MTV‘s 2025 VMAs
MTV’s 2025 Video Music Awards are buzzing with a little more electricity than usual. This year’s ceremony goes live from the UBS Arena in New York on September 7, airing on both CBS and MTV starting at 8 p.m. ET, and streaming on Paramount+ too—which honestly is kind of a big move, airing on broadcast for the first time ever.
The pre-show builds up the energy, and, let’s be real, there’s always that feeling in the air even weeks before with all the fan chatter and wild guesses about performances.
Lately, music fans (and maybe a few artists) are extra vocal online. You pop into any social feed and there’s a video of someone ranking past VMA moments, speculating about the opening act, or begging for a wild collab performance.
MTV VMA Nominations 2025
Most years you can guess a few big nominees, but for 2025, honestly, some picks hit different. Lady Gaga leads the pack with 12 nominations, thanks to visuals from her “Abracadabra” and that bright, infectious Bruno Mars collab “Die With a Smile” storming both the charts and everyone’s playlists. Bruno’s right behind her with 11, then Kendrick Lamar with 10—everybody seems to be talking about his “Not Like Us” video, and for good reason. ROSÉ (honestly, K-pop has mega presence these days) and Sabrina Carpenter both pull in eight nods.
The Weeknd and Ariana Grande—seven each—keep their streaks going as artists who seem to reinvent themselves every single year.
There’s more narrative drama when you look at veterans competing with newcomers. Beyoncé and Taylor Swift, both with historic VMA runs, are each up again—this time just one major nomination apiece, but you kind of get chills thinking about them possibly sharing a stage.
In a twist, the VMAs introduce two new categories: Best Pop Artist and Best Country Video, broadening the field. New faces like Alex Warren and Gigi Perez, and even a posthumous first-time nod for Mac Miller, bring a feeling that anything might happen this year.
Something that sticks out—this is the ninth year MTV’s ditched gendered nomination categories, which still feels refreshing, like music’s finally just about the music, not the label.
Check out MTV 2025 VMA nominations full list
Video of the Year
- Ariana Grande – “brighter days ahead” – Republic Records
- Billie Eilish – “BIRDS OF A FEATHER” – Darkroom/Interscope Records
- Kendrick Lamar – “Not Like Us” – pgLang/Interscope Records
- Lady Gaga & Bruno Mars – “Die with a Smile” – Interscope Records
- ROSÉ & Bruno Mars – “APT.” – Atlantic Records
- Sabrina Carpenter – “Manchild” – Island
- The Weeknd, Playboi Carti – “Timeless” – XO/Republic Records
Artist of the Year
- Bad Bunny – Rimas Entertainment
- Beyoncé – Parkwood Entertainment/Columbia Records
- Kendrick Lamar – pgLang/Interscope Records
- Lady Gaga – Interscope Records
- Morgan Wallen – Big Loud Records/Mercury Records
- Taylor Swift – Republic Records
- The Weeknd – XO/Republic Records
Song of the Year
- Alex Warren – “Ordinary” – Atlantic Records
- Billie Eilish – “BIRDS OF A FEATHER” – Darkroom/Interscope Records
- Doechii – “Anxiety” – Top Dawg Entertainment/Capitol Records
- Ed Sheeran – “Sapphire” – Gingerbread Man Records/Atlantic Records
- Gracie Abrams – “I Love You, I’m Sorry” – Interscope Records
- Lady Gaga & Bruno Mars – “Die with a Smile” – Interscope Records
- Lorde – “What Was That” – Republic Records
- ROSÉ & Bruno Mars – “APT.” – Atlantic Records
- Tate McRae – “Sports Car” – RCA Records
- The Weeknd, Playboi Carti – “Timeless” – XO/Republic Records
Best New Artist
- Alex Warren – Atlantic Records
- Ella Langley – SAWGOD/Columbia Records
- Gigi Perez – Island
- Lola Young – Island
- sombr – SMB Music/Warner Records
- The Marías – Nice Life/Atlantic Records
- Best Pop Artist (new category)
- Ariana Grande – Republic Records
- Charli xcx – Atlantic Records
- Justin Bieber – Def Jam Recordings
- Lorde – Republic Records
- Miley Cyrus – Columbia Records
- Sabrina Carpenter – Island
- Tate McRae – RCA Records
MTV Push Performance of the Year
- Aug. 2024 – Shaboozey – “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” – American Dogwood/EMPIRE
- Sept. 2024 – Ayra Starr – “Last Heartbreak Song” – Mavin Records/Republic Records
- Oct. 2024 – Mark Ambor – “Belong Together” – Hundred Days Records/Virgin Music
- Nov. 2024 – Lay Bankz – “Graveyard” – Artist Partner Group Inc.
