From Sabrina Carpenter crawling out of a manhole, to Lady Gaga transforming into a haunted doll to Mariah Carey earning her long-awaited first award at the ceremony, the 2025 MTV Video Music Awards certainly did not disappoint when it came to juicy moments. 

Held at New York’s UBS Arena on Sunday (Sept. 7), the VMAs — which were hosted by rap superstar LL Cool J — saw some of music’s biggest stars descended on the arena for an evening of antics. Mariah Carey, who took home the Video Vanguard Award after a career-spanning mashup performance, remarked that this was somehow her first Moon Person in the ceremony’s history. “And I just have one question: What in the Sam Hill were you waiting for?” she jokingly growled into the microphone. 

Across the other categories, Lady Gaga was the evening’s most nominated artist, earning 12 nods for her work over the last year. After making a brief appearance at the top of the show to accept the artist of the year award, Gaga also gave fans a high-octane, pre-taped performance from The Mayhem Ball of “Abracadbra,” alongside the television debut of her newest song, “The Dead Dance.” 

Meanwhile, Carpenter — who was nominated for eight awards and took home album of the year — wowed audiences with her head-turning performance of “Tears.” Using her platform to advocate for queer and trans rights, Sabrina was joined on stage by former stars of RuPaul’s Drag Race, including season 17 contestant Lexi Love, while other dancers held up signs urging the audience at home to “Protect Trans Rights.” 

Below, check out some of the best photos taken at the 2025 MTV Video Music Awards.

Viewers might want their MTV, but musicians? They want their Moon Person — and the trophies were handed out at the 2025 MTV Video Music Awards Sunday (Sept. 7) at New York’s UBS Arena.

Going into the night, Lady Gaga — who already has 18 VMAs wins over the course of her career — led in nominations with an impressive 12 nods. She ended up walking away with artist of the year and best collaboration for “Die With a Smile” alongside Bruno Mars. Ariana Grande was also another big winner, taking home the Moon Person trophies for video of the year for “Brighter Days Ahead,” as well as best pop artist among her multiple wins.

ROSÉ, like Gaga, also won with her own Bruno Mars collab, taking the trophy for their Billboard Hot 100 hit “APT.,” which peaked at No. 3 on the tally. Her BLACKPINK bandmate LISA was also victorious, snagging the best K-pop award for “Born Again” with Doja Cat and RAYE.

Among the non-competition category honorees were Mariah Carey, with the iconic singer feted as this year’s recipient of the Video Vanguard Award. The celebrated musician also be performed a medley of her career-spanning hits. Another legend who received an honor was Ricky Martin, who was celebrated with the VMA’s first Latin Icon Award after performing a medley of his own megahits.

Keep reading for the full list of winners.

Video of the year

WINNER: 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 new artist

WINNER: Alex Warren
sombr
The Marías

Best pop artist

WINNER: 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”
WINNER: 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 Luke Combs – “Backup Plan (Stagecoach Official Music Video)”
Kendrick Lamar & SZA – “Luther”
WINNER: Lady Gaga & Bruno Mars – “Die With a Smile”
Post Malone feat. Blake Shelton – “Pour Me A Drink”
ROSÉ & Bruno Mars – “APT.”
Selena Gomez, benny blanco – “Sunset Blvd”

Best pop

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”

Best hip-hop

Doechii – “Anxiety”
Drake – “NOKIA”
Eminem feat. Jelly Roll – “Somebody Save Me”
GloRilla ft. Sexyy Red – “Whatchu Kno About Me”
Kendrick Lamar – “Not Like Us”
LL Cool J feat. Eminem – “Murdergram Deux”
Travis Scott – “4X4”

Best R&B

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

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

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?”

