| 2025 MTV Video Music Awards | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Date | Sunday, September 7, 2025 8:00—11:03 p.m.EDT | |||
| Venue | UBS Arena,Elmont, New York | |||
| Country | United States | |||
| Hosted by | LL Cool J | |||
| Most awards | Lady Gaga (4) | |||
| Most nominations | Lady Gaga (12) | |||
| Website | mtv | |||
| Television/radio coverage | ||||
| Network | ||||
| Viewership | 5.5 million | |||
| Produced by | Bruce Gillmer Jesse Ignjatovic Barb Bialkowski Van Toffler[1] | |||
| Directed by | Joe DeMaio | |||
| ||||
The2025 MTV Video Music Awards were held at theUBS Arena inElmont, New York, on September 7, 2025. It was broadcast for the first time onCBS and available to stream onParamount+ with a simulcast onMTV.[2][3] The show was hosted by rapper and actorLL Cool J.[4] The pre-show was aired on MTV and select sister cable networks with hostsNessa and Kevan Kenney.[5]
The ceremony honored the bestmusic videos and songs released between June 20, 2024, and June 18, 2025.[6] Best Country, inherited from MTV's defunctCMT Music Awards Video of the Year category, and one new award, Best Pop Artist, were both awarded through fan votes.[7]Lady Gaga was the most nominated and awarded artist, winning four trophies out of twelve nominations.Ariana Grande'sBrighter Days Ahead was crownedVideo of the Year.Rosé's "Apt." was crownedSong of the Year.Mariah Carey was honored with theMichael Jackson Video Vanguard Award, presented by Grande. Two new special awards were given out;Busta Rhymes received the Rock the Bells Visionary, andRicky Martin received the Latin Icon. The ceremony saw a 42% increase in viewership compared to the previous edition, its highest ratings in 6 years.[8]
Katseye was announced as a performer for the pre-show on September 2, 2025.[9]
| Artist(s) | Song(s) |
|---|---|
| Katseye | "Gnarly" "Gabriela" |
The first round of performers were announced on August 18, 2025.[10]Mariah Carey was announced on August 21.[11] The second round was announced on August 26.[12]Lady Gaga was announced on August 30.[13] On September 5, performers for theOzzy Osbourne tribute were announced.[14]
Extended Play stage performers were announced on September 2, 2025.
| Artist(s) | Song(s) |
|---|---|
| Lola Young | "Messy" |
| Bailey Zimmerman The Kid Laroi | "Lost" |
| Megan Moroney | "6 Months Later" |
Presenters were announced on September 2, 2025.[15]
The nominees were announced on August 5, 2025, with two new award categories–Best Country and Best Pop Artist.[16][17] The nominees in the social categories–Best Group and Song of Summer–were announced on August 29.[18]Lady Gaga led with twelve nominations. She is followed byBruno Mars with eleven,Kendrick Lamar with ten,Sabrina Carpenter with nine,Rosé with eight,Ariana Grande with seven,Billie Eilish,Tate McRae andThe Weeknd with six each,Charli XCX with five, andAlex Warren,Bad Bunny,Doechii,Ed Sheeran,Jelly Roll,Miley Cyrus andMorgan Wallen with four each.[18] Gaga was the night's biggest winner, receiving four awards, followed by Grande and Carpenter with three award each, while Mars, McRae, Doechii andMariah Carey received two each.[19]
Winners are listed first and highlighted inbold.[20][21]
The winners of the following categories are chosen by fan votes.[22] The first round of voting, known as the "General Voting Period", began on August 5 at 12:00 p.m.ET for the categories which nominees were announced on the same day, and concluded on September 5 at 6 p.m. ET.[23] Voting forBest New Artist continues until the end of the ceremony.[23]
The winners of the following categories were chosen by industry professionals.[22]
| Best Direction | Best Art Direction |
|---|---|
|
|
| Best Cinematography | Best Editing |
|
|
| Best Choreography | Best Visual Effects |
|
|
The recipients of the Rock the Bells Visionary and Latin Icon awards were announced on August 18, 2025.[24] The recipient of theVideo Vanguard was announced on August 21.[11]
| Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award | |
|---|---|
| Mariah Carey | |
| Rock the Bells Visionary Award | Latin Icon Award |
| Busta Rhymes | Ricky Martin |
| Wins | Artist |
|---|---|
| 4 | Lady Gaga |
| 3 | Ariana Grande |
| Sabrina Carpenter | |
| 2 | Bruno Mars |
| Doechii | |
| Mariah Carey | |
| Tate McRae |
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)