The 2025 MTV Video Music Awards (VMAs) will air live from New York’s UBS Arena on September 7, 2025, at 8 PM ET / 5 PM PT, broadcast on CBS, simulcast on MTV, and streamed on Paramount+ in the U.S. Fan voting for 19 gender-neutral categories is open at vote.mtv.com until September 5, 2025, at 6 PM ET, with Best New Artist voting extending into the show. Bonus votes are available via Instagram comments on @VMAs’ pinned posts until August 8 and daily Power Hour voting (1–2 PM ET) until September 4, powered by BACARDÍ® Rum.
Top Nominees
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Lady Gaga: 12 nominations, including Video of the Year, Artist of the Year, and Best Album for Mayhem.
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Bruno Mars: 11 nominations, primarily for “Die With A Smile” with Lady Gaga and “APT.” with ROSÉ.
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Kendrick Lamar: 10 nominations, with seven for “Not Like Us.”
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ROSÉ, Sabrina Carpenter: 8 nominations each.
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Ariana Grande, The Weeknd: 7 nominations each.
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Billie Eilish: 6 nominations.
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Charli xcx, Bad Bunny, Doechii, Ed Sheeran, Jelly Roll, Miley Cyrus, Tate McRae: 4 nominations each.
Key Categories and Nominees
Video of the Year (presented by Burger King®)
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Ariana Grande – “brighter days ahead”
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Billie Eilish – “BIRDS OF A FEATHER”
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Kendrick Lamar – “Not Like Us”
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Lady Gaga & Bruno Mars – “Die With A Smile”
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ROSÉ & Bruno Mars – “APT.”
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Sabrina Carpenter – “Manchild”
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The Weeknd & Playboi Carti – “Timeless”
Artist of the Year
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Bad Bunny
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Beyoncé
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Kendrick Lamar
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Lady Gaga
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Morgan Wallen
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Taylor Swift
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The Weeknd
Best New Artist
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Alex Warren
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Ella Langley
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Gigi Perez
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Lola Young
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sombr
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The Marías
Best Collaboration (presented by Under Armour)
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Bailey Zimmerman with Luke Combs – “Backup Plan (Stagecoach Official Music Video)”
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Kendrick Lamar & SZA – “luther”
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Lady Gaga & Bruno Mars – “Die With A Smile”
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Post Malone ft. Blake Shelton – “Pour Me A Drink”
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ROSÉ & Bruno Mars – “APT.”
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Selena Gomez & benny blanco – “Sunset Blvd”
Best Afrobeats
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Asake & Travis Scott – “Active”
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Burna Boy ft. Travis Scott – “TaTaTa”
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Rema – “Baby (Is It A Crime)”
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Tems ft. Asake – “Get It Right”
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Tyla – “PUSH 2 START”
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Wizkid ft. Brent Faiyaz – “Piece Of My Heart”
Best K-pop
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aespa – “Whiplash”
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JENNIE – “like JENNIE”
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JISOO – “earthquake”
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LISA ft. Doja Cat & RAYE – “Born Again”
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ROSÉ – “toxic till the end”
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Stray Kids – “Chk Chk Boom”
Additional Notable Nominees
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Best R&B: Chris Brown (“Residuals”), Leon Thomas & Freddie Gibbs (“MUTT (Remix)”), Mariah Carey (“Type Dangerous”), PartyNextDoor (“No Chill”), Summer Walker (“Heart Of A Woman”), SZA (“Drive”), The Weeknd & Playboi Carti (“Timeless”).
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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”).
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Posthumous Nomination: Mac Miller for Best Long Form Video.
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First-Time Nominees: ROSÉ, JENNIE, JISOO, Jimin, Alex Warren, Gigi Perez, Damiano David, sombr, Lola Young, The Marías, Lainey Wilson.
Event Highlights
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New Categories: Best Pop Artist and Best Country Artist introduced for 2025.
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K-pop Presence: ROSÉ, JENNIE, JISOO, and Jimin mark a strong year for K-pop solo acts with their first solo nominations.
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Production Team: Executive produced by Bruce Gillmer, Jesse Ignjatovic (Den of Thieves), and Barb Bialkowski, with Van Toffler’s Gunpowder & Sky.
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Sponsors: BACARDÍ® Rum, Burger King®, DORITOS®, Downy Unstopables, Dunkin’, The General Insurance®, Pantene, Under Armour.
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2024 Success: Last year’s VMAs, hosted by Megan Thee Stallion, achieved a four-year high with 4.08 million viewers and 66.7 million social interactions.
Voting and Engagement
Fans can vote at vote.mtv.com until September 5, 2025, at 6 PM ET, with Best New Artist voting open during the show. Additional voting opportunities include Instagram comments on @VMAs’ pinned posts (until August 8) and daily Power Hour (1–2 PM ET) until September 4. Updates on performers, honorees, and social categories will be announced soon. Follow @CBS, @MTV, and @VMAs for the latest. #VMAs #MTVVMAs2025
Source: African Publicity