Image Courtesy of MTVAt this year's MTV Video Music Awards, held on Sunday, WALK THE MOON's "Shut Up and Dance," Hozier's "Take Me to Church," Arctic Monkeys' "Why'd You Only Call Me When You're High?," Fall Out Boy's "Uma Thurman" and Florence + the Machine's "Ship to Wreck" will compete for the title of Best Rock Video.
"I think we do have a chance," WALK THE MOON frontman Nick Petricca tells ABC Radio. "You know, we kind of see ourselves as the underdogs just kind of in every situation. That’s the attitude we take going on stage and I guess this is no different."
Both the "Shut Up and Dance" video and the song are heavily influenced by the sounds and styles of the '80s, which Petricca believes is part of the video's appeal.
"I think a lot of my favorite videos from the '80s are wonderfully bad," he says. "They have this charm about them. I think the ‘80s were a time that just really celebrated weird and campy, you know, whether it’s in the music or the fashion or the videos. And so, I dunno, I mean I definitely have a soft spot in my heart for them."
While the "Shut Up and Dance" video is full of big colors and bigger laughs, Hozier's "Take Me to Church" video deals with a much heavier subject. The black-and-white clip shows a same-sex couple facing homophobia.
"I think the video was definitely a very important vehicle for the song," Hozier tells ABC Radio. "Yeah, definitely. It kind of captured a lot of people's hearts and minds in a big way. It was a huge part of the song getting to where it got to, you know, around the world." (AUDIO IS ABC 1-ON-1)
Outside of the Best Rock Video category, Vance Joy's "Riptide," George Ezra's "Budapest" and James Bay's "Hold Back the River" are nominated for the Artist to Watch prize.
Several rock videos also are nominated for "professional categories," including Jack White's "Would You Fight for My Love" for Best Art Direction, Alt-J's "Left Hand Free" for Best Cinematography and Hozier's "Take Me to Church" for Best Direction.
The 2015 MTV VMAs will air Sunday, August 30 at 9 p.m. ET/PT. A pre-show celebration, featuring a performance from WALK THE MOON, airs 8 p.m. ET/PT.
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