we really need MTV's Video Music Awards to tell us which videos are popular and worth watching anymore? Considering how YouTube view counts take care of the popularity rankings and how our Facebook walls and Twitter feeds offer us way more "worth watching" suggestions than we can ever get to, probably not. However, one thing MTV knows how to do is throw a party, especially with flashy appearances set from the night's leading nominees Rihanna, Taylor Swift, One Direction and Pink, not to mention irreverent host Kevin Hart.

Here's a look at the other top categories: