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The MTV Video Music Awards (VMAs) returned to celebrate this year’s biggest artists and music videos.
The 2025 ceremony, hosted Sunday evening by LL Cool J at New York’s UBS Arena, welcomed special performances from a range of nominees, including Lady Gaga, country star Jelly Roll, pop stars Sabrina Carpenter and Tate McRae, rising singer-songwriters Alex Warren and Lola Young, and rappers Doja Cat and Post Malone.
British singer-songwriter Yungblud, Aerosmith bandmates Joe Perry and Steven Tyler, and Portuguese-American guitarist Nuno Bettencourt took the stage to perform a special tribute to late Black Sabbath metal legend Ozzy Osbourne, who died in July at the age of 76.
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(L-R) Lady Gaga, Tate McRae, and Sabrina Carpenter were among the winners at the 2025 MTV VMAs (Getty)
Mariah Carey was honored with the special Video Vanguard Award, while rapper Busta Rhymes received the Rock the Bells Visionary Award, and Puerto Rican singer-songwriter Ricky Martin was recognized with the Latin Icon Award.
Going into the night, Lady Gaga led the pack with 12 nods, followed closely behind by her “Die with a Smile” collaborator Bruno Mars with 11 nominations and hit “Not Like Us” rapper Lamar with 10.
Taylor Swift, who holds the record for most-awarded solo artist of the VMAs with a total of 30 wins, was again nominated for Artist of the Year. She was up against Beyoncé, Puerto Rican superstar Bad Bunny, Lady Gaga, Lamar, country singer Morgan Wallen, and Canadian singer-songwriter The Weeknd. Gaga ended up taking home the trophy.
Winners are determined by fan votes. Find the full list of winners below.
Video of the Year
Ariana Grande — “brighter days ahead” — WINNER
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 — WINNER
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.” — WINNER
Tate McRae — “Sports Car”
The Weeknd, Playboi Carti — “Timeless”
Song of the Summer
Addison Rae — “Headphones On”
Alex Warren — “Ordinary”
Benson Boone — “Mystical Magical”
BigXthaPlug & Bailey Zimmerman — “All the Way”
Chappell Roan — “The Subway”
Demi Lovato — “Fast”
Doja Cat — “Jealous Type”
Huntr/x — “Golden”
Jessie Murph — “Blue Strips”
Justin Bieber — “Daisies”
Moliy, Silent Addy, Skillibeng & Shenseea — “Shake It to the Max (Fly) (Remix)”
Morgan Wallen & 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 (From F1: the Movie)” — WINNER
Best New Artist
Alex Warren — WINNER
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Rising singer-songwriter Alex Warren, known for his viral hit ‘Ordinary,’ was voted by fans as the Best New Artist (Getty Images for MTV)
Ella Langley
Gigi Perez
Lola Young
sombr
The Marías
Best Pop Artist (new category)
Ariana Grande
Charli xcx
Justin Bieber
Lorde
Miley Cyrus
Sabrina Carpenter — WINNER
Tate McRae
MTV Push Performance of the Year
August 2024 — Shaboozey — “A Bar Song (Tipsy)”
September 2024 — Ayra Starr — “Last Heartbreak Song”
October 2024 — Mark Ambor — “Belong Together”
November 2024 — Lay Bankz — “Graveyard”
December 2024 — Dasha — “Bye Bye Bye”
January 2025 — KATSEYE — “Touch” — WINNER
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” — WINNER
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” — WINNER
Ed Sheeran — “Sapphire”
Lady Gaga & Bruno Mars — “Die with a Smile”
ROSÉ & Bruno Mars — “APT.”
Sabrina Carpenter — “Manchild”
Best Hip-Hop
Doechii — “Anxiety” — WINNER
Drake — “NOKIA”
Eminem ft. Jelly Roll — “Somebody Save Me”
GloRilla ft. Sexyy Red — “WHATCHU KNO ABOUT ME”
Kendrick Lamar — “Not Like Us”
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Kendrick Lamar defeated fellow rapper Drake in their epic rap battle with his diss track ‘Not Like Us’ (Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)
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” — WINNER
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” — WINNER
Best K-Pop
aespa — “Whiplash”
JENNIE — “like JENNIE”
Jimin — “Who”
JISOO — “earthquake”
LISA ft. Doja Cat & RAYE — “Born Again” — WINNER
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” — WINNER
Wizkid ft. Brent Faiyaz — “Piece of My Heart”
Best Country (new category)
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?” — WINNER
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 — WINNER
The Weeknd — Hurry Up Tomorrow
Best Group
BLACKPINK — WINNER
aespa
All Time Low
Backstreet Boys
Cold Play
Evanescence
Fuerza Regida
Imagine Dragons
SEVENTEEN
KATSEYE
Jonas Brothers
Grupo Frontera
My Chemical Romance
Stray Kids
The Marías
twenty one pilots
Best Long Form Video
Ariana Grande — “brighter days ahead” — WINNER
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Ariana Grande released her ‘eternal sunshine deluxe: brighter days ahead’ album on the heels of her success in Jon M. Chu’s ‘Wicked’ adaptation (Getty Images for MTV)
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” — WINNER
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” — WINNER
ROSÉ & Bruno Mars — “APT.”
Sabrina Carpenter — “Manchild”
Best Art Direction
Charli xcx — “Guess featuring Billie Eilish”
Kendrick Lamar — “Not Like Us”
Lady Gaga — “Abracadabra” — WINNER
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” — WINNER
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)” — WINNER
Best Choreography
Doechii — “Anxiety” — WINNER
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”
Tate McRae — “Just Keep Watching (From F1: The Movie)”
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Canadian pop singer Tate McRae is currently on her Miss Possessive Tour, in support of her third album release, ‘So Close to What’ (Getty Images for MTV)
Lady Gaga — “Abracadabra”
ROSÉ & Bruno Mars — “APT.”
Sabrina Carpenter — “Manchild” — WINNER
The Weeknd — “Hurry Up Tomorrow”