- Dec. 2024 – Dasha – “Bye Bye Bye” – Warner Records
- Jan. 2025 – KATSEYE – “Touch” – HYBE/Geffen Records
- Feb. 2025 – Jordan Adetunji – “KEHLANI” – 300 Entertainment
- March 2025 – Leon Thomas – “YES IT IS” – EZMNY Records/Motown Records
- April 2025 – Livingston – “Shadow” – Republic Records
- May 2025 – Damiano David – “Next Summer” – Sony Italy/Arista Records
- June 2025 – Gigi Perez – “Sailor Song” – Island
- July 2025 – ROLE MODEL – “Sally, When the Wine Runs Out” – Interscope Records
Best Collaboration
- Bailey Zimmerman with Luke Combs – “Backup Plan (Stagecoach Official Music Video)” – Atlantic Records/Warner Music Nashville
- Kendrick Lamar & SZA – “luther” – pgLang/Interscope Records
- Lady Gaga & Bruno Mars – “Die with a Smile” – Interscope Records
- Post Malone ft. Blake Shelton – “Pour Me a Drink” – Mercury Records
- ROSÉ & Bruno Mars – “APT.” – Atlantic Records
- Selena Gomez, benny blanco – “Sunset Blvd” – SMG Music/Friends Keep Secrets/Interscope Records
Best Pop
- Alex Warren – “Ordinary” – Atlantic Records
- Ariana Grande – “brighter days ahead” – Republic Record
- Ed Sheeran – “Sapphire” – Gingerbread Man Records/Atlantic Records
- Lady Gaga & Bruno Mars – “Die with a Smile” – Interscope Records
- ROSÉ & Bruno Mars – “APT.” – Atlantic Records
- Sabrina Carpenter – “Manchild” – Island
Best Hip-Hop
- Doechii – “Anxiety” – Top Dawg Entertainment/Capitol Records
- Drake – “NOKIA” – OVO/Santa Anna/Republic
- Eminem ft. Jelly Roll – “Somebody Save Me” – Shady/Aftermath/Interscope Records
- GloRilla ft. Sexyy Red – “WHATCHU KNO ABOUT ME” – CMG/Interscope Records
- Kendrick Lamar – “Not Like Us” – pgLang/Interscope Records
- LL COOL J ft. Eminem – “Murdergram Deux” – Def Jam Recordings
- Travis Scott – “4X4” – Cactus Jack/Epic Records
Best R&B
- Chris Brown – “Residuals” – Chris Brown Entertainment/RCA Records
- Leon Thomas & Freddie Gibbs – “MUTT (REMIX)” – EZMNY Records/Motown Records
- Mariah Carey – “Type Dangerous” – gamma.
