The 2025 MTV Video Music Awards (VMAs) are set to take place in September, with Lady Gaga, Kendrick Lamar, and Sabrina Carpenter leading the nominations this year.
Big names lead the VMAs 2025 nominations
According to Rolling Stone, Gaga tops the list with 12 nominations.
Her hit song with Bruno Mars, Die With a Smile, is up for several major categories, including Video of the Year, Song of the Year, and Best Collaboration.
Gaga is also in the running for Artist of the Year, and her album Mayhem is nominated for Album of the Year. The music video for her single Abracadabra has been nominated in multiple technical categories like Best Directing, Cinematography, and Choreography.
Kendrick Lamar follows closely with 10 nominations, mainly for his track Not Like Us, which won a Grammy.
He is also nominated for Artist of the Year and Best Collaboration with SZA on the song Luther. Sabrina Carpenter, who won her first VMA in 2024, has earned eight nominations this year, including Video of the Year for her song Manchild.
MTV VMAs 2025: Here are the nominees
Several artists are receiving their first-ever VMA nominations, including Rosé, Alex Warren, Lola Young, the Marias, Gigi Perez, and Damiano David.
The late Mac Miller has also received a posthumous nomination for Best Long Form Video for his project Baloonerism.
The 2025 VMAs have introduced two new categories this year: Best Country and Best Pop Artist.
Here is a full list of this year’s nominees:
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
- Ella Langley
- Gigi Perez
- Lola Young
- 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
- Aug. 2024 – Shaboozey – “A Bar Song (Tipsy)”
- Sept. 2024 – Ayra Starr – “Last Heartbreak Song”
- Oct 2024 – Mark Ambor – “Belong Together”
- Nov. 2024 – Lay Bankz – “Graveyard”
- Dec. 2024 – Dasha – “Bye Bye Bye”
- Jan. 2025 – KATSEYE – “Touch”
- Feb. 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 ft. 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 ft. Jelly Roll – “Somebody Save Me”
- GloRilla ft. Sexyy Red – “Watch Kno About Me”
- Kendrick Lamar – “Not Like Us”
- LL COOL J ft. 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?”
- Shakira – “Soltera“
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 ft. Asake – “Get It Right”
- 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’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 ft. 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”
How and when to watch the ceremony
The 2025 VMAs will be broadcast live on Saturday, 7 September 2025 at 20:00. EST (02:00 SAST on 8 September 2025). You can watch the show on CBS, MTV, and the streaming service Paramount+.
Fan voting is now open for all 19 categories and will close on 5 September 2025. However, fans can continue voting for Best New Artist during the live event.