Major Winners at the 2025 MTV Video Music Awards
The 2025 MTV Video Music Awards delivered a night filled with unforgettable performances, bold fashion choices, and surprising moments. LL Cool J returned as host for the event held at the UBS Arena in Elmont, N.Y., and broadcasted live on CBS, MTV, and Paramount+. The ceremony featured standout performances from artists such as Doja Cat, Lola Young, Tate McRae, Sabrina Carpenter, Post Malone alongside Jelly Roll, and Lady Gaga. Additionally, a powerful tribute to the late Ozzy Osbourne was performed by Steven Tyler, Joe Perry, Yungblud, and Nuno Bettencourt.
Lady Gaga had an impressive evening, winning four Moon Person trophies, including Artist of the Year. Her collaboration with Bruno Mars, “Die With a Smile,” took home the Best Collaboration award. Mars also won Song of the Year for his hit “Apt.” with Blackpink’s Rosé. Other notable winners included Alex Warren, who claimed Best New Artist for his chart-topping single “Ordinary,” and Tate McRae, who received Song of Summer for “Just Keep Watching.” Ariana Grande won Video of the Year for “Brighter Days Ahead.”
Honoring Icons and Emerging Talent
Ricky Martin was honored with the first-ever Latin Icon Award, accepted by Jessica Simpson after performing his iconic 1999 hit “Livin’ la Vida Loca.” Busta Rhymes also took the stage for a medley before receiving the Rock the Bells Visionary Award. Mariah Carey made history by winning the Video Vanguard Award, marking her first VMA win. She delivered an electrifying performance featuring hits like “Fantasy,” “Honey,” and “We Belong Together.”
Comprehensive List of Winners
Video of the Year
– Winner: 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”
Artist of the Year
– Bad Bunny
– Beyoncé
– Kendrick Lamar
– Winner: Lady Gaga
– Morgan Wallen
– Taylor Swift
– The Weeknd
Song of the Year
– Billie Eilish – “Birds of a Feather”
– Alex Warren – “Ordinary”
– Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars – “Die With a Smile”
– Winner: Rosé and Bruno Mars – “Apt.”
– Gracie Abrams – “I Love You, I’m Sorry”
– Tate McRae – “Sports Car”
Best New Artist
– Winner: Alex Warren
– Ella Langley
– Gigi Perez
– Lola Young
– Sombr
– The Marías
Best Pop Artist
– Ariana Grande
– Charli XCX
– Justin Bieber
– Lorde
– Miley Cyrus
– Winner: Sabrina Carpenter
– Tate McRae
Song of Summer
– Addison Rae – “Headphones On”
– Alex Warren – “Ordinary”
– Benson Boone – “Mystical Magical”
– BigXthaPlug ft. 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 ft. Tate McRae – “What I Want”
– Ravyn Lenae ft. Rex Orange County – “Love Me Not”
– Sabrina Carpenter – “Manchild”
– Sombr – “12 to 12”
– Winner: Tate McRae – “Just Keep Watching”
Additional Categories
MTV Best Push Performance of the Year
– Winner: January 2025: Katseye – “Touch”
Best Collaboration
– Bailey Zimmerman and Luke Combs – “Backup Plan”
– Kendrick Lamar and SZA – “Luther”
– Winner: Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars – “Die With a Smile”
– Post Malone ft. Blake Shelton – “Pour Me a Drink”
– Rosé and Bruno Mars – “Apt.”
– Selena Gomez and Benny Blanco – “Sunset Blvd”
Best Pop
– Alex Warren – “Ordinary”
– Winner: 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 Hip-Hop
– Winner: Doechii – “Anxiety”
– Drake – “Nokia”
– Eminem ft. Jelly Roll – “Somebody Save 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 – “Residuals”
– Leon Thomas and Freddie Gibbs – “Mutt (Remix)”
– Winner: Mariah Carey – “Type Dangerous”
– PartyNextDoor – “No Chill”
– SZA – “Drive”
– Summer Walker – “Heart of a Woman”
– The Weeknd and Playboi Carti – “Timeless”
Best Alternative
– Gigi Perez – “Sailor Song”
– Imagine Dragons – “Wake Up”
– Lola Young – “Messy”
– MGK and Jelly Roll – “Lonely Road”
– Winner: Sombr – “Back to Friends”
– The Marías – “Back to Me”
Best Rock
– Winner: Coldplay – “All My Love”
– Evanescence – “Afterlife”
– 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 and Netón Vega – “La Patrulla”
– Rauw Alejandro and Romeo Santos – “Khé?”
– Winner: Shakira – “Soltera”
Best Afrobeats
– 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 ft. Asake – “Get It Right”
– Winner: Tyla – “Push 2 Start”
– Wizkid ft. Brent Faiyaz – “Piece of My Heart”
Best K-pop
– Aespa – “Whiplash”
– Jennie – “Like Jennie”
– Jimin – “Who”
– Jisoo – “Earthquake”
– Winner: Lisa ft. Doja Cat and Raye – “Born Again”
– Rosé – “Toxic Till the End”
– Stray Kids – “Chk Chk Boom”
Best Country
– Chris Stapleton – “Think I’m in Love with You”
– Cody Johnson and Carrie Underwood – “I’m Gonna Love You”
– Jelly Roll – “Liar”
– Winner: Megan Moroney – “Am I Okay?”
