MTV VMAs 2025
The 2025 MTV Video Music Awards will be held on September 7, 2025, at UBS Arena in Elmont, New York, airing live on MTV and CBS and streaming on Paramount+.
Fan voting is open until September 5 for most of the 19 gender-neutral categories, with the Best New Artist category remaining open during the live show.
Leading the nominations is Lady Gaga with 12 nods, followed by Bruno Mars (11) and Kendrick Lamar (10), while Rosé and Sabrina Carpenter each have 8. This year introduces two new fan-voted categories: Best Pop Artist and Best Country Artist.
MTV VMAs 2025 Voting
Alright, friends, let’s talk about something that’s always got me buzzing this time of year—the MTV Video Music Awards, AKA the VMAs, where bragging rights, internet meltdowns, and moonman trophies are all up for grabs. And if you think your opinion doesn’t matter? Think again! MTV’s handed over the keys:
YOU get to choose the winners in 19 categories by voting at vote.mtv.com, right up until Thursday, September 5 at 6p.m. ET. Seriously, it’s easy—you just log in, pick your faves, and lock in your ballot.
You can even vote up to 10 times a day, or double your votes during the wild “Power Hour” (1–2p.m. ET daily) until September 4. Yep, it’s basically a popularity contest with a shot of digital adrenaline.
If you’re scouring Instagram, you can throw extra votes in a few major categories just by commenting under the official @VMAs posts—artist hashtags are your golden ticket, but be quick, because those close out August 8. Pro tip: Even if you can’t decide, come back the next day. Seriously, why not? It’s free, addictive, and honestly, more fun than scrolling through the same memes.
Nominees for the 2025 MTV Video Music Awards
Now, if you haven’t peeped the list yet, this year’s nominations are stacked. Lady Gaga, queen of reinvention (and, let’s face it, drama), is sitting pretty atop the pile with 12 nominations, thanks to her album “Mayhem” and killer visuals like “Die With a Smile.” I mean, Gaga’s been here before—she’s led the pack twice, and this could be her biggest sweep yet.
Bruno Mars, basically the guy who turns any event into a party, nabbed 11 nods and shares a collaborative spotlight with Blackpink’s Rosé, whose “APT.” has been everywhere this summer. Kendrick Lamar is in hot pursuit with 10 nominations, riding momentum from his smash single “Not Like Us.”
Sabrina Carpenter and Rosé are neck-and-neck at eight apiece, while Ariana Grande and The Weeknd each landed seven, proving yet again that streaming numbers aren’t just for show and tell—these folks own the charts.
But don’t sleep on the newcomers. The Best New Artist category is fierce this year—think Alex Warren, Ella Langley, and Lola Young, among others. And for the first time, we’re getting nods for Best Country Artist and Best Pop Artist, which honestly, given how “genre-fluid” music’s become, feels about time.
If we’re talking legacy, Beyoncé and Taylor Swift are duking it out again in Artist of the Year. These two are the heavyweights: Swift bagged seven VMAs just last year and now shares the all-time win record with Beyoncé. Neither dropped a new album (how dare they live?), but their tour numbers have made enough noise to earn a spot at the table this year.
MTV VMAs 2025 Nominees Full List
Video of the Year
- Ariana Grande – ‘brighter days ahead’
- Billie Eilish – ‘BIRDS OF A FEATHER’
- Kendrick Lamar – ‘Not Like Us’
- Lady Gaga & Bruno Mars – ‘Die With A Smile’
- ROSÉ & Bruno Mars – ‘APT.’
- Sabrina Carpenter – ‘Manchild’
- The Weeknd, Playboi Carti – ‘Timeless’
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
Best Afrobeats
- Asake & Travis Scott – ‘Active’
- Burna Boy ft. Travis Scott – ‘TaTaTa’
- MOLIY, Silent Addy, Skillibeng & Shenseea – ‘Shake It To The Max (FLY) (Remix)’
- Rema – ‘Baby (Is It A Crime)’
- Tems ft. Asake – ‘Get It Right’
- Tyla – ‘PUSH 2 START’
- Wizkid ft. Brent Faiyaz – ‘Piece Of My Heart’
Song of the Year
- Alex Warren – ‘Ordinary’
- Billie Eilish – ‘BIRDS OF A FEATHER’
- Doechii – ‘Anxiety’
- Ed Sheeran – ‘Sapphire’
- Gracie Abrams – ‘I Love You, I'm Sorry’
- Lady Gaga & Bruno Mars – ‘Die With A Smile’
- Lorde – ‘What Was That’
- ROSÉ & Bruno Mars – ‘APT.’
