Rihanna, Lil Wayne Join MTV VMAs

September 5, 2012

Lil Wayne

The performance lineup keeps getting bigger for Thursday's MTV Video Music Awards, which will air live from the Staples Center in Los Angeles from 8 p.m.to 10 p.m. EST. Rihanna will kick off the show with a performance of "Cockiness (Love It)" featuring guest A$AP Rocky, and she also will sing her ubiquitous hit "We Found Love." Lil Wayne also has been added to the VMA lineup for a performance of his new single, "No Worries," from his Dedication 4 mixtape. Additionally, rising star 2 Chainz will make his VMA debut with a song from Based On a T.R.U. Story, and Nicki Minaj will join forces onstage for a special performance with a previously announced VMA artist.These new additions join previously announced performers Frank Ocean, Taylor Swift, Green Day, P!nk, Alicia Keys and One Direction as well as confirmed presenters The Wanted, Andy Samberg, Rashida Jones, 2 Chainz, Ke$ha, Miley Cyrus, Wiz Khalifa, Mac Miller and the "Fierce Five" the 2012 Gold Medal-winning U.S. Women's Gymnastics Team.

A spokesperson for Green Day confirmed to MTV News that the trio still will be on hand for the show, despite a recent health scare for singer Billie Joe Armstrong. The band was forced to cancel their show in Bologna, Italy, on Sunday after the singer was taken to the hospital for a vocal problem. However, MTV assured fans that the band will beready to plug in for the big show on Thursday night. TMZ even caught Armstrong leaving the Los Angeles airport, where he mouthed to the gossip website that his voice is completely gone.

Meanwhile, MTV bumped up the show to air an hour earlier than normal to avoidconflicting withPresid! ent Obama's speech at the Democratic National Convention. The VMAs will run from 8-10 p.m. EST because Obama is scheduled to speak after 10 p.m. at the DNC in Charlotte, NC.