The 2025 MTV Video Music Award nominations are officially out, and Lady Gaga has emerged as the frontrunner. The pop icon scored 12 nominations, the highest for this year, following the success of her
comeback album Mayhem. Her nominations include major categories such as Best Album, Artist of the Year, and Video of the Year, USA Today reported.
This surge in nominations ends Taylor Swift’s two-year dominance at the top. However, Swift is still in the running for Artist of the Year, alongside Beyoncé. If either of the two wins, they will become the most-awarded artist in VMA history with 31 trophies each. Both currently hold 30.
Bruno Mars, who collaborated with Gaga on Die with a Smile, is right behind her with 11 nominations, followed by Kendrick Lamar with 10. K-pop star ROSÉ and pop sensation Sabrina Carpenter have received eight nods each, while Ariana Grande and The Weeknd secured seven nominations each.
The nominations list also includes Billie Eilish (6), Charli XCX (5), and a slew of artists with four nods including Bad Bunny, Doechii, Ed Sheeran, Jelly Roll, Miley Cyrus, and Tate McRae.
This year’s VMAs also feature 33 first-time nominees. Among them are Alex Warren, Gigi Perez, KATSEYE, and country music star Blake Shelton. In a historic moment, Mac Miller has received his first VMA nomination posthumously.
Two new award categories have been introduced in 2025 — Best Country Artist and Best Pop Artist, expanding the scope of recognition at the event.
Fan voting opened on Tuesday across 19 gender-neutral categories and will continue until 6 PM ET on September 5. The award ceremony will be broadcast live from UBS Arena on CBS at 8 PM ET on Sunday, September 7. Fans can also catch all the action on MTV and stream it live via Paramount+.
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
August 2024 – Shaboozey “A Bar Song (Tipsy)”
September 2024 – Ayra Starr “Last Heartbreak Song”
October 2024 – Mark Ambor “Belong Together”
November 2024 – Lay Bankz “Graveyard”
December 2024 – Dasha “Bye Bye Bye”
January 2025 – Katseye “Touch”
February 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 LuLke 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 “Whatchu 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 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 DIRECTION
Ariana Grande “Brighter Days Ahead”
Charli XCX ft. Billie Eilish “Guess”
Kendrick Lamar “Not Like Us”
Lady Gaga “Abracadabra”
Rosé & Bruno Mars “Apt.”
Sabrina Carpenter “Manchild”
BEST ART DIRECTION
Charli XCX ft. Billie Eilish “Guess”
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 ft. Billie Eilish “Guess”
Ed Sheeran “Sapphire”
Kendrick Lamar “Not Like Us”
Lady Gaga “Abracadabra”
Sabrina Carpenter “Manchild”
Tate McRae “Just Keep Watching (From ‘F1 The Movie’)”
BEST CHOREOGRAPHY
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.”
Sabrina Carpenter “Manchild”
Tate McRae “Just Keep Watching” (From ‘F1 The Movie’)
The Weeknd “Hurry Up Tomorrow”
