Rihanna Without Makeup
After Rihanna, shown here, confessed to Oprah Winfrey that she remains in close contact with Chris Brown, comedian Joan Rivers took to the social-media site to call the pop star an "Idiot!" -- among other things. posh24.com

When the MTV Video Music awards air on Thursday night at 8:00 EST/7:00 Central fans everywhere will tune in to see what their favorite stars wear, along with which celebrities take home the biggest awards of the night. The award show will only be broadcast on MTV.

Standup comic and star of last year's award show Kevin Hart will be the host of Thursday's VMAs. Onstage, Hart will be joined throughout the night by Rihanna performing with A$AP Rocky, Green Daym and Nicki Minaj, who was at the center of a recent flap when she appeared to endorse Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney.

Taylor Swift is also set to debut her new song "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together."

Those performers will have a tough act to follow. Fans of the MTV VMAs will remember when Beyonce revealed her pregnancy at the 2011 award show mid-performance. Hitflix.com reports that event set a tweets-per-second record on Twitter.

Rihanna and Drake lead the nominees, each with five nominations. Drake is even competing against rival Chris Brown in one category, especially interesting because it wasn't long ago when the two rapper's entourages trashed a New York City night club during a brawl. Katy Perry ranks in second place with four nominations, according to Celebuzz.com.

While Rihanna and Drake might have the most nominations, newcomer Carley Rae Jepsen is expected to do some damage in the "Best New Artist" category. Jepsen's smash hit "Call Me Maybe" has dominated the airwaves as well as the social media conversation. As of Thursday afternoon, the music video had over 238,600,000 views on YouTube, a number other "Best New Artist" nominees Frank Ocean and One Direction will have trouble defeating.

Video of the Year

Katy Perry, "Wide Awake"

Gotye, "Somebody That I Used To Know"

Rihanna, "We Found Love"

Drake feat. Rihanna,"Take Care"

M.I.A., "Bad Girls"

Best New Artist

Fun. feat. Janelle Monae, "We Are Young"

Carly Rae Jepsen, "Call Me Maybe"

Frank Ocean, "Swim Good"

One Direction, "What Makes You Beautiful"

The Wanted, "Glad You Came"

Best Hip-Hop Video

Childish Gambino, "Heartbeat"

Drake feat. Lil Wayne, "HYFR"

Kanye West feat. Pusha T, Big Sean & 2 Chainz, "Mercy"

Watch the Throne, "Paris"

Nicki Minaj feat. 2 Chainz, "Beez in the Trap"

Best Male Video

Justin Bieber, "Boyfriend"

Frank Ocean, "Swim Good"

Drake feat. Rihanna, "Take Care"

Chris Brown, "Turn Up the Music"

Usher, "Climax"

Best Female Video

Rihanna, "We Found Love"

Katy Perry, "Part of Me"

Beyoncé, "Love on Top"

Nicki Minaj, "Starships"

Selena Gomez & The Scene, "Love You Like a Love Song"

Best Pop Video
One Direction, "What Makes You Beautiful"
Fun. feat. Janelle Monae, "We Are Young"
Rihanna, "We Found Love"
Justin Bieber, "Boyfriend"
Maroon 5 feat. Wiz Khalifa, "Payphone"

Best Rock Video
Coldplay, "Paradise"
The Black Keys, "Lonely Boy"
Linkin Park, "BURN IT DOWN"
Jack White, "Sixteen Saltines"
Imagine Dragons, "It's Time"

Best Electronic Dance Music Video
Duck Sauce, "Big Bad Wolf"
Calvin Harris, "Feel So Close"
Skrillex, "First of the Year (Equinox)"
Martin Solveig, "The Night Out"
Avicii, "Le7els"

Best Video With a Message
Demi Lovato, "Skyscraper"
Rise Against, "Ballad of Hollis Brown"
Kelly Clarkson, "Dark Side"
Gym Class Heroes, "The Fighter"
K'Naan feat. Nelly Furtado, "Is Anybody Out There?"
Lil Wayne, "How to Love"

Best Art Direction
Katy Perry, "Wide Awake"
Drake feat. Rihanna, "Take Care"
Lana Del Rey, "Born to Die"
Regina Spektor, "All the Rowboats"
Of Monsters & Men, "Little Talks"

Best Choreography

Chris Brown, "Turn Up the Music"

Rihanna, "Where Have You Been"

Beyoncé, "Countdown"

Avicii, "Le7els"

Jennifer Lopez f/Pitbull, "Dance Again"

Best Cinematography

M.I.A., "Bad Girls"

Adele, "Someone Like You"

Drake feat. Rihanna, "Take Care"

Coldplay feat. Rihanna, "Princess of China"

Lana Del Rey, "Born to Die"

Best Direction

M.I.A., "Bad Girls"

Duck Sauce, "Big Bad Wolf"

Coldplay feat. Rihanna, "Princess of China"

Frank Ocean, "Swim Good"

Watch the Throne, "Otis"

Best Editing

Beyoncé, "Countdown"

A$AP Rocky, "Goldie"

Gotye, "Somebody That I Used to Know"

Watch the Throne, "Paris"

Kanye West feat. Pusha T, Big Sean and 2 Chainz, "Mercy"

Best Visual Effects

Katy Perry, "Wide Awake"

Rihanna, "Where Have You Been"

David Guetta feat. Nicki Minaj, "Turn Me On"

Linkin Park, "BURN IT DOWN"