The iconic awards ceremony where Lady Gaga wore her controversial meat dress is back for another year, but this time with more hype and performances than ever. Here’s everything you need to know about the 2025 VMAs.

When and where are the VMAs?

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The Video Music Awards are set to be broadcast on Sunday, September 7th, 2025, the same week as Labor Day. The Grammy-winning rapper LL Cool J will host the 2025 VMAs, making this the first ceremony he has ever solo hosted the show. The awards will take place at the UBS Arena in Elmont, New York, and will be televised live on CBS, MTV, and the subscription service Paramount+. However, only those with a premium plan subscription are allowed to watch the VMAs.

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How to Vote for Candidates

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• Voting for candidates is available now through September 5th at vote.mtv.com. However, you will need to register an account or log in to vote.
• There are 19 categories to choose and vote in, such as Song of the Year, Video of the Year, Best New Artist, Best K-Pop, etc. The six categories labeled as 'Professional Categories' are non-votable.
• You can vote up to ten times a day if you desire.
• Only ten votes are available for each category.

What are the Nominations?

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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
• Gracie Abrams - I Love You, I’m Sorry
• Lady Gaga & Bruno Mars - Die With A Smile
• ROSÉ & Bruno Mars - APT.
• Tate McRae - Sports Car

Runners-Up

• Doechii - Anxiety
• Ed Sheeran - Sapphire
• Lorde - What was That
• The Weekend & Playboi Carti - Timeless

Best New Artist

• Alex Warren
• Ella Langley
• Gigi Perez
• Lola Young
• sombr
• The Marias

Best Pop Artist

• Ariana Grande
• Charli XCX
• Justin Bieber
• Lorde
• Miley Cyrus
• Sabrina Carpenter
• Tate McRae

PUSH Performance of the Year

• Shaboozey - A Bar Song (Tipsy)
• Ayra Starr - Last Heartbreak Song
• Mark Ambor - Belong Together
• Lay Bankz - Graveyard
• Dasha - Bye Bye Bye
• KATSEYE - Touch
• Jordan Adetunji - Kehlani
• Leon Thomas - Yes It Is
• Livingston - Shadow
• Damiano David - Next Summer
• Gigi Perez - Sailor Song
• 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
• 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 Weekend & 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 Marias - Back To Me

Best Rock

• Coldplay - ALL MY LOVE
• Evanescence - Afterlife
• Green Day - One Eyed B**
• 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 & Netón Vega - LA PUTRULLA
• 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
• ROSÉ - toxic till the end
• Stray Kids - Chk Chk Boom

Best Afrobeats

• Asake & Travis Scott - Active
• Burna Boy ft. Travis Scott - Ta Ta Ta
• MOLIY, Silent Addy, Skillbeng, and 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 - Guess featuring billie eilish
• 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

Busta Rhymes will be honored with a New Rock the Bells Visionary Award, Ricky Martin will receive an inaugural Latin Icon Award, and Mariah Carey will receive a 2025 Video Vanguard Award.

Who are the Performers?

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There will be a myriad of famous performers at the VMAs. The show will be around three hours long.

• 2025 Video Vanguard Honoree Mariah Carey
• MTV VMA Rock the Bells Visionary Award Honoree Busta Rhymes
• Latin Icon Award Honoree Ricky Martin
• Alex Warren
• DJ Snake
• J Balvin
• Sabrina Carpenter
• Sombr

Who is More Predicted to Win the Most Awards

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• Lady Gaga: Gaga holds the most nominations for the 2025 VMAs, starring with 12 nominations and most of them are the ones for Mayhem and Die With A Smile with Bruno Mars.
• Bruno Mars: His reign with Lady Gaga was the global phenomenon of 2024 and is a strong contender with 11 nominations.
• Kendrick Lamar: His victory against Drake certified him as the greatest God-given rapper to step foot in the mainstream music industry. He also garnered 11 nominations, making him the lead.
• Sabrina Carpenter: She stormed the stage in 2024 with her hit album 'Short n' Sweet' and has a very strong chance at taking home an award.
• Billie Eilish: BIRDS OF A FEATHER rests with 522 million views on YouTube and almost 2.9 billion streams on Spotify 15 months after release. With this, she could dominate the Video of the Year category.

Planning Tips

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• Put the date on your calendar.
• Have notifications enabled on social media platforms like Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, etc.
• Write down whom you voted for and watch the ceremony to see which ones you got correct.
• If you have school or work the next day, please set a recording schedule on your DVR to watch the ceremony.

Conclusion

Everyone is hyped about the 2025 VMAs, especially with everyone's faves being nominated and/or performing, such as Sabrina Carpenter, Billie Eilish, Lady Gaga, etc. If you're planning to watch this ceremony, have fun and remember to not stay awake too long since it will be on a school night!