MTV Video Music Award for Song of the Year

MTV Video Music Award for Song of the Year
Country	United States
Presented by	MTV
First award	2018
Currently held by	Rosé and Bruno Mars – "Apt." (2025)
Website	VMA website

The MTV Video Music Award for Song of the Year is one of the biggest awards given at the annual MTV Video Music Awards. It was first introduced at the 2018 MTV Video Music Awards.

Post Malone and 21 Savage were the first recipients of the award in 2018. Bruno Mars has the most nominations in the category with four.

Recipients

† Marks Winners of the MTV Video Music Award for Video of the Year

*Marks Nominees of the MTV Video Music Award for Video of the Year

2010s

Recipients

Year [a]	Winner(s)	Video	Nominees	Ref.
2018	Post Malone (featuring 21 Savage)	"Rockstar"	Camila Cabello (featuring Young Thug) – "Havana"† Drake – "God's Plan"* Dua Lipa – "New Rules" Bruno Mars (featuring Cardi B) – "Finesse (Remix)"* Ed Sheeran – "Perfect"	[1]
2019	Lil Nas X (featuring Billy Ray Cyrus)*	"Old Town Road (Remix)"*	Drake – "In My Feelings" Ariana Grande — "Thank U, Next"* Jonas Brothers — "Sucker"* Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper – "Shallow" Taylor Swift — "You Need to Calm Down"†	[2]

2020s

Recipients

Year [b]	Winner(s)	Video	Nominees	Ref.
2020	Lady Gaga with Ariana Grande*	"Rain on Me"*	Doja Cat – "Say So" Billie Eilish – "Everything I Wanted"* Megan Thee Stallion – "Savage" Post Malone – "Circles" Roddy Ricch – "The Box"	[3]
2021	Olivia Rodrigo	"Drivers License"	24kGoldn (featuring Iann Dior) – "Mood" BTS – "Dynamite" Cardi B (featuring Megan Thee Stallion) – "WAP"* Dua Lipa – "Levitating" Bruno Mars, Anderson .Paak, and Silk Sonic – "Leave the Door Open"	[4]
2022	Billie Eilish	"Happier Than Ever"	Adele – "Easy on Me" Doja Cat – "Woman"* Elton John and Dua Lipa – "Cold Heart (Pnau remix)" The Kid Laroi and Justin Bieber – "Stay" Lizzo – "About Damn Time"	[5]
2023	Taylor Swift	"Anti-Hero"†	Miley Cyrus – "Flowers"* Steve Lacy – "Bad Habit" Rema and Selena Gomez – "Calm Down" Olivia Rodrigo – "Vampire"* Sam Smith and Kim Petras – "Unholy"* SZA – "Kill Bill"*	[6]
2024	Sabrina Carpenter	"Espresso"	Beyoncé – "Texas Hold 'Em" Jack Harlow – "Lovin on Me" Kendrick Lamar – "Not Like Us" Taylor Swift (featuring Post Malone) – "Fortnight"† Teddy Swims – "Lose Control"	[7]
2025	Rosé and Bruno Mars	"Apt."*	Alex Warren – "Ordinary" Billie Eilish – "Birds of a Feather"* Doechii – "Anxiety" Ed Sheeran – "Sapphire" Gracie Abrams – "I Love You, I’m Sorry" Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars – "Die with a Smile"* Lorde – "What Was That" Tate McRae – "Sports Car" The Weeknd and Playboi Carti – "Timeless"*	[8]

Artists with multiple nominations

4 nominations

• Bruno Mars

3 nominations

• Dua Lipa
• Post Malone
• Taylor Swift
• Billie Eilish
• Lady Gaga

2 nominations

• Ariana Grande
• Cardi B
• Doja Cat
• Drake
• Megan Thee Stallion
• Olivia Rodrigo

Notes

1. Each year is linked to the article about the MTV Video Music Awards held that year.
2. Each year is linked to the article about the MTV Video Music Awards held that year.

References

1. "VMAs: Camila Cabello Wins Video of the Year for "Havana"; Complete List of Winners". The Hollywood Reporter. August 20, 2018. Retrieved August 21, 2018.
2. Warner, Denise (August 26, 2019). "Here Are All the Winners from the 2019 MTV VMAs". Billboard. Retrieved August 30, 2019.
3. Hosken, Patrick (August 30, 2020). "2020 MTV VMA WINNERS: SEE THE FULL LIST". Billboard. Archived from the original on August 31, 2020. Retrieved August 30, 2020.
4. Hailu, Selome (September 12, 2021). "2021 MTV Video Music Awards: The Complete Winners List (Updating Live)". Variety . Archived from the original on September 13, 2021. Retrieved September 12, 2021.
5. Grein, Paul (July 26, 2022). "Lil Nas X, Jack Harlow & Kendrick Lamar Lead 2022 MTV VMA Nominations: Full List". Billboard. Retrieved July 26, 2022.
6. Grein, Paul (August 8, 2023). "Taylor Swift is Top Nominee for 2023 MTV Video Music Awards (Complete List)". Billboard. Retrieved August 8, 2023.
7. Atkinson, Kaite (September 11, 2024). "Here's the Full List of 2024 MTV VMAs Winners". Billboard . Retrieved September 12, 2024.
8. 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.