2025 MTV Video Music Awards

2025 MTV Video Music Awards
Date	Sunday, September 7, 2025
Venue	UBS Arena, Elmont, New York
Country	United States
Hosted by	LL Cool J
Most nominations	Lady Gaga (12)
Website	mtv.com/vma
Television/radio coverage
Network	CBS Paramount+ MTV
Produced by	Bruce Gillmer Jesse Ignjatovic Barb Bialkowski Van Toffler [1]
←  2024  · MTV Video Music Awards

The 2025 MTV Video Music Awards will be held at the UBS Arena in Elmont, New York, on September 7, 2025. It will be broadcast for the first time on CBS and live streaming on the premium tier of Paramount+ with a simulcast on MTV. ^{[2] [3]} The show will be hosted by rapper and actor LL Cool J. ^[4] The pre-show will air on MTV and select sister cable networks. ^[5]

The ceremony will honor the best music videos and songs released between June 20, 2024, and June 18, 2025. ^[6] Two new categories, Best Country and Best Pop Artist, will be awarded through fan votes. ^[7] Lady Gaga led the nominations with twelve. Mariah Carey will be honored with the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award, Busta Rhymes with the Rock the Bells Visionary, and Ricky Martin with the Latin Icon.

Performances

Pre-Show

Katseye was announced as a performer for the pre-show on September 2, 2025. ^[8]

Artist(s)	Song(s)
Katseye	"Gabriela" "Gnarly"

Main Show

The first round of performers were announced on August 18, 2025. ^[9] Mariah Carey was announced on August 21. ^[10] The second round was announced on August 26. ^[11] Lady Gaga was announced on August 30. ^[12]

Artist(s)	Song(s)
Alex Warren	TBA
Busta Rhymes	TBA
Conan Gray	TBA
Doja Cat	TBA
J Balvin DJ Snake Justin Quiles Lenny Tavárez	TBA
Jelly Roll	TBA
Lady Gaga	TBA
Mariah Carey	TBA
Post Malone	TBA
Ricky Martin	TBA
Sabrina Carpenter	TBA
Sombr	TBA
Tate McRae	TBA

Extended Play stage

Extended Play stage performers were announced on September 2, 2025. ^[8]

Artist(s)	Song(s)
Bailey Zimmerman The Kid Laroi	TBA
Lola Young	"Messy"
Megan Moroney	"6 Months Later"

Presenters

Presenters were announced on September 2, 2025. ^[13]

• Ashlee Simpson Ross
• Brittany Snow
• Ciara
• Drew Barrymore
• Ice Spice
• Jessica Simpson
• Ejae, Audrey Nuna and Rei Ami
• Latto
• Livvy Dunne
• Malin Akerman
• Megan Stalter
• Nikki Glaser
• Paris Hilton

Nominees

The first round of nominees were announced on August 5, 2025, with two new award categories–Best Country and Best Pop Artist. ^[14] The second round of nominees were announced on August 29. ^[15] Lady Gaga led the nominations with twelve, followed by Bruno Mars with eleven and Kendrick Lamar with ten. ^[16]

Voted categories

The winners of the following categories are chosen by fan votes. ^[17] The first round of voting, known as the "General Voting Period", began on August 5 at 12:00 p.m. ET for the categories which nominees were announced on the same day, and will conclude on September 5 at 6 p.m. ET. ^[18] Voting for Best New Artist will continue until the end of the ceremony. ^[18]

