Video of the Year

• 30 Seconds to Mars — "Kings and Queens"
• B.o.B (featuring Hayley Williams) — "Airplanes"
• Eminem — "Not Afraid"
• Florence and the Machine — "Dog Days Are Over"
• Lady Gaga — "Bad Romance"
• Lady Gaga (featuring Beyonce) — "Telephone"

Best Male Video

• B.o.B (featuring Hayley Williams) — "Airplanes"
• Jason Derülo — "In My Head"
• Drake — "Find Your Love"
• Eminem — "Not Afraid"
• Usher (featuring will.i.am) — "OMG"

Best Female Video

• Beyoncé (featuring Lady Gaga) — "Video Phone (Extended Remix)"
• Kesha — "Tik Tok"
• Lady Gaga — "Bad Romance"
• Katy Perry (featuring Snoop Dogg) — "California Gurls"
• Taylor Swift — "Fifteen"

Best New Artist

• Justin Bieber (featuring Ludacris) — "Baby"
• Broken Bells — "The Ghost Inside"
• Jason Derülo — "In My Head"
• Kesha — "Tik Tok"
• Nicki Minaj (featuring Sean Garrett) — "Massive Attack"

Best Pop Video

• B.o.B (featuring Bruno Mars) — "Nothin' on You"
• Beyoncé (featuring Lady Gaga) — "Video Phone (Extended Remix)"
• Kesha — "Tik Tok"
• Lady Gaga — "Bad Romance"
• Katy Perry (featuring Snoop Dogg) — "California Gurls"

Best Rock Video

• 30 Seconds to Mars — "Kings and Queens"
• Florence and the Machine — "Dog Days Are Over"
• MGMT — "Flash Delirium"
• Muse — "Uprising"
• Paramore — "Ignorance"

Best Hip-Hop Video

• B.o.B (featuring Hayley Williams) — "Airplanes"
• Drake (featuring Kanye West, Lil Wayne and Eminem) — "Forever"
• Eminem — "Not Afraid"
• Jay-Z (featuring Swizz Beatz) — "On to the Next One"
• Kid Cudi (featuring MGMT and Ratatat) — "Pursuit of Happiness"

Best Dance Music Video

• Cascada — "Evacuate the Dancefloor"
• David Guetta (featuring Akon) — "Sexy Chick"
• Enrique Iglesias (featuring Pitbull) — "I Like It" (Jersey Shore Version)
• Lady Gaga — "Bad Romance"
• Usher (featuring will.i.am) — "OMG"

Best Collaboration

• 3OH!3 (featuring Kesha) — "My First Kiss"
• Beyoncé (featuring Lady Gaga) — "Video Phone (Extended Remix)"
• B.o.B (featuring Hayley Williams) — "Airplanes"
• Jay-Z and Alicia Keys — "Empire State of Mind"
• Lady Gaga (featuring Beyoncé) — "Telephone"

Breakthrough Video

• Dan Black — "Symphonies"
• The Black Keys — "Tighten Up"
• Coldplay — "Strawberry Swing"
• Gorillaz (featuring Bobby Womack and Mos Def) — "Stylo"

Best Direction in a Video

• 30 Seconds to Mars — "Kings and Queens" (Director: Bartholomew Cubbins)
• Eminem — "Not Afraid" (Director: Rich Lee)
• Jay-Z and Alicia Keys — "Empire State of Mind" (Director: Hype Williams)
• Lady Gaga — "Bad Romance" (Director: Francis Lawrence)
• Pink — "Funhouse" (Director: Dave Meyers)

Best Choreography in a Video

• Beyoncé (featuring Lady Gaga) — "Video Phone (Extended Remix)" (Choreographers: Frank Gatson Jr., Phlex and Bryan Tanaka)
• Lady Gaga — "Bad Romance" (Choreographer: Laurie Ann Gibson)
• Lady Gaga (featuring Beyoncé) — "Telephone" (Choreographer: Laurie Ann Gibson)
• Janelle Monáe (featuring Big Boi) — "Tightrope" (Choreographers: Janelle Monáe and the Memphis Jookin Community)
• Usher (featuring will.i.am) — "OMG" (Choreographer: Aakomon “AJ” Jones)

Best Special Effects in a Video

• Dan Black — "Symphonies" (Special Effects: Corinne Bance and Axel D’Harcourt)
• Eminem — "Not Afraid" (Special Effects: Animaholics-VFX)
• Green Day — "21st Century Breakdown" (Special Effects: Laundry)
• Lady Gaga — "Bad Romance" (Special Effects: Skulley Effects VFX)
• Muse — "Uprising" (Special Effects: Humble TV and Sam Stephens)

Best Art Direction in a Video

• 30 Seconds to Mars — "Kings and Queens" (Art Director: Marc Benacerraf)
• Beyoncé (featuring Lady Gaga) — "Video Phone (Extended Remix)" (Art Director: Lenny Tso)
• Eminem — "Not Afraid" (Art Director: Ethan Tobman)
• Florence and the Machine — "Dog Days Are Over" (Art Directors: Louise Corcoran and Aldene Johnson)
• Lady Gaga — "Bad Romance" (Art Director: Charles Infante)

Best Editing in a Video

• Eminem — "Not Afraid" (Editor: Ken Mowe)
• Lady Gaga — "Bad Romance" (Editor: Jarrett Fijal)
• Miike Snow — "Animal" (Editor: Frank Macias)
• Pink — "Funhouse" (Editor: Chris Davis)
• Rihanna — "Rude Boy" (Editor: Clark Eddy)

Best Cinematography in a Video

• Eminem — "Not Afraid" (Director of Photography: Chris Probst)
• Florence and the Machine — "Dog Days Are Over" (Director of Photography: Adam Frisch)
• Jay-Z and Alicia Keys — "Empire State of Mind" (Director of Photography: John Perez)
• Lady Gaga — "Bad Romance" (Director of Photography: Thomas Kloss)
• Mumford & Sons — "Little Lion Man" (Director of Photography: Ben Magahy)

Tr3́s Latino Artist of the Year

• Aventura
• Camila
• Daddy Yankee
• Pitbull
• Shakira
• Wisin & Yandel^[3]

Sebelum acara

• Nicki Minaj (featuring will.i.am) — "Your Love" (intro) / "Check It Out"

Acara utama

• Eminem (featuring Rihanna) — "Not Afraid" / "Love the Way You Lie"
• Justin Bieber — "U Smile" (intro) / "Baby" / "Somebody to Love"
• Usher — "DJ Got Us Fallin' in Love" / "OMG"
• Florence and the Machine — "Dog Days Are Over"
• Taylor Swift — "Innocent"^[4][5]
• Drake (featuring Mary J. Blige and Swizz Beatz) — "Fancy"
• B.o.B and Paramore (featuring Bruno Mars) — "Nothin' on You" (intro) / "Airplanes" / "The Only Exception"
• Linkin Park — "The Catalyst"
• Kanye West (featuring Pusha T) — "Runaway"

The house artist was deadmau5. The following performed along with him:

• Travie McCoy — "Billionaire"
• Jason Derülo — "Ridin' Solo"
• Robyn — "Dancing on My Own"

Outside in the parking lot there were the following performances:^{[butuh rujukan]}

• N.E.R.D and Ciara — "Hot N' Fun"

Source: performers