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The Weeknd performs onstage for "After Hours Til Dawn" 2025 Stadium Tour at State Farm Stadium on May 09, 2025 in Glendale, Arizona.
Awards
The Weeknd And Tate McRae Lead Canadian Nominees at 2025 MTV VMAs
Kendrick Lamar, ROSÉ, Sabrina Carpenter, Ariana Grande and The Weeknd are also top contenders.
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Lady Gaga leads the nominations for the 2025 MTV Video Music Awards with 12 nods, followed closely by her “Die With a Smile” duet partner Bruno Mars, who has 11 nods. Other top contenders are Kendrick Lamar (10), ROSÉ and Sabrina Carpenter (eight each), Ariana Grande and The Weeknd (seven each) and Billie Eilish (six).
This marks the third time Gaga has paced the nominations, having previously done so in 2010 (13 nods) and 2020 (when she was tied for the lead with nine nods). Gaga has won 18 VMAs, so she is within striking distance of the top of the VMA leaderboard. Taylor Swift and Beyoncé are currently tied for most VMA wins (30 each). (Both of those superstars received one nod this year, artist of the year.)
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Mars has two nominations for video of the year. He’s nominated for both “Die With a Smile” and “APT.,” his collab with ROSÉ. Mars is just the fourth artist to land two video of the year nods in the same year, following David Lee Roth (1985), U2 (1988) and Lady Gaga (2010).
Lamar’s “Not Like Us” is also up for video of the year. The smash won five Grammys on Feb. 2, including best music video. Lamar has won video of the year at the VMAs twice, as featured artist on Swift’s “Bad Blood” and for his own “HUMBLE.” If he wins again this year, he’ll stand alone as runner-up to Swift for most wins the most wins in this category. Swift has won the award five times, including the last three years in a row. Lamar is currently in a five-way tie for second place with Beyoncé, Eminem, Missy Elliott and Rihanna.
Grande’s “brighter days ahead” is nominated for both video of the year and best long form video. The latter award has been awarded only three times – to Madonna’s The Immaculate Collection (1991), Beyoncé’s Lemonade (2016) and Swift’s All Too Well: The Short Film (2022). Swift’s title also won video of the year.
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This year’s other nominees for video of the year, not already named, are Eilish’s “Birds of a Feather,” Carpenter’s “Manchild” and The Weeknd/Playboi Carti collab “Timeless.”
Swift isn’t nominated for video of the year – her only eligible video was “I Can Do It With a Broken Heart” – which means we’ll see someone other than Swift win video of the year for the first time since 2021, when Lil Nas X took the prize for “Montero (Call Me by Your Name.”) Swift also won artist of the year the last two years running, and is competing in that category again — this time with Lady Gaga, the 2020 winner; Bad Bunny, who won in 2022; and four artists who have yet to win in the category: Beyoncé, Lamar, Wallen and The Weeknd.
The nominees for best new artist are Alex Warren, Ella Langley, Gigi Perez, Lola Young, sombr and The Marías. All are also seen as strong candidates in the upcoming Grammy race for best new artist. (Grammy nominations will be announced on Nov. 7.)
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The Marías are also nominated here for best alternative for “Back to Me.” The female-fronted indie pop band is the only group or duo to receive two or more nominations this year.
ROSÉ received eight solo nominations, but the Blackpink star was not eligible for best new artist. Nor was Damiano David of Måneskin fame, who received two solo nods. JENNIE and JISOO (both also of Blackpink) and Jimin (of BTS) also earned their first solo nods.
Eminem, who has won 15 VMAs, more than any other male artist, has three more nominations this year.
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The VMAs finally added a country category in their 42nd year. The nominees for the inaugural best country award are Chris Stapleton’s “Think I’m in Love With You,” Cody Johnson with Carrie Underwood’s “I’m Gonna Love You,” Jelly Roll’s “Liar,” Lainey Wilson’s “4x4xU,” Megan Moroney’s “Am I Okay?” and Morgan Wallen’s “Smile.”