Video of the Year (Presented by Burger King)	Artist of the Year
Ariana Grande – Brighter Days Ahead Billie Eilish – "Birds of a Feather" Kendrick Lamar – "Not Like Us" Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars – "Die with a Smile" Rosé and Bruno Mars – "Apt." Sabrina Carpenter – "Manchild" The Weeknd and Playboi Carti – "Timeless"	Bad Bunny Beyoncé Kendrick Lamar Lady Gaga Taylor Swift Morgan Wallen The Weeknd
Song of the Year	Best New Artist
Alex Warren – "Ordinary" Billie Eilish – "Birds of a Feather" Gracie Abrams – "I Love You, I'm Sorry" Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars – "Die with a Smile" Rosé and Bruno Mars – "Apt." Tate McRae – "Sports Car"	Alex Warren Ella Langley Gigi Perez Lola Young Sombr The Marías
Best Pop Artist	Push Performance of the Year (Presented by Bacardi)
Ariana Grande Charli XCX Justin Bieber Lorde Miley Cyrus Sabrina Carpenter Tate McRae	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" 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 Pop
Alex Warren – "Ordinary" Ariana Grande – Brighter Days Ahead Ed Sheeran – "Sapphire" Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars – "Die with a Smile" Rosé and Bruno Mars – "Apt." Sabrina Carpenter – "Manchild"
Best Album	Best Collaboration (Presented by Under Armour)
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	Bailey Zimmerman and Luke Combs – "Backup Plan" Kendrick Lamar and SZA – "Luther" Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars – "Die with a Smile" Post Malone featuring Blake Shelton – "Pour Me a Drink" Rosé and Bruno Mars – "Apt." Selena Gomez and Benny Blanco – "Sunset Blvd"
Best Hip Hop	Best R&B
Doechii – "Anxiety" Drake – "Nokia" 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"	Chris Brown – "Residuals" Leon Thomas and Freddie Gibbs – "Mutt (Remix)" Mariah Carey – "Type Dangerous" PartyNextDoor – "No Chill" SZA – "Drive" Summer Walker – "Heart of a Woman" The Weeknd and Playboi Carti – "Timeless"
Best Alternative	Best Rock
Gigi Perez – "Sailor Song" Imagine Dragons – "Wake Up" Lola Young – "Messy" MGK and Jelly Roll – "Lonely Road" Sombr – "Back to Friends" The Marías – "Back to Me"	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	Best K-Pop
Bad Bunny – "Baile Inolvidable" J Balvin – "Rio" Karol G – "Si Antes Te Hubiera Conocido" Peso Pluma and Netón Vega – "La Patrulla" Rauw Alejandro and Romeo Santos – "Khé?" Shakira – "Soltera"	Aespa – "Whiplash" Jennie – "Like Jennie" Jimin – "Who" Jisoo – "Earthquake" Lisa featuring Doja Cat and Raye – "Born Again" Rosé – "Toxic Till the End" Stray Kids – "Chk Chk Boom"
Best Afrobeats	Best Country
Asake and Travis Scott – "Active" Burna Boy and Travis Scott – "TaTaTa" Moliy, Silent Addy, Skillibeng, and Shenseea – "Shake It to the Max (Fly) (remix)" Rema – "Baby (Is It a Crime)" Tems and Asake – "Get It Right" Tyla – "Push 2 Start" Wizkid and Brent Faiyaz – "Piece of My Heart"	Chris Stapleton – "Think I'm in Love with You" Cody Johnson and Carrie Underwood – "I'm Gonna Love You" Jelly Roll – "Liar" Megan Moroney – "Am I Okay?" Morgan Wallen – "Smile" Lainey Wilson – "4x4xU"
Video for Good	Best Long Form Video
Burna Boy – "Higher" Charli XCX featuring Billie Eilish – "Guess" Doechii – "Anxiety" Eminem featuring Jelly Roll – "Somebody Save Me" Selena Gomez and Benny Blanco – "Younger and Hotter Than Me" Zach Hood featuring Sasha Alex Sloan – "Sleepwalking"	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 Group	Song of Summer
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	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"

Professional categories

The winners of the following categories were chosen by industry professionals. ^[17]

Best Direction	Best Art Direction
Ariana Grande – Brighter Days Ahead (Director: Christian Breslauer) Charli XCX featuring Billie Eilish – "Guess" (Director: Aidan Zamiri) Kendrick Lamar – "Not Like Us" (Directors: Dave Free and Kendrick Lamar) Lady Gaga – "Abracadabra" (Directors: Lady Gaga, Bethany Vargas and Parris Goebel) Rosé and Bruno Mars – "Apt." (Directors: Bruno Mars and Daniel Ramos) Sabrina Carpenter – "Manchild" (Directors: Vania Heymann and Gal Muggia)	Charli XCX featuring Billie Eilish – "Guess" (Art Director: Daniel Lane) Kendrick Lamar – "Not Like Us" (Art Director: Freyja Bardell) Lady Gaga – "Abracadabra" (Art Director: Wesley Goodrich) Lorde – "Man of the Year" (Art Directors: Chad Keith and Jenny Lass) Miley Cyrus – "End of the World" (Art Director: David Meyer) Rosé and Bruno Mars – "Apt." (Art Director: Elizabet Puksto)
Best Cinematography	Best Editing
Ariana Grande – Brighter Days Ahead (Director of Photography: Jeff Cronenweth) Ed Sheeran – "Sapphire" (Director of Photography: Nic Minns) Kendrick Lamar – "Not Like Us" (Director of Photography: Xiaolong Liu) Lady Gaga – "Abracadabra" (Director of Photography: Xiaolong Liu) Miley Cyrus – "Easy Lover" (Director of Photography: Benoît Debie) Sabrina Carpenter – "Manchild" (Director of Photography: Chris Ripley)	Charli XCX featuring Billie Eilish – "Guess" (Editor: Neal Farmer) Ed Sheeran – "Sapphire" (Editor: Liam Pethick) Kendrick Lamar – "Not Like Us" (Editors: Chaz Smedley and Eddy Street Post) Lady Gaga – "Abracadabra" (Editor: Sofia Kerpan) Sabrina Carpenter – "Manchild" (Editors: Vania Heymann, Gal Muggia and Nick Rondeau) Tate McRae – "Just Keep Watching" (Editors: William Town and Modern Post)
Best Choreography	Best Visual Effects
Doechii – "Anxiety" (Choreographer: Robbie Blue) FKA Twigs – "Eusexua" (Choreographer: Zoi Tatopoulos) Kendrick Lamar – "Not Like Us" (Choreographer: Charm La'Donna) Lady Gaga – "Abracadabra" (Choreographer: Parris Goebel) Tyla – "Push 2 Start" (Choreographer: Lee-ché Janecke) Zara Larsson – "Pretty Ugly" (Choreographer: Zoi Tatopoulos)	Ariana Grande – Brighter Days Ahead (Visual Effects: Mathematic) Lady Gaga – "Abracadabra" (Visual Effects: Yeap Crew, Yura Karikh and Igor Eyth) Rosé and Bruno Mars – "Apt." (Visual Effects: Maksymilian Rafal Ojster) Sabrina Carpenter – "Manchild" (Visual Effects: Vania Heymann and Tal Baltuch) Tate McRae – "Just Keep Watching" (Visual Effects: Daniel Saldivar and White Rhino VFX) The Weeknd – Hurry Up Tomorrow (Visual Effects: Zeke Faust)