– Morgan Wallen – “Smile”
– Lainey Wilson – “4x4xU”
Best Album
– Bad Bunny – Debí Tirar Más Fotos
– Kendrick Lamar – GNX
– Lady Gaga – Mayhem
– Morgan Wallen – I’m the Problem
– Winner: Sabrina Carpenter – Short n’ Sweet
– The Weeknd – Hurry Up Tomorrow
Best Longform Video
– Winner: 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
Video for Good
– Burna Boy – “Higher”
– Winner: Charli XCX ft. Billie Eilish – “Guess”
– Doechii – “Anxiety”
– Eminem ft. Jelly Roll – “Somebody Save Me”
– Selena Gomez and Benny Blanco – “Younger and Hotter Than Me”
– Zach Hood ft. Sasha Alex Sloan – “Sleepwalking”
Best Group
– Aespa
– All Time Low
– Backstreet Boys
– Winner: Blackpink
– Coldplay
– Evanescence
– Fuerza Regida
– Grupo Frontera
– Imagine Dragons
– Jonas Brothers
– Katseye
– My Chemical Romance
– Seventeen
– Stray Kids
– The Marías
– Twenty One Pilots
Best Direction
– Ariana Grande – Brighter Days Ahead – Directed by Christian Breslauer
– Charli XCX featuring Billie Eilish – “Guess” – Directed by Aidan Zamiri
– Kendrick Lamar – “Not Like Us” – Directed by Dave Free and Kendrick Lamar
– Winner: Lady Gaga – “Abracadabra” – Directed by Lady Gaga, Bethany Vargas, and Parris Goebel
– Rosé and Bruno Mars – “Apt.” – Directed by Bruno Mars and Daniel Ramos
– Sabrina Carpenter – “Manchild” – Directed by Vania Heymann and Gal Muggia
Best Art Direction
– Charli XCX featuring Billie Eilish – “Guess” – Art Direction by Daniel Lane
– Kendrick Lamar – “Not Like Us” – Art Direction by Freyja Bardell
– Winner: Lady Gaga – “Abracadabra” – Art Direction by Wesley Goodrich
– Lorde – “Man of the Year” – Art Direction by Chad Keith and Jenny Lass
– Miley Cyrus – “End of the World” – Art Direction by David Meyer
– Rosé and Bruno Mars – “Apt.” – Art Direction by Elizabet Puksto
Best Cinematography
– Ariana Grande – Brighter Days Ahead – Cinematography by Jeff Cronenweth
– Ed Sheeran – “Sapphire” – Cinematography by Nic Minns
– Winner: Kendrick Lamar – “Not Like Us” – Cinematography by Xiaolong Liu
– Lady Gaga – “Abracadabra” – Cinematography by Xiaolong Liu
– Miley Cyrus – “Easy Lover” – Cinematography by Benoît Debie
– Sabrina Carpenter – “Manchild” – Cinematography by Chris Ripley
Best Choreography
– Winner: Doechii – “Anxiety” – Choreographed by Robbie Blue
– FKA Twigs – “Eusexua” – Choreographed by Zoi Tatopoulos
– Kendrick Lamar – “Not Like Us” – Choreographed by Charm La’Donna
– Lady Gaga – “Abracadabra” – Choreographed by Parris Goebel
– Tyla – “Push 2 Start” – Choreographed by Lee-ché Janecke
– Zara Larsson – “Pretty Ugly” – Choreographed by Zoi Tatopoulos
Best Visual Effects
– Ariana Grande – Brighter Days Ahead – Visual Effects by Mathematic
– Lady Gaga – “Abracadabra” – Visual Effects by Yeap Crew, Yura Karikh, and Igor Eyth
– Rosé and Bruno Mars – “Apt.” – Visual Effects by Maksymilian Rafal Ojster
– Winner: Sabrina Carpenter – “Manchild” – Visual Effects by Vania Heymann and Tal Baltuch
– Tate McRae – “Just Keep Watching” – Visual Effects by Daniel Saldivar and White Rhino VFX
– The Weeknd – Hurry Up Tomorrow – Visual Effects by Zeke Faust
Best Editing
– Charli XCX – Guess Featuring Billie Eilish
– Ed Sheeran – Sapphire
– Kendrick Lamar – Not Like Us
– Lady Gaga – Abracadabra
– Sabrina Carpenter – Manchild
– Winner: Tate McRae – Just Keep Watching (From F1® the Movie)
Video Vanguard Award
– Winner: Mariah Carey
MTV VMA Rock the Bells Visionary Award
– Winner: Busta Rhymes
Latin Icon Award
– Winner: Ricky Martin