The VMAs have added several other genre-specific categories in recent years — best Latin (2010), best K-Pop (2019) and best Afrobeats (2023).
Bad Bunny is this year’s top Latin nominee with four nominations – best Latin for “BAILE INoLVIDABLE” and three in all-genre categories: artist of the year, best album for DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS and best long form video for “DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS (Short Film).” Bunny won the artist of the year award in 2022 and was nominated again last year.
All VMA categories are gender-neutral for the ninth consecutive year.
The VMAs will air on CBS for the first time this year, and will simulcast on MTV and stream on Paramount+ in the U.S. The show, set for Sunday, Sept. 7 at 8 p.m. ET/PT, will be held at UBS Arena in Elmont, N.Y for the second year in a row.
Fan voting is now open in 19 categories (which is everything but the six technical categories). Fans can vote by visiting vote.mtv.com until Sept. 5 at 6 p.m. ET. Voting for best new artist will remain active into show. (Fans can get additional votes for video of the year, artist of the year and best new artist by commenting under the pinned posts on @VMAs Instagram using the artist-specific hashtags through Aug. 8 at 6 p.m. ET/3 p.m. PT. Fans get double the votes per category every day during “Power Hour,” running daily 1-2 p.m. ET from Aug. 7 through Sept. 4.)
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There are initially 10 nominees for song of the year. On Aug. 18 at 12 p.m. ET, the field will narrow, with the top six vote-getters moving on to Round 2. (The eliminated artists will retain their nominations in MTV’s official nominations tallies.) Voting for Round 2 continues through Sept. 5 at 6 p.m. ET, when voting closes for all categories except best new artist.
The 2025 VMAs are executive produced by Bruce Gillmer, Den of Thieves co-founder Jesse Ignjatovic, and Barb Bialkowski. Gunpowder & Sky CEO Van Toffler is producer. Alicia Portugal is co-executive producer. Jackie Barba is executive in charge of production. Wendy Plaut is executive in charge of celebrity talent. Lisa Lauricella is executive in charge of music talent.
The 2024 VMAs delivered the show’s biggest multi-network audience in four years (up 25% year-over-year). Moreover, it ranked as the most social VMAs ever (66.7 million social interactions).
Here’s the complete list of nominations for the 2025 MTV Video Music Awards, followed by a list of every artist who received two or more nominations this year.
Video of the Year
Ariana Grande – “brighter days ahead” – Republic Records
Billie Eilish – “Birds of a Feather” – Darkroom/Interscope Records
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Kendrick Lamar – “Not Like Us” – pgLang/Interscope Records
Lady Gaga & Bruno Mars – “Die With a Smile” – Interscope Records
ROSÉ & Bruno Mars – “APT.” – Atlantic Records
Sabrina Carpenter – “Manchild” – Island
The Weeknd, Playboi Carti – “Timeless” – XO/Republic Records
Artist of the Year
Bad Bunny – Rimas Entertainment
Beyoncé – Parkwood Entertainment/Columbia Records
Kendrick Lamar – pgLang/Interscope Records
Lady Gaga – Interscope Records
Morgan Wallen – Big Loud Records/Mercury Records
Taylor Swift – Republic Records
The Weeknd – XO/Republic Records
Song of the Year
Alex Warren – “Ordinary” – Atlantic Records
Billie Eilish – “Birds of a Feather” – Darkroom/Interscope Records
Doechii – “Anxiety” – Top Dawg Entertainment/Capitol Records
Ed Sheeran – “Sapphire” – Gingerbread Man Records/Atlantic Records
Gracie Abrams – “I Love You, I’m Sorry” – Interscope Records
Lady Gaga & Bruno Mars – “Die With a Smile” – Interscope Records
Lorde – “What Was That” – Republic Records
ROSÉ & Bruno Mars – “APT.” – Atlantic Records
Tate McRae – “Sports Car” – RCA Records
The Weeknd, Playboi Carti – “Timeless” – XO/Republic Records
Best New Artist
Alex Warren – Atlantic Records
