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This one time, at MuchMusic, we announced the performers for the 2006 MMVAs. And just to make myself clear, that was today. I mean, right now. AT THIS MOMENT. Can you take the insanity? Don’t answer that.

Here’s what’s currently tickling my fancy: Nelly Furtado. I’m gonna be all up on that shiznit when she’s doing sound check, man. She should probably just give me the mic. Timbaland will be here too, and you know what that means - jacuzzis and women! No, just kidding. It means that we’re sure to hear the hotness that is “Promiscuous”!

Also whetting my appetite is Metric and Rihanna. Metric know how to put on a Show (notice my purposeful capitalization) and I’m still not tired of “SOS” (which Rihanna better perform, *shakes fist*).

So, in other news, since I’m rambling, here are the other performers that’ll be taking the stage oh-so-triumphantly on June 18 (complete with hilarious puns):

Fall Out Boy. Sugar, you’re coming down to see this happen.
Simple Plan. Shut up! No, I’m serious. Is everybody crazy? No, they’re not.
Nick Lachey. What will be left of his cheese tray in his green room?
Hedley. Their performance is sure to be a real trip.
City and Colour. Save your singing voice cause you’ll want to croon along!

Oh, that was painful (the puns). But how ’bout that lineup?

Just so you know, cause you were sitting there twiddling your thumbs and wondering (DON’T DENY IT), ALL THE NOMINATIONS ARE IN! Our personal MMVA delivery elf rolled up on his pimped out vespa this morning and handed us the golden envelope. After everyone in Much HQ stared at the envelope in awe and amazement, someone opened it with trembling fingers and the room filled with glorious, glorious music. Music like Billy Talent, who’s been nominated for a pretty slick 5 awards including Best Video.

I’m not saying if it really happened like that. Maybe the envelope wasn’t golden; maybe it was made of licorice and we all shared it. Or maybe there was no envelope at all, which is more likely. But here’s what we do know: BT, Kardinal Offishall and Massari can each brag about 5 noms. The Trews are the only lucky turkeys with 4 nods. Green Day, Kanye West, Nickelback, Metric and City And Colour are all tripods with three nominations.

Take a looky at the full list!

June 18th is just around the corner now - we can smell it, and it smells like sweet, sweet roses and cupcakes. With sprinkles on top. But we digress…what you’re really here to do is to vote for your Favourite International Artist! All the heavy hitters are represented on the nominees list this year - you got your Kelly Clarkson, your Kanye West, your James Blunt, a bit of Rihanna, and, the icing on the cake, a Mariah Carey.

So let’s discuss:

Kelly’s had a pretty stellar few years now, since being voted the very first American Idol - a string of radio and video hits…songs written for her by no less than Xtina…and an air of legitimacy that no other Idol can hope to match. She’s the real deal with the pipes to match. And gosh darn it, she just seems so nice. So earthy and unpretentious. She should get your vote based on that alone, no? That said, we imagine it will only be a few years until she starts demanding velvet drapes, white M&Ms and private jets everywhere she goes, so vote now to appease her in advance of this!

Kanye. What *can’t* you say about him. The man is ubiquitous - he’s everywhere, a true king of all media - and he hasn’t even starred in his first film yet or put out a cookbook. It’s probably only a matter of time until he sets his sights on the White House…and he’ll probably win; he really can do no wrong in our eyes. His second album was bigger than the first with the help of friends like Jamie Foxx and Pam Anderson - and as his video for Touch The Sky indicated, he’s not stopping there. The sky truly is the limit for this superstar and we’re with him every cloud-hop along the way.

This past year, James Blunt falsettoed his way into the hearts of women worldwide. The whole shirtless/washboard abs thing didn’t hurt either, we suspect, but the truth is, he croons sweet nothings with the best of them. He definitely takes the cake for syrupy sweet ballad of the year, and that might be enough to take him over the top here. We do think, however, that he’s treading dangerously close to the Dave-Navarro-put-your-dang-shirt-on line…so we suggest he release a clothing line and layer up with some of his own gear. Much better, thanks.

Looking back over the year, of all the artists on this list, Rihanna might have shone the brightest. She’s young, hot, and has a knack for singing on tracks that insert themselves into your brain and refuse to leave - in a good way. Oh and she has some dude named Jay-Z in her corner. That’s good enough for us. We are a little bit afraid to imagine what kind of a juggernaut she’ll be in a few years. Rihanna Industries, anyone?

Finally, Mariah. We could rehash the whole career meltdown thing, but really, you’ve heard it all before and it’s a moot point now. Mariah has had the comeback of all comebacks - possibly the only person who could beat her in that department would be Michael Jackson, and there’s no imminent sign of that. She’s resurrected her career, her cred, her album sales, her status as a single woman and just about everything else. She’s a legitimate musical force again and churning out monster hits that are just as comfy on urban radio as they are on adult contemporary stations. That’s serious.

So there you have it - the nominees for Favourite International Artist. Do your research, count to ten and then vote for who YOU want to win - cause your votes will decide who takes home the hardware! Happy votin’!

Here we are, people! 2006 People’s Choice nominees have finally been announced so it’s time to get busy and activate your voting fingers. Read up on each band, watch their videos & pick up some ringtones while you’re at it. We’re kicking things off with the “Favourite International Group” category and you’ve got five great bands to vote on for the next week!

You decide - who rocked your world in 2005? Was it Coldplay? They had lots of videos to pick from, but we liked their debut off X&Y, “Speed Of Sound” best. How about “Newcomers” Fall Out Boy with their insanely catchy video for “Dance, Dance”? Or Green Day’s epic video that you couldn’t avoid all year, “Wake Me Up When September Ends”? What about last summer’s infectious tune “Don’t Cha”? Don’t try to tell me you weren’t humming it, even if it was against your will. Or did you maybe prefer the unrelenting words of Fergie in “My Humps”?

Go decide for yourself! Then tune in next week when we open up another category for voting!

We’ve been working hard to to bring you the latest updates, but there’s one looming problem, muthafrackers - there are no updates. Oh, except for this one: Sean Preston Federline will be making his stage debut at this year’s show! No, I just made that up. He won’t be making his stage debut until he’s at LEAST 10 months old.

Anyway, all we can do for now is think about the past year, reflect upon who was successful and make hopeful speculations about who might be appearing. I’m going to ask Kat for her wishlist. I bet Massari will be on there. (2 minutes later): Kat says Franz Ferdinand, Kelly Clarkson and Metric. She also said Nickelback but she was kidding. Sorry, Nickelback.

High fives all around, turkeys, cause this year’s big show has an official date. Mmm hmmmm (snap, snap), mark your calendar or personal electronic device or hand with these words: June 18th. That’s like, basically the only information we have right now, other than the fact that it’s happening here at Much, but you knew that already. Mostly because it’s been here at Much every year except the time it happened on a train (NO LIE).

Soon, we’ll be able to tell you how to score wristbands and how you can start voting (NO CHEATING!!). Eventually I’ll let you in on who’ll be appearing and performing, but you have to be really nice to me. Deal? I see you over there. Don’t give me that lip.