- Tate McRae – ‘Sports Car’
- The Weeknd, Playboi Carti – ‘Timeless’
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
- 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)’
- Sept 2024 – Ayra Starr – ‘Last Heartbreak Song’
- Oct 2024 – Mark Ambor – ‘Belong Together’
- Nov 2024 – Lay Bankz – ‘Graveyard’
- Dec 2024 – Dasha – ‘Bye Bye Bye’
- Jan 2025 – KATSEYE – ‘Touch’
- Feb 2025 – Jordan Adetunji – ‘KEHLANI’
- Mar 2025 – Leon Thomas – ‘YES IT IS’
- Apr 2025 – Livingston – ‘Shadow’
- May 2025 – Damiano David – ‘Next Summer’
- June 2025 – Gigi Perez – ‘Sailor Song’
- July 2025 – ROLE MODEL – ‘Sally, When The Wine Runs Out’
Best Collaboration
- Bailey Zimmerman with Luke Combs – ‘Backup Plan (Stagecoach Official Music Video)’ –
- Kendrick Lamar & SZA – ‘luther’
- Lady Gaga & Bruno Mars – ‘Die With A Smile’
- Post Malone ft. Blake Shelton – ‘Pour Me A Drink’
- ROSÉ & Bruno Mars – ‘APT’
- Selena Gomez, benny blanco – ‘Sunset Blvd’
Best Pop
- Alex Warren – ‘Ordinary’
- Ariana Grande – ‘brighter days ahead’
- Ed Sheeran – ‘Sapphire’
- Lady Gaga & Bruno Mars – ‘Die With A Smile’
- ROSÉ & Bruno Mars – ‘APT.’
- Sabrina Carpenter – ‘Manchild’
Best Hip Hop
- Doechii – ‘Anxiety’
- Drake – ‘NOKIA’
- Eminem ft. Jelly Roll – ‘Somebody Save Me’
- GloRilla ft. Sexyy Red – ‘WHATCHU KNO ABOUT ME’
- Kendrick Lamar – ‘Not Like Us’
- LL COOL J ft. Eminem – ‘Murdergram Deux’
- Travis Scott – ‘4X4’
Best R&B
- Chris Brown – ‘Residuals’
- Leon Thomas & Freddie Gibbs – ‘MUTT (REMIX)’
- Mariah Carey – ‘Type Dangerous’
- PARTYNEXTDOOR – ‘N o C h i l l’
- Summer Walker – ‘Heart Of A Woman’
- SZA – ‘Drive’
- The Weeknd, Playboi Carti – ‘Timeless’
Best Alternative
- Gigi Perez – ‘Sailor Song’
- Imagine Dragons – ‘Wake Up’
- Lola Young – ‘Messy’
- mgk & Jelly Roll – ‘Lonely Road’
- sombr – ‘back to friends’
- The Marías – ‘Back To Me’
Best Rock
- Coldplay – ‘ALL MY LOVE’
- Evanescence – ‘Afterlife (From the Netflix Series "Devil May Cry")’
- Green Day – ‘One Eyed Bastard’
- Lenny Kravitz – ‘Honey’
- Linkin Park – ‘The Emptiness Machine’
- Twenty One Pilots – ‘The Contract’
Best Latin
- Bad Bunny – ‘BAILE INoLVIDABLE’
- J Balvin – ‘Rio’
- KAROL G – ‘Si Antes Te Hubiera Conocido’
- Peso Pluma – ‘LA PATRULLA’
- Rauw Alejandro & Romeo Santos – ‘Khé?’