Ella Langley – SAWGOD/Columbia Records
Gigi Perez – Island
Lola Young – Island
sombr – SMB Music/Warner Records
The Marías – Nice Life/Atlantic Records
Best Collaboration
Bailey Zimmerman with Luke Combs – “Backup Plan (Stagecoach Official Music Video)” – Atlantic Records/Warner Music Nashville
Kendrick Lamar & SZA – “luther” – pgLang/Interscope Records
Lady Gaga & Bruno Mars – “Die With a Smile” – Interscope Records
Post Malone feat. Blake Shelton – “Pour Me a Drink” – Mercury Records
ROSÉ & Bruno Mars – “APT.” – Atlantic Records
Selena Gomez, benny blanco – “Sunset Blvd” – SMG Music/Friends Keep Secrets/Interscope Records
Best Album
Bad Bunny – DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS – Rimas Entertainment
Kendrick Lamar – GNX – pgLang/Interscope Records
Lady Gaga – Mayhem – Interscope Records
Morgan Wallen – I’m the Problem – Big Loud Records/Mercury Records
Sabrina Carpenter – Short n’ Sweet – Island
The Weeknd – Hurry Up Tomorrow – XO/Republic Records
Best Long Form Video
Ariana Grande – “brighter days ahead” – Republic Records
Bad Bunny – “DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS (Short Film)” – Rimas Entertainment
Damiano David – “FUNNY little STORIES” – Sony Italy/Arista Records
Mac Miller – “Balloonerism” – Warner Records
Miley Cyrus – “Something Beautiful” – Columbia Records
The Weeknd – “Hurry Up Tomorrow” – XO/Republic Records
Video for Good
Burna Boy – “Higher” – Spaceship/Bad Habit/Atlantic Records
Charli xcx – “Guess” featuring Billie Eilish – Atlantic Records
Doechii – “Anxiety” – Top Dawg Entertainment/Capitol Records
Eminem feat. Jelly Roll – “Somebody Save Me” – Shady/Aftermath/Interscope Records
Selena Gomez, benny blanco – “Younger and Hotter Than Me” – SMG Music/Friends Keep Secrets/Interscope Records
Zach Hood feat. Sasha Alex Sloan – “Sleepwalking” – Arista Records
MTV Push Performance of the Year
August 2024 – Shaboozey – “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” – American Dogwood/EMPIRE
September 2024 – Ayra Starr – “Last Heartbreak Song” – Mavin Records/Republic Records
October 2024 – Mark Ambor – “Belong Together” – Hundred Days Records/Virgin Music
November 2024 – Lay Bankz – “Graveyard” – Artist Partner Group Inc.
December 2024 – Dasha – “Bye Bye Bye” – Warner Records
January 2025 – KATSEYE – “Touch” – HYBE/Geffen Records
February 2025 – Jordan Adetunji – “KEHLANI” – 300 Entertainment
March 2025 – Leon Thomas – “YES IT IS” – EZMNY Records/Motown Records
April 2025 – Livingston – “Shadow” – Republic Records
May 2025 – Damiano David – “Next Summer” – Sony Italy/Arista Records
June 2025 – Gigi Perez – “Sailor Song” – Island
July 2025 – ROLE MODEL – “Sally, When the Wine Runs Out” – Interscope Records
Genre Categories
Best Pop Artist
Ariana Grande – Republic Records
Charli xcx – Atlantic Records
Justin Bieber – Def Jam Recordings
Lorde – Republic Records
Miley Cyrus – Columbia Records
Sabrina Carpenter – Island
Tate McRae – RCA Records
Best Pop
Alex Warren – “Ordinary” – Atlantic Records
Ariana Grande – “brighter days ahead” – Republic Record
Ed Sheeran – “Sapphire” – Gingerbread Man Records/Atlantic Records
Lady Gaga & Bruno Mars – “Die With a Smile” – Interscope Records
ROSÉ & Bruno Mars – “APT.” – Atlantic Records
Sabrina Carpenter – “Manchild” – Island
Best Hip-Hop
Doechii – “Anxiety” – Top Dawg Entertainment/Capitol Records
Drake – “NOKIA” – OVO/Santa Anna/Republic
Eminem feat. Jelly Roll – “Somebody Save Me” – Shady/Aftermath/Interscope Records
GloRilla feat. Sexyy Red – “WHATCHU KNO ABOUT ME” – CMG/Interscope Records
Kendrick Lamar – “Not Like Us” – pgLang/Interscope Records
LL COOL J feat. Eminem – “Murdergram Deux” – Def Jam Recordings
Travis Scott – “4X4” – Cactus Jack/Epic Records
Best R&B
Chris Brown – “Residuals” – Chris Brown Entertainment/RCA Records
Leon Thomas & Freddie Gibbs – “MUTT (REMIX)” – EZMNY Records/Motown Records
Mariah Carey – “Type Dangerous” – gamma.
