Lady Gaga is undeniable. Fifteen years after owning the MTV VMAs with her instantly viral meat dress, the Mother Monster proved she was still going strong, capturing Artist of the Year at the 2025 MTV Video Music Awards.
Gaga, who came into the night with a field-best 12 nominations, dedicated the win to her Little Monsters. “The way you move through your life is iconic and rare. It is entirely yours,” she said. “You very much deserve a stage to shine on, and I give you all my applause.”
She then beat from New York’s UBS Arena over to Madison Square Garden to headline her Mayhem Ball concert.
Song of the Year went to Bruno Mars and Rosé for “Apt.” Mars was MIA for the ceremony, but Rosé accepted on their behalf and dedicated the statuette to “my 16-year-old self.”
In a night of firsts, Ricky Martin received the inaugural Latin Icon Award. Before accepting his trophy, Martin tore through a medley of hits, including “Livin’ la Vida Loca,” “Shake Your Bon-Bon,” “Vente Pa’ Ca,” “María,” and “La Copa de la Vida.” Later, Busta Rhymes collected the first-ever Rock the Bells Visionary Award, performing tracks like “Gimme Some More,” “As I Come Back,” “Touch It,” and “Pass the Courvoisier Part II,” and giving props to the night’s host LL Cool J as an inspiration.
Speaking of special honors, Ariana Grande took the stage to introduce the recipient of the coveted Video Vanguard Award, Mariah Carey, thanking her for “providing us with a soundtrack of our lives.”
Carey obliged with renditions of “Sugar Sweet,” “Fantasy,” “Heartbreaker,” Obsessed,” “It’s Like That,” and “We Belong Together.” Along with her hits, Carey, who earlier took home Best R&B for “Type Dangerous,” brought the jokes. “I can’t believe I’m getting my first VMA tonight. I just have one question: What in the Sam Hell were you waiting for?”
Alex Warren proved to be the latest social media star to matriculate to the mainstream. The TikTok star, whose “Ordinary” has been one of the year’s top hits, earned his first major music award on Sunday, being named Best New Artist at the VMAs. He later returned to the stage and performed “Ordinary” and “Eternity.”
Meawhile, MTV voters helped settle the argument over what was the song of the summer in a crowded field, with Tate McRae winning the Moon Person for “Just Keep Watching” from F1 the Movie.
Other winners included Blackpink’s Lisa for Best K-Pop for “Born Again” (featuring Doja Cat and Raye); Katseye for MTV Push Performance of the Year for “Touch”; Sombr for Best Alternative for “Back to Friends”; and Megan Moroney for Best Country for “Am I Okay?”
The festivities kicked off with Doja Cat and special guest Kenny G.
This year’s lineup also included performances from Jelly Roll, Sabrina Carpenter, Post Malone, J Balvin, and McRae, while Steven Tyler, Joe Perry, Yungblud, and Nuno Bettencourt will honor late rock legend Ozzy Osbourne.
For the first time ever, the VMAs are airing live on CBS, simulcast on MTV, and stream on Paramount+, marking a major expansion for the iconic awards show.
Gaga came into the night with a leading 12 nominations, followed closely followed by Mars with 11 and Kendrick Lamar with 10.
Check out the full list of Moon Person winners:
2025 MTV Video Music Awards 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, Playboy Carti — “Timeless”
ARTIST OF THE YEAR
Bad Bunny
Beyoncé
Kendrick Lamar
[winner] 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”
[winner] Rosé & Bruno Mars — “Apt.”
Tate McRae — “Sports Car”
The Weeknd, Playboi Carti — “Timeless”
BEST NEW ARTIST
[winner] Alex Warren
Ella Langley
Gigi Perez
Lola Young
Sombr
The María
BEST POP ARTIST
Ariana Grande
Justin Bieber
Lorde
Miley Cyrus
Sabrina Carpenter
Tate McRae
MTV PUSH PERFORMANCE OF THE YEAR
August 2024 — Shaboozey — “A Bar Song (Tipsy)”
October 2024 — Mark Ambor — “Belong Together”
November 2024 — Lay Bankz — “Graveyard”
December 2024 — Dasha — “Bye Bye Bye”
[winner] January 2025 — Katseye — “Touch”
February 2025 — Jordan Adetunji — “Kehlani”
March 2025 — Leon Thomas — “Yes It Is”
April 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 featuring 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”
Eminem featuring Jelly Roll — “Somebody Save Me”
GloRilla featuring Sexyy Red — “Whatchu Kno About Me”
Kendrick Lamar — “Not Like Us”
LL Cool J featuring Eminem — “Murdergram Deux”
Travis Scott — “4X4”
BEST R&B
Chris Brown — “Residuals”
Leon Thomas & Freddie Gibbs — “Mutt (Remix)”
[winner] Mariah Carey — “Type Dangerous”
PartyNextDoor — “No Chill”
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”
[winner] 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”
[winner] Lisa featuring Doja Cat & Raye — “Born Again”
Stray Kids — “Chk Chk Boom”
Rosé — “Toxic Till the End”
BEST AFROBEATS
Asake & Travis Scott — “Active”
Burna Boy featuring Travis Scott — “TaTaTa”
Moliy, Silent Addy, Skillibeng & Shenseea — “Shake It to the Max (FLY) (Remix)”
Rema — “Baby (Is It a Crime)”
Tems featuring Asake — “Get It Right”
[winner] Tyla — “Push 2 Start”
Wizkid featuring 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”
[winner] 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 featuring Jelly Roll — “Somebody Save Me”
Selena Gomez, Benny Blanco — “Younger and Hotter Than Me”
Zach Hood featuring 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 (from F1 the Movie)”
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”
SOCIAL CATEGORIES
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 the Summer
Addison Rae — “Headphones On”
Alex Warren — “Ordinary”
Benson Boone — “Mystical Magical”
BigXthaPlug fearuting Bailey Zimmerman — “All the Way”
Chappell Roan — “The Subway”
Demi Lovato — “Fast”
Doja Cat — “Jealous Type”
Huntr/X: Ejae, Audrey Nuna & Rei Ami — “Golden”
Jessie Murph — “Blue Strips”
Justin Bieber — “Daisies”
Moliy, Silent Addy, Skillibeng & 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”
[winner] Tate McRae — “Just Keep Watching (From F1 the Movie)”