Drake and Rihanna
Rihanna and Drake are leading the way at this year's MTV VMA awards Reuters

Rihanna and Drake are leading this year's MTV Video Music Awards after bagging five nominations each.

The former lovers are up together in the coveted Video of the Year category for their collaborative hit, Take Care, and are contesting a string of awards individually.

RiRi is competing for Best Pop Video and Best Female Video and is also contesting the Video of the Year category as a solo artist for the song We Found Love. The 24-year-old faces fierce competition in the latter category from best friend Katy Perry, who has been nominated for Wide Awake.

Rihanna will also have to battle One Direction and Justin Bieber in the Best Pop Video category, following their nominations for What Makes You Beautiful and Boyfriend respectively.

Meanwhile, 25-year-old Young Money rapper Drake has been nominated in a range of categories including Best Hip Hop Video, Best Art Direction, Best Cinematography and Best Male Video - where he will face another of Rihanna's former boyfriends, Chris Brown.

The MTV Video Music Awards will take place at Los Angeles' Staples Centre on 6 September, and will feature performances from Alicia Keys and One Direction.

The full list of nominees is as follows:

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 Monáe, 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 Knowles, 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 Monáe, 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 Knowles, 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 Knowles, 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

China Los Angeles Justin Bieber