- PARTYNEXTDOOR – “N o C h i l l” – OVO Sound
- Summer Walker – “Heart of a Woman” – LVRN/Interscope Records
- SZA – “Drive” – Top Dawg Entertainment/RCA Records
- The Weeknd, Playboi Carti – “Timeless” – XO/Republic Records
Best Alternative
- Gigi Perez – “Sailor Song” – Island
- Imagine Dragons – “Wake Up” – KIDinaKorner/Interscope Records
- Lola Young – “Messy” – Island
- mgk & Jelly Roll – “Lonely Road” – EST 19XX/Interscope Records
- sombr – “back to friends” – SMB Music/Warner Records
- The Marías – “Back to Me” – Nice Life/Atlantic Records
Best Rock
- Coldplay – “ALL MY LOVE” – Atlantic Records
- Evanescence – “Afterlife (From the Netflix Series ‘Devil May Cry’)” – Netflix Music
- Green Day – “One Eyed Bastard” – Reprise Records/Warner Records
- Lenny Kravitz – “Honey” – ℗© 2024 Roxie Records Inc. under exclusive license to BMG Rights Management GmbH
- Linkin Park – “The Emptiness Machine” – Warner Records
- twenty one pilots – “The Contract” – Fueled By Ramen
Best Latin
- Bad Bunny – “BAILE INoLVIDABLE” – Rimas Entertainment
- J Balvin – “Rio” – Capitol Records
- KAROL G – “Si Antes Te Hubiera Conocido” – Bichota Records/Interscope Records
- Peso Pluma – “LA PATRULLA” – Double P Records
- Rauw Alejandro & Romeo Santos – “Khé?” – Sony Music US Latin
- Shakira – “Soltera” – Sony Music US Latin
Best K-Pop
- aespa – “Whiplash” – SM Entertainment/Virgin Music Group
- JENNIE – “like JENNIE” – OA Entertainment/Columbia Records
- Jimin – “Who” – BIGHIT MUSIC
- JISOO – “earthquake” – Warner Records
- LISA ft. Doja Cat & RAYE – “Born Again” – Lloud Co./RCA Records
- Stray Kids – “Chk Chk Boom” – JYP/IMPERIAL/Republic
- ROSÉ – “toxic till the end” – Atlantic Records
Best Afrobeats
- Asake & Travis Scott – “Active” – YBNL Nation/EMPIRE
- Burna Boy ft. Travis Scott – “TaTaTa” – Spaceship/Bad Habit/Atlantic Records
- MOLIY, Silent Addy, Skillibeng & Shenseea – “Shake It to the Max (FLY) (Remix)” – gamma.
- Rema – “Baby (Is It a Crime)” – Mavin Global Holdings Ltd / Jonzing World Entertainment / Interscope Records
- Tems ft. Asake – “Get It Right” – RCA Records/Since ’93
- Tyla – “PUSH 2 START” – FAX Records/Epic Records
- Wizkid ft. Brent Faiyaz – “Piece of My Heart” – Starboy/RCA Records
Best Country (new category)
- Chris Stapleton – “Think I’m in Love with You” – Mercury Nashville
- Cody Johnson with Carrie Underwood – “I’m Gonna Love You” – CoJo Music / Warner Music Nashville
- Jelly Roll – “Liar” – BBR Music Group/BMG/Republic Records
- Lainey Wilson – “4x4xU” – Broken Bow Records
- Megan Moroney – “Am I Okay?” – Columbia Records
- Morgan Wallen – “Smile” – Big Loud Records/Mercury Records
Best Album
- Bad Bunny – DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS – Rimas Entertainment
- Kendrick Lamar – GNX – pgLang/Interscope Records
- Lady Gaga – Mayhem – Interscope Records
- Morgan Wallen – I’m the Problem – Big Loud Records/Mercury Records
- Sabrina Carpenter – Short n’ Sweet – Island
- The Weeknd – Hurry Up Tomorrow – XO/Republic Records
Best Long Form Video
- Ariana Grande – “brighter days ahead” – Republic Records
- Bad Bunny – “DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS (Short Film)” – Rimas Entertainment
- Damiano David – “FUNNY little STORIES” – Sony Italy/Arista Records
- Mac Miller – “Balloonerism” – Warner Records
- Miley Cyrus – “Something Beautiful” – Columbia Records
- The Weeknd – “Hurry Up Tomorrow” – XO/Republic Records
Video for Good
- Burna Boy – “Higher” – Spaceship/Bad Habit/Atlantic Records
- Charli xcx – “Guess featuring Billie Eilish” – Atlantic Records
- Doechii – “Anxiety” – Top Dawg Entertainment/Capitol Records
- Eminem ft. Jelly Roll – “Somebody Save Me” – Shady/Aftermath/Interscope Records
