Introduction to the 2025 Video Music Awards
The 2025 Video Music Awards are just around the corner, and the excitement is building up. This year, Lady Gaga is leading the pack with an impressive 12 nominations, including Video of the Year, Artist of the Year, and Album of the Year for her hit album "Chaos". Bruno Mars follows closely with 11 nominations, all of which are for his collaborations with Lady Gaga and K-pop artist Rosé. Kendrick Lamar is also a strong contender with 10 nominations, seven of which are for his video "Not Like Us".
Nominees for the 2025 VMAs
The nominees for the 2025 VMAs include a diverse range of artists and videos. Some of the notable nominees include:
- Ariana Grande for "Lighter Days Ahead"
- Billie Eilish for "Birds of a Feather"
- Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars for "Die with a Smile"
- Kendrick Lamar for "Not Like Us"
- Rosé and Bruno Mars for "Apt"
- Sabrina Carpenter for "Manchild"
- The Weeknd and Playboi Carti for "Zeitlos"
New Categories at the 2025 VMAs
This year, the VMAs have introduced two new categories: Best Pop Artist and Best Country Video. The nominees for Best Pop Artist include Alex Warren, Ariana Grande, Charli XCX, Justin Bieber, Lorde, Miley Cyrus, Sabrina Carpenter, and Tate McRae. For Best Country Video, the nominees are Blake Shelton, Chris Stapleton, Cody Johnson with Carrie Underwood, Jelly Roll, Lainey Wilson, Megan Moroney, and Morgan Wallen.
The 2025 VMA Ceremony
The 2025 VMAs will take place on September 7th at the UBS Arena in Elmont, New York. For the first time, the awards will be broadcast on CBS and MTV, in addition to being streamed live on Paramount+. The show will be produced by former MTV boss Van Toffler and his company Gunpowder & Sky.
Full List of Nominees
The full list of nominees for the 2025 VMAs includes:
Video of the Year
- Ariana Grande – "Lighter 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, Playboi Carti – "Zeitlos"
Artist of the Year
- Bad Bunny
- Beyoncé
- Kendrick Lamar
- Lady Gaga
- Morgan Wallen
- Taylor Swift
- The Weeknd
Song of the Year
- Alex Warren – "Common"
- Billie Eilish – "Birds of a Feather"
- Doechii – "Fear"
- 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"
- Tate McRae – "Sports Car"
- The Weeknd, Playboi Carti – "Zeitlos"
Best New Artist
- Alex Warren
- She Langley
- Perez Teeth
- Lola Young
- Umbrer
- The Marías
Best Pop Artist
- Ariana Grande
- Charli XCX
- Justin Bieber
- Lorde
- Miley Cyrus
- Sabrina Carpenter
- Tate McRae
MTV Push Performance of the Year
- August 2024: ShabooZey – "A Bar-Song (Spielly)"
- September 2024: Ayra Starr – "Last Heartbreak Song"
- October 2024: Mark Ambor – "Hung Together"
- November 2024: Lay Bankz – "Friedhof"
- December 2024: Dasha – "Bye Bye Bye"
- January 2025: Katseye – "Touch"
- February 2025: Jordan Adatetunji – "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"
Best Collaboration
- Bailey Zimmerman with Luke Combs – "Backup Plan (Official Music Video by StagoCoach)"
- Kendrick Lamar & Sza – "Luther"
- Lady Gaga & Bruno Mars – "Die with a Smile"