Best K-pop

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

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 feat. Asake – “Get It Right”
WINNER: Tyla – “Push 2 Start”
Wizkid feat. 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”
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 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 – “Guess featuring Billie Eilish”
Doechii – “Anxiety”
Eminem feat. 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 – “Guess featuring Billie Eilish”
Kendrick Lamar – “Not Like Us”
Lady Gaga – “Abracadabra”
ROSÉ & Bruno Mars – “APT.”
Sabrina Carpenter – “Manchild”

Best art direction

Charli xcx – “Guess featuring Billie Eilish”
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 – “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 summer

Addison Rae – “Headphones On”
Alex Warren – “Ordinary”
Benson Boone – “Mystical Magical”
BigXthaPlug feat. Bailey Zimmerman – “All the Way”
Chappell Roan – “The Subway”
Demi Lovato – “Fast”
Doja Cat – “Jealous Type”
HUNTR/X: EJAE, Audrey Nuna & REI AMI – “Golden”
Jessie Murph – “Blue Strips”
Justin Bieber – “Daisies”
MOLIY, Silent Addy, Skillibeng & Shenseea – “Shake It to the Max (FLY) (Remix)”
Morgan Wallen feat. Tate McRae – “What I Want”
Ravyn Lenae feat. Rex Orange County – “Love Me Not”
Sabrina Carpenter – “Manchild”
sombr – “12 to 12”
WINNER: Tate McRae – “Just Keep Watching (From F1® The Movie)”

Best group

aespa
All Time Low
Backstreet Boys
BLACKPINK
Coldplay
Evanescence
Fuerza Regida
Grupo Frontera
Imagine Dragons
Jonas Brothers
KATSEYE
My Chemical Romance
SEVENTEEN
Stray Kids
The Marías
Twenty One Pilots

Weeks after scoring the highest-charting album of his career, Conan Gray triumphantly took the stage at the MTV Video Music Awards on Sunday night (Sept. 7) to close out the ceremony with his Wishbone track “Vodka Cranberry.”

Gray is not afraid to utilize elaborate costumes in his stage show, and during his VMAs performance, he opted for a Renaissance Faire look, playing a prince who laid down a sleeping beau on a bed of roses. The singer-songwriter belted out the anthem while prowling the stage and leaning in to the major hooks, as a backing band was whisked around him; while Gray has been showcasing his voice to major festival crowds all summer, he used the VMAs performance to introduce his vocal power to a much wider audience.

Eventually, Gray pulled out a vial of what was likely not a cranberry vodka — in an ending worthy of Shakespeare, he downed the potion, then collapsed on his doomed lover to close out the performance.

“Vodka Cranberry” was released as the second single from Wishbone, Gray’s fourth studio album, which he once again worked on with producer Dan Nigro. Upon its release last month, Wishbone debuted at No. 3 on the Billboard 200 — Gray’s third top 10 album, and the best debut of his career.

Click here to watch Gray explain why his latest album is “truly miserable” in a recent video chat with Billboard.

Check out the full winners’ list at the 2025 MTV Video Music Awards, held at UBS Arena in Elmont, N.Y. 

J Balvin arrived at the 2025 MTV Video Music Awards with some of his closest friends and collaborators: DJ Snake, Justin Quiles and Lenny Tavárez. The boys were ready to take over the stage at New York’s UBS Arena with a performance on Sunday (Sept. 7).

“It’s up to [DJ] Snake — he better play that thing right,” Balvin told Billboard on the red carpet ahead of their performance.

“Energy,” the French DJ and producer assured Billboard in a separate interview. “It’s going to be a party, and that’s what we’re doing.”

A few moments later, the Colombian global sensation took over the VMAs stage for an energy-packed medley that kicked off his “Zun Zun” alongside Tavárez and Quiles. The track, which is part of Balvin’s latest Mixteip EP, is powered by sensual perreo elements à la Plan B or Zion.

On the stage, the three reggaetón veterans were joined by a group of dancers and neon-drenched visuals that included a boombox, palm trees and lighting bolts, best representing Balvin’s graphic line.

After the perreo number, Balvin was joined by DJ Snake, and together they performed their latest single, “Noventa,” an EDM-infused reggaetón song with Middle Eastern melodies. “Noventa” follows Balvin and Snake’s 2019 “Loco Contigo” with Tyga, which reached No. 1 on the Billboard Latin Airplay chart that same year.

In addition to his fiery and star-studded performance, Balvin was nominated for Best Latin for his song “Rio.” Also nominated in the category are Bad Bunny’s “Baile Inolvidable,” Karol G’s “Si Antes Te Hubiera Conicido,” Peso Pluma’s “La Patrulla,” and Rauw Alejandro and Romeo Santos’ “Khé?”

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