Usually, there is a great story involved with artists finding out they've been [article id="1644956"]nominated for an MTV Video Music Award[/article] -- awakened by their manager beneath a pile of barely clad co-eds, about to pop their umpteenth bottle of rosé, backstage at the Acropolis (Yanni only), etc. -- but in B.o.B's case, well, he learned about his five noms in about the most pedestrian way possible: on Twitter.

"Actually, I just found out, like, two hours ago," he told MTV News on Tuesday (August 3). "I was just on Twitter checking to see what's up, and then I saw I got nominated, and I was like, 'All right, don't mind if I do.' "

B.o.B's "Airplanes" is nominated four times -- for [article id="1644987"]Best Collaboration[/article], Best Male Video, Best Hip-Hop Video and Video of the Year -- and his "Nothin' on You" also picked up a nod in the Best Pop category. All in all, he scored more noms than folks like Katy Perry, Ke$ha, Usher and Drake -- which seems pretty amazing, until you consider the massive year he's had: a pair of smash-hit singles and a [article id="1638472"]#1 debut for his The Adventures of Bobby Ray album[/article]. And, yes, he considers the VMA nominations to be further validation of that success.

"It's very special to me. I think it's a lot more special than the success of the singles, because this reflects the work I've put in over the years and the word of mouth I've helped create," he said. "It's definitely amazing. I'm trying to find the words to explain it, but I can't. It's inexplicable. I'm a real simple man, so, you know, I accept every gift with generosity and gratitude."

And, to that end, B.o.B won't speculate on his chances in each category ("I'll just see how the cookie crumbles") or actively campaign for votes ("I'm not gonna get like that about it"), but there is one area in which he's fairly confident: Best Dressed Celeb.

"I'm going to wear rocket boots," he laughed.

In keeping with his left-field ways, even though he'll be sharing the spotlight with the likes of Lady Gaga and Eminem, he's most excited to see -- and meet -- surprise VMA nominee Florence Welch, of [article id="1630293"]Florence and the Machine[/article].

"Oh, man, I dig Florence so much. I listened to her perform 'Dog Days Are Over' at Coachella, and she's amazing," he said. "I hope she performs, and I hope she wins everything. I think she's awesome."

Do you think B.o.B will take home some hardware on September 12? Let us know in the comments!

The 27th annual MTV Video Music Awards will be broadcast live from the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles on Sunday, September 12, at 9 p.m. ET.