PARTYNEXTDOOR – “N o C h i l l” – OVO Sound
Summer Walker – “Heart of a Woman” – LVRN/Interscope Records
SZA – “Drive” – Top Dawg Entertainment/RCA Records
The Weeknd, Playboi Carti – “Timeless” – XO/Republic Records
Best Alternative
Gigi Perez – “Sailor Song” – Island
Imagine Dragons – “Wake Up” – KIDinaKorner/Interscope Records
Lola Young – “Messy” – Island
mgk & Jelly Roll – “Lonely Road” – EST 19XX/Interscope Records
sombr – “back to friends” – SMB Music/Warner Records
The Marías – “Back to Me” – Nice Life/Atlantic Records
Best Rock
Coldplay – “All My Love” – Atlantic Records
Evanescence – “Afterlife (From the Netflix Series Devil May Cry)” – Netflix Music
Green Day – “One Eyed Bastard” – Reprise Records/Warner Records
Lenny Kravitz – “Honey” – ℗© 2024 Roxie Records Inc. under exclusive license to BMG Rights Management GmbH
Linkin Park – “The Emptiness Machine” – Warner Records
twenty one pilots – “The Contract” – Fueled By Ramen
Best Latin
Bad Bunny – “BAILE INoLVIDABLE” – Rimas Entertainment
J Balvin – “Rio” – Capitol Records
KAROL G – “Si Antes Te Hubiera Conocido” – Bichota Records/Interscope Records
Peso Pluma – “LA PATRULLA” – Double P Records
Rauw Alejandro & Romeo Santos – “Khé?” – Sony Music US Latin
Shakira – “Soltera“ – Sony Music US Latin
Best K-Pop
aespa – “Whiplash” – SM Entertainment/Virgin Music Group
JENNIE – “like JENNIE” – OA Entertainment/Columbia Records
Jimin – “Who” – BIGHIT MUSIC
JISOO – “earthquake” – Warner Records
LISA feat. Doja Cat & RAYE – “Born Again” – Lloud Co./RCA Records
Stray Kids – “Chk Chk Boom” – JYP/IMPERIAL/Republic
ROSÉ – “toxic till the end” – Atlantic Records
Best Afrobeats
Asake & Travis Scott – “Active” – YBNL Nation/EMPIRE
Burna Boy feat. Travis Scott – “TaTaTa” – Spaceship/Bad Habit/Atlantic Records
MOLIY, Silent Addy, Skillibeng & Shenseea – “Shake It To The Max (FLY) (Remix)” – gamma.
