Mariah Carey to Receive the 2025 MTV VMAs Video Vanguard Award
There’s nothing ordinary about the winners at the 2025 MTV Video Music Awards.
The ceremony brought together the biggest and brightest artists across all genres into one room at New York’s UBS Arena on Sept. 7. However, only some of music’s hottest names walked away with Moon Person trophies at the ceremony, which was hosted by LL Cool J for the second year in a row. (To see every star who stepped out at the 2025 VMAs click here.)
So, who took home a coveted Moon Person? Lady Gaga took home the prize for Artist of the Year and Rosé accepted the win for Song of the Year for her collaboration with Bruno Mars, “APT.”
Meanwhile, Mariah Carey walked away with the Video Vanguard Award for her record-breaking career in pop music. And to celebrate the milestone achievement, the Grammy winner sang a show-stopping medley of her biggest songs, including “We Belong Together” and “Always Be My Baby.”
And Mariah wasn’t the only artist to be honored for their legacy in the industry. Busta Rhymes likewise accepted the Rock The Bells Visionary Award for his contributions to hip-hop during the big night in music, taking the stage to raucous applause as well as he performed several of his hits over the years.
But win or lose, one thing was certain in all of the 2025 VMAs categories: The competition was stacked.
Case in point: Lady Gaga faced off against Bad Bunny, Beyoncé, Kendrick Lamar, Morgan Wallen, Taylor Swift and The Weeknd in the Artist of the Year category. Meanwhile, Sabrina Carpenter, Ariana Grande, Charli XCX, Justin Bieber, Lorde, Miley Cyrus and Tate McRae all earned nods for Best Pop Artist.
Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images for The Recording Academy
Plus, rising star sombr—who graced the VMAs stage for the very first time to perform his hit “back to friends”—went up against Alex Warren, Ella Langley, Gigi Perez, Lola Young and The Marías for Best New Artist.
Curious to know who came out on top? Read on for every star who came out a winner at the 2025 MTV VMAs…
Photo by Jamie McCarthy/WireImage / Jeff Kravitz/Getty Images for MTV
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
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 POP SONG
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 SONG
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 SONG
Chris Brown – “Residuals”
Leon Thomas & Freddie Gibbs – “MUTT (REMIX)”
WINNER: 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 SONG
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 ROCK SONG
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 POP SONG
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 SONG
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 SONG
Chris Brown – “Residuals”
Leon Thomas & Freddie Gibbs – “MUTT (REMIX)”
WINNER: 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 SONG
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 ROCK SONG
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 SONG
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 SONG
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 SONG
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 COUNTRY SONG **
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 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 (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”
SONG OF THE SUMMER
WINNER: Tate McCrae – “Just Keep Watching”
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 (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”
SONG OF THE SUMMER
WINNER: Tate McCrae – “Just Keep Watching”
Head to E! Online’s 2024 Video Music Awards page for a full recap of the night’s jaw-dropping fashions and every must-see moment.
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