The 2025 MTV Video Music Awards on Sept. 7 at New York’s UBS Arena crowned Ariana Grande’s “brighter days ahead” as Video of the Year while Lady Gaga emerged as the night’s top nominee-turned-winner, taking Artist of the Year and multiple technical awards.
Hosted by LL Cool J and televised live on CBS and MTV with streaming on Paramount+, the ceremony mixed mainstream pop successes with genre-spanning surprises and special honors. Lady Gaga, who entered the evening with 12 nominations, accepted Artist of the Year early in the broadcast before leaving to perform at her “Mayhem Ball” concert at Madison Square Garden; she also won Best Collaboration for “Die With A Smile” with Bruno Mars and earned Best Direction and Best Art Direction for her “Abracadabra” video.
Ariana Grande collected three trophies, taking Video of the Year along with Best Pop and Best Long Form Video, the latter for her extended visual project “brighter days ahead.” Sabrina Carpenter won Best Album for "Short n’ Sweet" and was named the first winner of the newly introduced Best Pop Artist category; Carpenter’s “Manchild” also claimed Best Visual Effects. ROSÉ and Bruno Mars picked up Song of the Year for “APT.”
The show introduced two new categories this year, with Best Country awarded to Megan Moroney for “Am I Okay?” and Best Pop Artist won by Carpenter. Other major winners included Doechii for Best Hip-Hop with “Anxiety,” Coldplay for Best Rock with “ALL MY LOVE,” and Tyla for Best Afrobeats with “PUSH 2 START.” Shakira took Best Latin for “Soltera,” and Blackpink was named Best Group.
The ceremony also featured career honors. Mariah Carey received the coveted Video Vanguard Award, marking her first VMA despite a decades-long mainstream career. Rapper Busta Rhymes was presented with the inaugural VMA Rock the Bells Visionary Award, and Ricky Martin was given the first-ever Latin Icon Award. A tribute to the late Ozzy Osbourne featured YUNGBLUD with Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler and Joe Perry.
Technical and craft awards reflected a wide field of nominees and winners across visual and production categories. Kendrick Lamar won Best Cinematography for “Not Like Us,” Tate McRae took Best Editing for “Just Keep Watching (From F1® The Movie),” and Doechii won Best Choreography. Lady Gaga’s “Abracadabra” performed strongly in direction and art direction categories, while Charli XCX’s “Guess” featuring Billie Eilish claimed Video for Good.
Performances and onstage moments punctuated the awards. Presenters and performers represented a cross-section of current pop, hip-hop, rock and international music acts, underscoring MTV’s emphasis on global mainstream and streaming-era artists. The broadcast included acceptance speeches addressing creativity, collaboration and the changing landscape of music video production.
Winners reflected both established superstars and newer breakout acts: Alex Warren was named Best New Artist, Doechii cemented a breakthrough year with a genre-defining win in hip-hop, and Tate McRae won Song of the Summer for “Just Keep Watching.” The show’s winners list spanned the full slate of categories from Best K-Pop — won by LISA featuring Doja Cat and RAYE for “Born Again” — to Best Alternative, which went to sombr for “back to friends.”
The 2025 VMAs underscored MTV’s continued effort to balance legacy recognition with emerging global trends in music, adding genre-specific and artist-focused categories that expanded the night’s scope. A complete list of nominees and winners was published following the broadcast, reflecting a ceremony that combined awards, tributes and live performance across a roughly three-hour program.
Broadcast and streaming partners reported standard viewership metrics and social engagement during and after the show, while artists and fans shared highlights across social platforms. The VMAs will return next year with the network expected to continue integrating new categories and special honors to reflect shifting industry dynamics and fan interests.