Rema – “Baby (Is It a Crime)” – Mavin Global Holdings Ltd / Jonzing World Entertainment / Interscope Records
Tems feat. Asake – “Get It Right” – RCA Records/Since ’93
Tyla – “PUSH 2 START” – FAX Records/Epic Records
Wizkid feat. Brent Faiyaz – “Piece Of My Heart” – Starboy/RCA Records
Best Country
Chris Stapleton – “Think I’m In Love With You” – Mercury Nashville
Cody Johnson with Carrie Underwood – “I’m Gonna Love You” – CoJo Music / Warner Music Nashville
Jelly Roll – “Liar” – BBR Music Group/BMG/Republic Records
Lainey Wilson – “4x4xU” – Broken Bow Records
Megan Moroney – “Am I Okay?” – Columbia Records
Morgan Wallen – “Smile” – Big Loud Records/Mercury Records
Technical Categories
Best Direction
Ariana Grande – “brighter days ahead” – Republic Records
Charli xcx – “Guess” featuring Billie Eilish – Atlantic Records
Kendrick Lamar – “Not Like Us” – pgLang/Interscope Records
Lady Gaga – “Abracadabra” – Interscope Records
ROSÉ & Bruno Mars – “APT.” – Atlantic Records
Sabrina Carpenter – “Manchild” – Island
Best Art Direction
Charli xcx – “Guess” featuring Billie Eilish – Atlantic Records
Kendrick Lamar – “Not Like Us” – pgLang/Interscope Records
Lady Gaga – “Abracadabra” – Interscope Records
Lorde – “Man Of The Year” – Republic Records
Miley Cyrus – “End of the World” – Columbia Records
ROSÉ & Bruno Mars – “APT.” – Atlantic Records
Best Cinematography
Ariana Grande – “brighter days ahead” – Republic Records
Ed Sheeran – “Sapphire” – Gingerbread Man Records/Atlantic Records
Kendrick Lamar – “Not Like Us” – pgLang/Interscope Records
Lady Gaga – “Abracadabra” – Interscope Records
Miley Cyrus – “Easy Lover” – Columbia Records
Sabrina Carpenter – “Manchild” – Island
Best Editing
Charli xcx – “Guess” featuring Billie Eilish – Atlantic Records
Ed Sheeran – “Sapphire” – Gingerbread Man Records/Atlantic Records
Kendrick Lamar – “Not Like Us” – pgLang/Interscope Records
Lady Gaga – “Abracadabra” – Interscope Records
Sabrina Carpenter – “Manchild” – Island
Tate McRae – “Just Keep Watching (From F1 The Movie)” – Atlantic Records
Best Choreography
Doechii – “Anxiety” – Top Dawg Entertainment/Capitol Records
FKA twigs – “Eusexua” – Atlantic Records
Kendrick Lamar – “Not Like Us” – pgLang/Interscope Records
Lady Gaga – “Abracadabra” – Interscope Records
Tyla – “PUSH 2 START” – FAX Records/Epic Records
Zara Larsson – “Pretty Ugly” – Epic Records
Best Visual Effects
Ariana Grande – “brighter days ahead” – Republic Records
Lady Gaga – “Abracadabra” – Interscope Records
ROSÉ & Bruno Mars – “APT.” – Atlantic Records
Sabrina Carpenter – “Manchild” – Island
Tate McRae – “Just Keep Watching (From F1 The Movie)” – Atlantic Records
The Weeknd – “Hurry Up Tomorrow” – XO/Republic Records
All Artists With 2 or More Nominations
(Asterisk denotes first-time nominee)
Lady Gaga, 12
Bruno Mars, 11
Kendrick Lamar, 10
ROSÉ, 8 *
Sabrina Carpenter, 8
Ariana Grande, 7
The Weeknd, 7
Billie Eilish, 6
Charli xcx, 5
Playboi Carti, 5
Bad Bunny, 4
Doechii, 4
Ed Sheeran, 4
Jelly Roll, 4
Miley Cyrus, 4
Tate McRae, 4
Alex Warren, 3 *
Eminem, 3
Gigi Perez, 3 *
Lorde, 3
Morgan Wallen, 3
Playboi Carti, 3
Travis Scott, 3
Asake, 2
benny blanco, 2
Burna Boy, 2
Damiano David, 2 *
Leon Thomas, 2 *
Lola Young, 2 *
Selena Gomez, 2
sombr, 2 *
SZA, 2
The Marías, 2 *
Tyla, 2
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