After thousands of votes on VMA.MTV.com (along with ballots from select industry insiders), two diverse battles are set. A pair of legendary pop icons will square off against two relative newcomers and one wily underdog in the fight for Best Female Video.

Britney Spears

Pop queen Britney Spears takes another step on the comeback trail as her “Piece of Me” grabs a nomination, while Mariah Carey will try to end her VMA dry spell with “Touch My Body”. American Idol champ Jordin Sparks scores a nomination for her Chris Brown collaboration “No Air,” and Rihanna is in the running as well with “Take a Bow”. Quirky long shot Katy Perry rounds out the Best Female race with her cheeky summer anthem “I Kissed a Girl”.

Meanwhile, hip-hop’s hot streak continues in the Best Male Video category as two of the hottest MCs in the game face off against some of R&B’s leading men. Lil Wayne’s “Lollipop” exploded this year, so it’s no surprise that he’s in the running, along with T.I., whose “No Matter What” chronicles his struggles over the past year. Chris Brown and Usher made the list with “With You” and “Love in This Club” respectively, and Flo Rida is in the mix with “Low.”

Of course, when one door closes, another opens, my friends - voting in two other categories is now officially open at VMA.MTV.com. Hundreds of hopefuls will now duke it out in the Best Hip-Hop Video and Best Pop Video categories! The nominees will be announced on next Friday’s installment of FNMTV. After that, two more rounds of voting remain to determine the nominees for Best Dancing in a Video, Best New Artist, Best Rock Video and the highly coveted Video of the Year.

The 25th VMAs will take place at the legendary Paramount Pictures Studios in Hollywood on September 7. The Jonas Brothers are confirmed to perform, and British funnyman and Forgetting Sarah Marshall co-star Russell Brand was just announced as the show’s host.

Source: Jordan Upmalis - www.MTV.com