The MTV VIDEO MUSIC AWARDS 2025 hosted by LL COOL J was held on Sunday, September 7 in New York.

The night honored some of music’s biggest stars. Mariah Carey took the stage singing a medley of her biggest hits before being awarded the 2025 Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award from Ariana Grande. Grande was one of the night’s big winners taking home Video of the Year for “Brighter Days Ahead.”

Global superstar Ricky Martin performed a medley of his greatest hits before receiving the Latin Icon Award from friend Jessica Simpson. Hip hop’s Busta Rhymes performed and received the MTV VMA Rock The Bells Visionary Award

The show paid tribute to Ozzy Osbourne, with Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler and Joe Perry, guitarist Nuno Bettencourt and Yungblud performing a medley of the late artists hits.

Lady Gaga took home the Artist of the Year award, receiving the award before leaving to head to Madison Square Garden for night two of her Mayhem Ball tour. She performed Abracadabra and Dead Dance live from the Garden.

A BIIIIIG round of applause for #ArianaGrande 👏 brighter days ahead by Ariana Grande just took home Video of the Year at the 2025 #VMAs! pic.twitter.com/oQCKFMec2t

— Video Music Awards (@vmas) September 8, 2025

Check out the complete winners list below:

VIDEO OF THE YEAR
WINNER: Ariana Grande – “Brighter Days Agead”
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
WINNER: 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”
WINNER: ROSÉ & Bruno Mars – “APT.”
Tate McRae – “Sports Car”
The Weeknd, Playboi Carti – “Timeless”

BEST NEW ARTIST
WINNER: Alex Warren
Ella Langley
Gigi Perez
Lola Young
Sombr
The Marías

SONG OF SUMMER
Addison Rae – “Headphones On”
Alex Warren – “Ordinary”
Benson Boone – “Mystical Magical”
BigXthaPlug featuring 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 featuring Tate McRae – “What I Want”
Ravyn Lenae featuring Rex Orange County – “Love Me Not”
Sabrina Carpenter – “Manchild”
Sombr – “12 to 12”
WINNER: Tate McRae – “Just Keep Watching”

BEST POP
Alex Warren – “Ordinary”
WINNER: Ariana Grande – Brighter Days Ahead
Ed Sheeran – “Sapphire”
Lady Gaga & Bruno Mars – “Die With a Smile”
ROSÉ & Bruno Mars – “APT.”
Sabrina Carpenter – “Manchild”

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”
WINNER: Megan Moroney – “Am I Okay?”
Morgan Wallen – “Smile”

BEST K-POP
Aespa – “Whiplash”
Jennie – “Like Jennie”
Jimin – “Who”
Jisoo – “Earthquake”
WINNER: 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”
WINNER: Tyla – “Push 2 Start”
Wizkid ft. Brent Faiyaz – “Piece of My Heart”

BEST ALTERNATIVE
Gigi Perez – “Sailor Song”
Imagine Dragons – “Wake Up”
Lola Young – “Messy”
MGK & Jelly Roll – “Lonely Road”
WINNER: Sombr – “Back to Friends”
The Marías – “Back to Me”

BEST R&B
Chris Brown – “Residuals”
Leon Thomas & Freddie Gibbs – “Mutt (Remix)”
WINNER: Mariah Carey – “Type Dangerous”
Partynextdoor – “No Chill”
Summer Walker – “Heart of a Woman”
SZA – “Drive”
The Weeknd, Playboi Carti – “Timeless”

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 COLLABORATION
Bailey Zimmerman with Luke Combs – “Backup Plan (Stagecoach Official Music Video)”
Kendrick Lamar & SZA – “Luther”
WINNER: 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”

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”
WINNER: Jan. 2025 – Katseye – “Touch”
Feb. 2025 – Jordan Adetunji – “Kehlani”
Mar. 2025 – Leon Thomas – “Yes It Is”
Apr. 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 POP ARTIST
Ariana Grande
Charli XCX
Justin Bieber
Lorde
Miley Cyrus
WINNER: Sabrina Carpenter
Tate McRae

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 – “4X4”

BEST ROCK
WINNER: Coldplay – “All My Love” – Atlantic Records
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?”
WINNER: Shakira – “Soltera”

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”
Charli XCX – “Guess featuring Billie Eilish”
Kendrick Lamar – “Not Like Us”
WINNER: Lady Gaga – “Abracadabra”
ROSÉ & Bruno Mars – “APT.”
Sabrina Carpenter – “Manchild”

BEST ART DIRECTION
Charli XCX – “Guess featuring Billie Eilish”
Kendrick Lamar – “Not Like Us”
WINNER: Lady Gaga – “Abracadabra”
Lorde – “Man of the Year”
Miley Cyrus – “End of the World”
ROSÉ & Bruno Mars – “APT.”

BEST LONG FORM 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, Benny Blanco – “Younger And Hotter Than Me”
Zach Hood ft. Sasha Alex Sloan – “Sleepwalking”

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Ariana Grande – “Brighter Days Ahead”
Ed Sheeran – “Sapphire”
WINNER: Kendrick Lamar – “Not Like Us”
Lady Gaga – “Abracadabra”
Miley Cyrus – “Easy Lover”
Sabrina Carpenter – “Manchild”

BEST EDITING
Charli XCX ft. Billie Eilish – “Guess”
Ed Sheeran – “Sapphire”
Kendrick Lamar – “Not Like Us”
Lady Gaga – “Abracadabra”
Sabrina Carpenter – “Manchild”
WINNER: Tate McRae – “Just Keep Watching (From F1 the Movie)”

BEST CHOREOGRAPHY
WINNER: 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.”
WINNER: Sabrina Carpenter – “Manchild”
Tate McRae – “Just Keep Watching (From F1 the Movie)”
The Weeknd – “Hurry Up Tomorrow”