MTV Video Music Awards: Nicki Minaj to open Sunday's award ceremony

Nicki Minaj is set to open this year’s MTV Video Music Awards on Sunday, Aug. 30 at the Microsoft Theatre in Los Angeles, California.

This will be the singer’s second opening act at MTV VMAs, following last year’s much talked about “Anaconda” performance. The news about Minaj's opening performance came on the heels of Miley Cyrus' not-so-polite comments against the former, according to Entertainment Weekly.

Reacting to Minaj's scathing comments after she failed to score an MTV VMAs' nomination, Miley Cyrus, who will be hosting on Sunday night, said Minaj’s reaction was “not too kind” and “not very polite.”

Minaj, who failed to earn nomination for her song “Anaconda,” said in a tweet that her song would have scored a nomination for the best choreo and video of the year if she “was a different kind of artist.”

“When ‘other’ girls drop video that breaks records and impacts culture they get nomination… If your video celebrates women with very slim bodies, you will be nominated for [video] of the year,” Minaj tweeted.

The 32-year-old singer later said that “black women” like her who influence pop culture are “rarely rewarded.”

Meanwhile, Cyrus, 22, announced via Instagram that she’ll be hosting the most-anticipated video music awards on Sunday. In the photos, she can be seen wearing green alien dress and a sandwich board. The messages on the boards reads, “MTV won’t let me perform” and “so I'm hosting this year’s VMAs."

And the other big names who are performing on Sunday night are Demi Lovato, Pharrell Williams, ASAP Rocky and Twenty One Pilots, Tori Kelly and Macklemore and Ryan Lewis. Also Justin Bieber will be on the stage to perform his new single “What Do You Mean.”

This year, the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award will be given to Kanye West. The award recognises the rapper-songwriter's “ground-breaking videos, legendary performances” and “continued impact of music, art, fashion and culture” over the years, The Independent reported. Past recipients of this award include Madonna, Justin Timberlake, Beyonce and Michael Jackson.

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