- Post Malone ft. Blake Shelton – "Pour a Drink to Me"
- Rosé & Bruno Mars – "Apt"
- Selena Gomez, Benny Blanco – "Sunset BLVD"
Best Pop
- Alex Warren – "Common"
- Ariana Grande – "Lighter Days Ahead"
- Ed Sheeran – "Sapphire"
- Lady Gaga & Bruno Mars – "Die with a Smile"
- Rosé & Bruno Mars – "Apt"
- Sabrina Carpenter – "Manchild"
Best Hip-Hop
- Doechii – "Fear"
- Drake – "Nokia"
- Eminem Ft. Jelly Roll – "Someone Saves Me"
- Glorilla ft. Sexyy Red – "Whatchu Kno about Me"
- Kendrick Lamar – "Not Like Us"
- Ll Cool J ft. Eminem – "Murdergram Deux"
- Travis Scott – "4×4"
Best R&B
- Chris Brown – "Residuen"
- Leon Thomas & Freddie Gibbs – "Mutt (Remix)"
- Mariah Carey – "Type Dangerous"
- PartyNextdoor – "No Chill"
- Summer Walker – "Heart of a Woman"
- Sa – "Drive"
- The Weeknd, Playboi Carti – "Zeitlos"
Best Alternative
- Gigi Perez – "Sailor Song"
- Imagine Dragons – "Awake On"
- Lola Young – "Chaotic"
- MGK & Jelly Roll – "Lonely Road"
- 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 – "An Eyed Bastard"
- Lenny Kravitz – "Schatz"
- Linkin Park – "The Empty Machine"
- Twenty-One Pilots – "The Contract"
Best Latin
- Bad Bunny – "Baile Inolvidable"
- J Ballin – "Ro"
- Karol G – "If I Knew You Before"
- Springweight – "La Patrol"
- Rauw Alejandro & Romeo Santos – "Khé?"
- Shakira – "Single"
Best K-Pop
- AESPA – "Whipped Rooms"
- Jennie – "Like Jennie"
- Jimin – "Who"
- Jisoo – "Earthquake"
- Lisa Ft. Doja Cat & Raye – "Born Again"
- Stray Children – "Chk Chk Boom"
- Rosé – "Toxic to the End"
Best Afrobeats
- Asake & Travis Scott – "Active"
- Burna Boy Ft. Travis Scott – "That"
- Moliy, Silent Addy, Skilibeng & Shengea – "Shake it to the Max (Fly) (Remix)"
- Rema – "Baby (Is It a Crime)"
- Tems ft. Brent Faiyaz – "Piece of My Heart"
- Tyla – "Push 2 Start"
- Wizkid ft. Brent Faiyaz – "Piece of My Heart"
Best Country
- Chris Stapleton – "Think I’m in Love with You"
- Cody Johnson with Carrie Underwood – "I’ll Love You"
- Jelly Roll – "Liar"
- Lainey Wilson – "4x4xu"
- Megan Moroney – "Are I Okay?"
- Morgan Wallen – "Smile"
Best Album
- Bad Bunny – "I Had to Take More Photos"
- Kendrick Lamar – "Gnx"
- Lady Gaga – "Chaos"
- Morgan Wallen – "I Am the Problem"
- Sabrina Carpenter – "Short n’ Cute"
- The Weeknd – "Seil You Tomorrow"
Best Long-Form Video
- Ariana Grande – "Lighter Days Ahead"
- Bad Bunny – "I Had to Throw More Photos (Short Film)"
- Damiano David – "Funny Little Stories"
- Mac Miller – "Ballonerism"
- Miley Cyrus – "Something Nice"
- The Weeknd – "Hurry Up Tomorrow"
Video for Good
- Burna Boy – "Higher"
- Charli XCX – "Assumption with Billie Eilish"
- Doechii – "Fear"
- Eminem Ft. Jelly Roll – "Someone Saves Me"
- Selena Gomez, Benny Blanco – "Younger and Hotter Than Me"
- Zach Hood Ft. Sasha Alex Sloan – "Sleeping Change"
Best Direction
- Ariana Grande – "Lighter Days Ahead"
- Charli XCX – "Assumption with Billie Eilish"
- Kendrick Lamar – "Not Like Us"
- Lady Gaga – "Abracadabra"
- Rosé & Bruno Mars – "Apt"
- Sabrina Carpenter – "Manchild"
Best Art Direction
- Charli XCX –