- Shakira – ‘Soltera’
Best K-Pop
- aespa – ‘Whiplash’
- JENNIE – ‘like JENNIE’
- Jimin – ‘Who’
- JISOO – ‘earthquake’
- LISA ft. Doja Cat & RAYE – ‘Born Again’
- Stray Kids – ‘Chk Chk Boom’
- ROSÉ – ‘toxic till the end’
Best Country
- Chris Stapleton – ‘Think I'm In Love With You’
- Cody Johnson with Carrie Underwood – ‘I’m Gonna Love You’
- Jelly Roll – ‘Liar’
- Lainey Wilson – ‘4x4xU’
- Megan Moroney – ‘Am I Okay?’
- Morgan Wallen – Smile’
Best Album
- Bad Bunny – ‘DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS’
- Kendrick Lamar – ‘GNX’
- Lady Gaga – Mayhem’
- Morgan Wallen – ‘I’m The Problem’
- Sabrina Carpenter – ‘Short n' Sweet’
- The Weeknd – ‘Hurry Up Tomorrow’
Best Long Form Video
- Ariana Grande – ‘brighter days ahead’
- Bad Bunny – ‘DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS (Short Film)’
- Damiano David – ‘FUNNY little STORIES’
- Mac Miller – ‘Balloonerism’
- Miley Cyrus – ‘Something Beautiful’
- The Weeknd – ‘Hurry Up Tomorrow’
Best Editing
- Charli xcx – ‘Guess’ featuring Billie Eilish
- Ed Sheeran – ‘Sapphire’
- Kendrick Lamar – ‘Not Like Us’
- Lady Gaga – ‘Abracadabra’
- Sabrina Carpenter – ‘Manchild’
- Tate McRae – ‘Just Keep Watching (From F1® The Movie)’
Video For Good
- Burna Boy – ‘Higher’
- Charli xcx – ‘Guess’ featuring Billie Eilish
- Doechii – ‘Anxiety’
- Eminem ft. Jelly Roll – ‘Somebody Save Me’
- Selena Gomez, benny blanco – ‘Younger And Hotter Than Me’
- Zach Hood ft. Sasha Alex Sloan – ‘Sleepwalking’
Best Direction
- Ariana Grande – ‘brighter days ahead’
- Charli xcx – ‘Guess’ featuring Billie Eilish
- Kendrick Lamar – ‘Not Like Us’
- Lady Gaga – ‘Abracadabra’
- ROSÉ & Bruno Mars – ‘APT’
- Sabrina Carpenter – ‘Manchild’
Best Cinematography
- Ariana Grande – ‘brighter days ahead’
- Ed Sheeran – ‘Sapphire’
- Kendrick Lamar – ‘Not Like Us’
- Lady Gaga – ‘Abracadabra’
- Miley Cyrus – ‘Easy Lover’
- Sabrina Carpenter – ‘Manchild’
Best Art Direction
- Charli xcx – ‘Guess’ featuring Billie Eilish’
- Kendrick Lamar – ‘Not Like Us’
- Lady Gaga – ‘Abracadabra’
- Lorde – ‘Man Of The Year’
- Miley Cyrus – ‘End of the World’
- ROSÉ & Bruno Mars – ‘APT’
Best Choreography
- Doechii – ‘Anxiety’
- FKA twigs – ‘Eusexua’
- Kendrick Lamar – ‘Not Like Us’
- Lady Gaga – ‘Abracadabra’
- Tyla – ‘PUSH 2 START’
- Zara Larsson – ‘Pretty Ugly’
Best Visual Effects
- Ariana Grande – ‘brighter days ahead’
- Lady Gaga – ‘Abracadabra’
- ROSÉ & Bruno Mars – ‘APT’
- Sabrina Carpenter – ‘Manchild’
- Tate McRae – ‘Just Keep Watching (From F1® The Movie)’
- The Weeknd – ‘Hurry Up Tomorrow’
What’s So Special About This Year’s VMAs?
A few things, honestly: The show’s live on CBS and MTV this time (September 7, 8p.m. ET/5p.m. PT from UBS Arena in New York), so even your grandma could vote and watch. Second, with social votes, wildcard artists, fresh categories, and the whole “vote as often as you want” bit, MTV seems dead set on showing that fans are the real tastemakers now.
Last year’s VMAs broke all kinds of records—over 66 million social interactions, which is wild. So if you’re sitting this one out, well, don’t say I didn’t warn you when everyone else’s favorite artist lands a moonman and you missed your shot to make it happen.