Special awards

The recipients of the Rock the Bells Visionary and Latin Icon awards were announced on August 18, 2025. ^[19] The recipient of the Video Vanguard was announced on August 21. ^[10]

Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award
Mariah Carey
Rock the Bells Visionary Award	Latin Icon Award
Busta Rhymes	Ricky Martin

Artists with multiple nominations

Artists who received multiple nominations

Nominations	Artist
12	Lady Gaga
11	Bruno Mars
10	Kendrick Lamar
9	Sabrina Carpenter
8	Rosé
7	Ariana Grande
	The Weeknd
6	Billie Eilish
	Tate McRae
5	Charli XCX
4	Alex Warren
	Bad Bunny
	Doechii
	Ed Sheeran
	Jelly Roll
	Miley Cyrus
	Morgan Wallen
3	Eminem
	Gigi Perez
	Lorde
	Playboi Carti
	Sombr
	The Marías
	Travis Scott
2	Aespa
	Asake
	Bailey Zimmerman
	Benny Blanco
	Burna Boy
	Coldplay
	Damiano David
	Doja Cat
	Evanescence
	Imagine Dragons
	Justin Bieber
	Katseye
	Leon Thomas
	Lola Young
	Moliy
	Selena Gomez
	Shenseea
	Silent Addy
	Skillibeng
	Stray Kids
	SZA
	Twenty One Pilots
	Tyla

References

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4. Chuba, Kirsten (August 14, 2025). "LL Cool J Set to Host 2025 MTV VMAs". The Hollywood Reporter . Retrieved August 14, 2025.
5. Sims, Brittany (August 26, 2025). "Jelly Roll, Post Malone, Tate McRae, & More Added to VMAs 2025 Performer Lineup". TV Insider. Retrieved September 2, 2025.
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8. Grein, Paul (September 2, 2025). "Here Are the Performers and Presenters for the 2025 VMAs: Full List". Billboard. Retrieved September 3, 2025.
9. Harrison, Scoop (August 18, 2025). "Sabrina Carpenter to Perform at 2025 VMAs". Consequence . Retrieved August 18, 2025.
10. "Mariah Carey to perform, be honored at MTV Video Music Awards". United Press International. August 21, 2025. Retrieved August 21, 2025.
11. Aswad, Jem (August 26, 2025). "Doja Cat, Post Malone, Tate McRae, More to Perform at MTV VMAs". Variety . Retrieved August 26, 2025.
12. Luna, Itzel (August 30, 2025). "2025 mtv vmas guide". Associated Press . Retrieved August 30, 2025.
13. Lewis, Hilary (September 2, 2025). "VMAs Set Preshow Details and Presenters Including Jessica Simpson, 'Hunting Wives' and 'KPop Demon Hunters' Stars, Paris Hilton". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved September 3, 2025.
14. Willman, Chris (August 5, 2025). "Lady Gaga Leads MTV VMAs Nominations With 12, Followed by Bruno Mars and Kendrick Lamar". Variety . Retrieved August 5, 2025.
15. Grein, Paul (August 29, 2025). "Tate McRae, Sabrina Carpenter & More Nominated in Social Categories at 2025 VMAs: Full List". Billboard . Archived from the original on August 29, 2025. Retrieved August 29, 2025.
16. Pedersen, Erik (August 5, 2025). "MTV VMA Nominations: Lady Gaga, Bruno Mars & Kendrick Lamar Lead Field". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved August 5, 2025.
17. "Vote Now – Nominees for 2025 MTV Video Music Awards". vma.votenow.tv. Archived from the original on August 5, 2025. Retrieved August 5, 2025.
18. Grein, Paul (August 5, 2025). "Lady Gaga & Bruno Mars Are 1-2 in Nominations for 2025 MTV VMAs (Full List)". Billboard . Retrieved August 5, 2025.
19. Inman, DeMicia (August 18, 2025). "Busta Rhymes To Receive Inaugural MTV VMA Rock The Bells Visionary Award". Vibe . Retrieved August 18, 2025.