And then there were three. On Sunday (Sept. 7), just hours before the 2025 MTV VMAs goes live, MTV revealed the top three finalists for best new artist: Alex Warren, sombr and The Marías.
Ella Langley, Gigi Perez and Lola Young were the other three nominees who failed to advance to the final round of voting. All six artists are seen as strong candidates in the upcoming Grammy race for best new artist. (Grammy nominations will be announced on Nov. 7.)
With Warren, sombr and The Marías advancing, we already know that the winner will not be a female solo artist for the first time since 2017, when Khalid won. If The Marías win, they’ll be the first group to take the honor since 2016, when DNCE won.
The winners since 2017 have been Cardi B (2018), Billie Eilish (2019), Doja Cat (2020), Olivia Rodrigo (2021), Dove Cameron (2022), Ice Spice (2023) and Chappell Roan (2024).
Warren and sombr are both set to perform on this year’s VMAs. Warren has four total nominations — the others being song of the year, song of the summer and best pop, all for his megahit “Ordinary.”
Sombr has three nominations, the others being best alternative for “Back to Friends” and song of the summer for “12 to 12.”
The Marías also have three nominations, the others being best group and best alternative for “Back to Me.” The female-fronted indie pop band is the only group or duo to receive two or more nominations this year.
Voting will continue at vote.mtv.com and via WhatsApp into the live VMAs pre-show. The live VMAs pre-show, hosted by Nessa + Kevan Kenney with special performers KATSEYE, airs live at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT on MTV and BET, BET Her, Comedy Central, CMT, Logo, MTV2, Nickelodeon, Paramount Network, Pop, TV Land and VH1.
The 2025 MTV VMAs, hosted by LL COOL J, airs live coast-to-coast from New York’s UBS Arena tonight at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT on the CBS Television Network, simulcast on MTV and streaming on Paramount+ in the U.S.
The 2025 VMAs are produced by Gunpowder & Sky. Bruce Gillmer, Den of Thieves co-founder Jesse Ignjatovic, and Barb Bialkowski are executive producers. Alicia Portugal is co-executive producer. Jackie Barba is executive in charge of production. Wendy Plaut is executive in charge of celebrity talent. Lisa Lauricella is executive in charge of music talent.