The MTV Video Music Awards returned to the UBS Arena in New York on Sunday, complete with host LL Cool J and a leading 12 nominations from Lady Gaga.
The Mayhem maestro and recent Wednesday guest star entered the night among a class of other artists with multiple nominations to their name including Bruno Mars (11), Kendrick Lamar (10), ROSÉ (8), Sabrina Carpenter (8), Ariana Grande (7), The Weeknd (7), Billie Eilish (6), Charli xcx (5), Bad Bunny (4), Doechii (4), Ed Sheeran (4), Jelly Roll (4), Miley Cyrus (4), and Tate McRae (4).
Battling it out for Best New Artist this year were Alex Warren, Ella Langley, Gigi Perez, Lola Young, sombr, and The Marías. Warren, whose You’ll Be Alright, Kid album arrived back in July, took home that award before the main broadcast.
The 2025 edition of the VMAs, notably, marks the debut of two new categories, Best Country and Best Pop Artist. For the latter, Justin Bieber, fresh off not one but two SWAGs, was nominated alongside Lorde and Charli xcx, among others.
Below, we break down all of this year’s winners.
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
Beyoncé
Kendrick Lamar
Lady Gaga
Morgan Wallen
Taylor Swift
The Weeknd
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 – WINNER
Ella Langley
Gigi Perez
Lola Young
sombr
The Marías
BEST POP ARTIST
Ariana Grande
Charli xcx
Justin Bieber
Lorde
Miley Cyrus
Sabrina Carpenter
Tate McRae
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” – WINNER
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” – WINNER
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 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”
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”
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 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 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 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”
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”
The Weeknd – “Hurry Up Tomorrow”
BEST GROUP
Aespa
All Time Low
Backstreet Boys
Blackpink
Coldplay
Evanescence
Fuerza Regida
Grupo Frontera
Imagine Dragons
Jonas Brothers
Katseye
My Chemical Romance
Seventeen
Stray Kids
The Marías
Twenty One Pilots
SONG OF SUMMER
Addison Rae – “Headphones On”
Alex Warren – “Ordinary”
Benson Boone – “Mystical Magical”
BigXthaPlug featuring Bailey Zimmerman – “All the Way”
Chappell Roan – “The Subway”
Demi Lovato – “Fast”
Doja Cat – “Jealous Type”
Huntr/x: Ejae, Audrey Nuna and Rei Ami – “Golden”
Jessie Murph – “Blue Strips”
Justin Bieber – “Daisies”
Moliy, Silent Addy, Skillibeng and Shenseea – “Shake It to the Max (Fly) (Remix)”
Morgan Wallen featuring Tate McRae – “What I Want”
Ravyn Lenae featuring Rex Orange County – “Love Me Not”
Sabrina Carpenter – “Manchild”
Sombr – “12 to 12”
Tate McRae – “Just Keep Watching” – WINNER
This story is being updated.
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