The nominees for most categories were revealed on July 16, 2018, via an IGTV video. Nominees for Song of Summer, however, were announced on August 13, 2018. Cardi B had the most nominations with 12,[2] with The Carters behind with 8, while Childish Gambino and Drake both received 7 nominations each.[9][10]Winners were announced on August 20, 2018, on the Video Music Awards broadcast.[11]
Entertainment Weekly's writer Darren Franich gave the show a B− and said, "MTV's tagline for the 2018 Video Music Awards was 'Everything might happen.' Hey, they said might. The 35th VMAs had some fiery performances, but the show never quite sparked [...] This was a reasonably satisfying awards show, not the boring trainwreck some VMAs have been, not the exciting trainwreck supernova some VMAs dare to be."[13] For Variety, Daniel D'addario said, "There was a time when the VMAs were a change-of-season status report on pop: As MTV’s target audience heads back to school and those slightly outside that audience get ready to turn their mind to graver things, the pop world had historically united to put on a show that could carry viewers into the fall." and unfavorably compared it to the 2013 show line up.[14] In Billboard, Leila Cobo wrote, "although this year's awards haven't escaped criticism, it hasn't been for lack of Latin power," noting that "Maluma, Cardi B, Jennifer Lopez and Camila Cabello (finally) put Latin music center stage at VMAs."[15]