Viewers might want their MTV, but musicians? They want their Moon Person — and the trophies are about to be handed out. The 2025 MTV Video Music Awards is set to take place Sunday (Sept. 7), and will air live via MTV and CBS, and streaming on Paramount+, from New York’s UBS Arena beginning at 8 p.m. ET.
Going into the night, Lady Gaga — who already has 18 VMAs wins over the course of her career — leads in nominations with an impressive 12 nods (including video of the year, artist of the year and best album). Right on her heels are her “Die With a Smile” collaborator Bruno Mars with 11, Kendrick Lamar with 10, Sabrina Carpenter and BLACKPINK’s ROSÉ tied at eight, and Ariana Grande and The Weeknd neck-and-neck with seven.
In addition to ROSÉ, two other BLACKPINK members are also nominated for their first solo Moon Persons: JISOO and JENNIE. Others to receive nods for the first time include BTS’ Jimin, Maneskin’s Damiano David, KATSEYE and PARTYNEXTDOOR. And because MTV finally added a country category for the 2025 awards, several of the genre’s artists also received nominations for the first time, including Blake Shelton and Lainey Wilson.
Hours before the show, MTV announced the three musicians who would be in contention for the best new artist award: Alex Warren, sombr and The Marías. Voting continues on MTV’s website and via WhatsApp until 7 p.m. ET.
Also set to be honored is Mariah Carey, with the iconic singer announced as this year’s recipient of the Video Vanguard Award. The celebrated musician will also be performing a medley of her career-spanning hits.
So who’ll go home with a Moon Person or several? Keep checking back as we update this list of winners as the victors are announced on the live show!
Video of the year
Ariana Grande – “Brighter 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 – “Timeless”
Artist of the year
Bad Bunny
Beyoncé
Kendrick Lamar
Lady Gaga
Morgan Wallen
Taylor Swift
The Weeknd
Song of the year
Alex Warren – “Ordinary”
Billie Eilish – “Birds of a Feather”
Doechii – “Anxiety”
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 – “Timeless”
Best new artist
Alex Warren
sombr
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 (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 collaboration
Bailey Zimmerman with Luke Combs – “Backup Plan (Stagecoach Official Music Video)”
Kendrick Lamar & SZA – “Luther”
Lady Gaga & Bruno Mars – “Die With a Smile”
Post Malone feat. Blake Shelton – “Pour Me A Drink”
ROSÉ & Bruno Mars – “APT.”
Selena Gomez, benny blanco – “Sunset Blvd”
Best pop
Alex Warren – “Ordinary”
Ariana Grande – “Brighter Days Ahead”
Ed Sheeran – “Sapphire”
Lady Gaga & Bruno Mars – “Die With a Smile”
ROSÉ & Bruno Mars – “APT.”
Sabrina Carpenter – “Manchild”
Best hip-hop
Doechii – “Anxiety”
Drake – “NOKIA”
Eminem feat. Jelly Roll – “Somebody Save Me”
GloRilla ft. Sexyy Red – “Whatchu Kno About Me”
Kendrick Lamar – “Not Like Us”
LL Cool J feat. Eminem – “Murdergram Deux”
Travis Scott – “4X4”
Best R&B
Chris Brown – “Residuals”
Leon Thomas & Freddie Gibbs – “MUTT (REMIX)”
Mariah Carey – “Type Dangerous”
PARTYNEXTDOOR – “N o C h i l l”
Summer Walker – “Heart of a Woman”
SZA – “Drive”
The Weeknd, Playboi Carti – “Timeless”
Best alternative
Gigi Perez – “Sailor Song”
Imagine Dragons – “Wake Up”
Lola Young – “Messy”
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 – “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 – “LA PATRULLA”
Rauw Alejandro & Romeo Santos – “Khé?”
Best K-pop
aespa – “Whiplash”
JENNIE – “like JENNIE”
Jimin – “Who”
JISOO – “earthquake”
LISA ft. Doja Cat & RAYE – “Born Again”
Stray Kids – “Chk Chk Boom”
ROSÉ – “toxic till the end”
Best Afrobeats
Asake & Travis Scott – “Active”
Burna Boy ft. Travis Scott – “TaTaTa”
MOLIY, Silent Addy, Skillibeng & Shenseea – “Shake It To The Max (FLY) (Remix)”
Rema – “Baby (Is It a Crime)”
Tems feat. Asake – “Get It Right”
Tyla – “Push 2 Start”
Wizkid feat. Brent Faiyaz – “Piece of My Heart”
Best country
Chris Stapleton – “Think I’m In Love With You”
Cody Johnson with Carrie Underwood – “I’m Gonna Love You”
Jelly Roll – “Liar”
Lainey Wilson – “4x4xU”
Megan Moroney – “Am I Okay?”
Morgan Wallen – “Smile”
Best album
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
Best long-form video
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”
Charli xcx – “Guess featuring Billie Eilish”
Doechii – “Anxiety”
Eminem feat. Jelly Roll – “Somebody Save Me”
Selena Gomez, benny blanco – “Younger And Hotter Than Me”
Zach Hood ft. Sasha Alex Sloan – “Sleepwalking”
Best direction
Ariana Grande – “Brighter Days Ahead”
Charli xcx – “Guess featuring Billie Eilish”
Kendrick Lamar – “Not Like Us”
Lady Gaga – “Abracadabra”
ROSÉ & Bruno Mars – “APT.”
Sabrina Carpenter – “Manchild”
Best art direction
Charli xcx – “Guess featuring Billie Eilish”
Kendrick Lamar – “Not Like Us
Lady Gaga – “Abracadabra”
Lorde – “Man of the Year”
Miley Cyrus – “End of the World”
ROSÉ & Bruno Mars – “APT.”
Best cinematography
Ariana Grande – “Brighter Days Ahead”
Ed Sheeran – “Sapphire”
Kendrick Lamar – “Not Like Us”
Lady Gaga – “Abracadabra”
Miley Cyrus – “Easy Lover”
Sabrina Carpenter – “Manchild”
Best editing
Charli xcx – “Guess featuring Billie Eilish”
Ed Sheeran – “Sapphire”
Kendrick Lamar – “Not Like Us”
Lady Gaga – “Abracadabra”
Sabrina Carpenter – “Manchild”
Tate McRae – “Just Keep Watching “(From F1 The Movie)
Best choreography
Doechii – “Anxiety”
FKA twigs – “Eusexua”
Kendrick Lamar – “Not Like Us”
Lady Gaga – “Abracadabra”
Tyla – “Push 2 Start”
Zara Larsson – “Pretty Ugly
Best visual effects
Ariana Grande – “Brighter Days Ahead”
Lady Gaga – “Abracadabra”
ROSÉ & Bruno Mars – “APT.”
Sabrina Carpenter – “Manchild”
Tate McRae – “Just Keep Watching “(From F1 The Movie)
The Weeknd – “Hurry Up Tomorrow”