The 2025 MTV Video Music Awards kicked off Sept. 7 at New York City’s UBS Arena with appearances from Sabrina Carpenter, Mariah Carey and host LL Cool J. See which stars won big at the annual event.
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. ()
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.
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…
BEST NEW ARTIST
WINNER: 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
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 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”
BEST POP SONG
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”
VIDEO OF THE YEAR
WINNER: Ariana Grande – “brighter days ahead” – Republic Records
Billie Eilish – “BIRDS OF A FEATHER” – Darkroom/Interscope Records
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
WINNER: 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
WINNER: ROSÉ & Bruno Mars – “APT.” – Atlantic Records
Tate McRae – “Sports Car” – RCA Records
The Weeknd, Playboi Carti – “Timeless” – XO/Republic Records
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”
WINNER: 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
WINNER: Sabrina Carpenter – Short n’ Sweet
The Weeknd – Hurry Up Tomorrow
BEST HIP-HOP
Doechii – “Anxiety” – Top Dawg Entertainment/Capitol Records
Drake – “NOKIA” – OVO/Santa Anna/Republic
Eminem ft. Jelly Roll – “Somebody Save Me” – Shady/Aftermath/Interscope Records
GloRilla ft. Sexyy Red – “WHATCHU KNO ABOUT ME” – CMG/Interscope Records
Kendrick Lamar – “Not Like Us” – pgLang/Interscope Records
LL COOL J ft. 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
WINNER: 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
WINNER: sombr – “back to friends” – SMB Music/Warner Records
The Marías – “Back To Me” – Nice Life/Atlantic Records
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”
WINNER: 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
WINNER: Sabrina Carpenter – Short n’ Sweet
The Weeknd – Hurry Up Tomorrow
For every star who stepped out at the 2025 VMAs, keep reading.
Lady Gaga
In Marc Jacobs.
Sabrina Carpenter
In custom Valentino.
Ariana Grande
In custom Fendi and Swarovski jewelry.
Jessica Simpson
Doja Cat
In Balmain.
Ice Spice
In Ralph Lauren.
Paris Hilton
In The Blonds.
FKA twigs
Conan Gray
In Erik Charlotte.
GloRilla
In Helen Anthony.
Lenny Kravitz
In Saint Laurent.
Ciara
In Schiaparelli.
Taylor Momsen
Alix Earle
In Tom Ford.
Tyla
In vintage Chanel.
Ricky Martin
Tate McRae
In custom Ludovic de Saint Sernin.
Nicky Hilton
Yungblud
Ashlee Simpson
Malin Akerman
Brittany Snow
Summer Walker
Megan Moroney
Nicole “Snooki” Polizzi
Mike “The Situation” Sorrentino & Lauren Sorrentino
Sexxy Red
Nikki Glaser
In Ludovic de Saint Sernin.
KATSEYE
Ty Dolla $ign
Source: www.eonline.com