- Selena Gomez, benny blanco – “Younger and Hotter Than Me” – SMG Music/Friends Keep Secrets/Interscope Records
- Zach Hood ft. Sasha Alex Sloan – “Sleepwalking” – Arista Records
Best Direction
- Ariana Grande – “brighter days ahead” – Republic Records
- Charli xcx – “Guess featuring Billie Eilish” – Atlantic Records
- Kendrick Lamar – “Not Like Us” – pgLang/Interscope Records
- Lady Gaga – “Abracadabra” – Interscope Records
- ROSÉ & Bruno Mars – “APT.” – Atlantic Records
- Sabrina Carpenter – “Manchild” – Island
Best Art Direction
- Charli xcx – “Guess featuring Billie Eilish” – Atlantic Records
- Kendrick Lamar – “Not Like Us” – pgLang/Interscope Records
- Lady Gaga – “Abracadabra” – Interscope Records
- Lorde – “Man of the Year” – Republic Records
- Miley Cyrus – “End of the World” – Columbia Records
- ROSÉ & Bruno Mars – “APT.” – Atlantic Records
Best Cinematography
- Ariana Grande – “brighter days ahead” – Republic Records
- Ed Sheeran – “Sapphire” – Gingerbread Man Records/Atlantic Records
- Kendrick Lamar – “Not Like Us” – pgLang/Interscope Records
- Lady Gaga – “Abracadabra” – Interscope Records
- Miley Cyrus – “Easy Lover” – Columbia Records
- Sabrina Carpenter – “Manchild” – Island
Best Editing
- Charli xcx – “Guess featuring Billie Eilish” – Atlantic Records
- Ed Sheeran – “Sapphire” – Gingerbread Man Records/Atlantic Records
- Kendrick Lamar – “Not Like Us” – pgLang/Interscope Records
- Lady Gaga – “Abracadabra” – Interscope Records
- Sabrina Carpenter – “Manchild” – Island
- Tate McRae – “Just Keep Watching (from ‘F1® The Movie’)” – Atlantic Records
Best Choreography
- Doechii – “Anxiety” – Top Dawg Entertainment/Capitol Records
- FKA twigs – “Eusexua” – Atlantic Records
- Kendrick Lamar – “Not Like Us” – pgLang/Interscope Records
- Lady Gaga – “Abracadabra” – Interscope Records
- Tyla – “PUSH 2 START” – FAX Records/Epic Records
- Zara Larsson – “Pretty Ugly” – Epic Records
Best Visual Effects
- Ariana Grande – “brighter days ahead” – Republic Records
- Lady Gaga – “Abracadabra” – Interscope Records
- ROSÉ & Bruno Mars – “APT.” – Atlantic Records
- Sabrina Carpenter – “Manchild” – Island
- Tate McRae – “Just Keep Watching (from ‘F1® The Movie’)” – Atlantic Records
- The Weeknd – “Hurry Up Tomorrow” – XO/Republic Records
VMAs 2025 Voting
Here’s what’s cool—fans 100% drive these awards, and it’s wild how competitive it gets. This year, you head to vote.mtv.com to vote for your favorites in 19 categories, plus you can blast votes over on Instagram by leaving comments with official hashtags under the @vmas posts. There’s a special “Power Hour” from 1-2 p.m. ET every day until September 4—basically, you can double up your votes then, and every fandom on social is rallying for it. Voting for most awards closes September 5, but Best New Artist stays open through the night of the show, letting late pushes swing things at the buzzer.
If you’re on Instagram, the vibe is clear—a single post with “VOTING IS NOW OPEN FOR THE 2025 @MTV #VMAs!” had 105,000+ comments in 24 hours. People drop their faves, pile on gifs, and campaign in the replies, while fan accounts organize hashtag drives and try to get mid-tier artists over the finish line. “If you want to see your favorite win, you’ve got to keep smashing that vote button,” one user commented, tagging five friends. It feels a little less corporate, a little more community-driven, like it matters what you say and tweet.
The tweet below contains the direct link to vote. Hurry up and vote for your favorite artist!
Sometimes the system gets flack for being chaotic, but watching artists share their own gratitude videos, or fans nervously following the final hours, that’s what makes it feel alive. It’s human—messy, sometimes unfair, almost always passionate.
