Lady Gaga is once again reigning supreme on the MTV stage.
The pop and performance icon leads all artists with 12 nominations at the 2025 MTV Video Music Awards, returning to the top of the leaderboard for the third time in her career. The “Mayhem” singer is nominated in major categories including Video of the Year, Artist of the Year and Best Album, among others.
This marks another landmark moment for Gaga, who previously led the VMAs in 2010 with a record-setting 13 nominations, and again in 2020 with nine. Her collaboration-heavy year—particularly with Bruno Mars—has helped her dominate this season’s awards circuit.
Following close behind is Bruno Mars with 11 nominations, including multiple nods for his chart-topping duets with both Gaga and BLACKPINK’s Rosé. Kendrick Lamar, a frequent VMA staple, comes in with 10 nominations this year.
The 2025 VMAs are shaping up to be a fierce competition among pop royalty, breakthrough stars and genre-bending collaborations. Rosé and Sabrina Carpenter each earned eight nominations, while Ariana Grande and The Weeknd snagged seven apiece. Billie Eilish is up for six awards, followed by Charli XCX with five. Artists like Bad Bunny, Ed Sheeran, Jelly Roll, Miley Cyrus, and Tate McRae each scored four nods, rounding out a dynamic, diverse field of contenders.
Fans of Beyoncé and Taylor Swift won’t be disappointed—both superstars are up for Artist of the Year, continuing their close race for most VMAs wins in history.
This year’s ceremony also includes new categories: Best Country Artist and Best Pop Artist, reflecting a broader range of musical genres and fan bases. Voting for 19 gender-neutral categories is now open at vote.mtv.com through Sept. 5 at 6 p.m. ET. Best New Artist voting remains open until the show begins.
The 2025 MTV Video Music Awards will air live on Sunday, Sept. 7, from New York’s UBS Arena. The broadcast begins at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT on CBS, with simultaneous streams available via MTV and Paramount+.
See the full list of 2025 MTV VMA nominees below:
Video of the Year (Presented by Burger King)
- 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”
- 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”
- Rosé & Bruno Mars – “Apt.”
- Tate McRae – “Sports Car”
- The Weeknd, Playboi Carti – “Timeless”
Best New Artist
- Alex Warren
- Ella Langley
- Gigi Perez
- Lola Young
- Sombr
- The Marías
Best Pop Artist (New Category)
- Ariana Grande
- Charli XCX
- Justin Bieber
- Lorde
- Miley Cyrus
- Sabrina Carpenter
- Tate McRae
MTV Push Performance of the Year (Presented by Bacardí Rum)
- August: Shaboozey – “A Bar Song (Tipsy)”
- September: Ayra Starr – “Last Heartbreak Song”
- October: Mark Ambor – “Belong Together”
- November: Lay Bankz – “Graveyard”
- December: Dasha – “Bye Bye Bye”
- January: Katseye – “Touch”
- February: Jordan Adetunji – “Kehlani”
- March: Leon Thomas – “Yes It Is”
- April: Livingston – “Shadow”
- May: Damiano David – “Next Summer”
- June: Gigi Perez – “Sailor Song”
- July: Role Model – “Sally, When the Wine Runs Out”
Best Collaboration (Presented by Under Armour)
- Bailey Zimmerman with Luke Combs – “Backup Plan”
- 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 – “No Chill”
- 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”
- Sombr – “Back to Friends”
- The Marías – “Back to Me”
Best Rock
- Coldplay – “All My Love”
- Evanescence – “Afterlife”
- 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?”
- Shakira – “Soltera”
Best K-Pop
- Aespa – “Whiplash”
- Jennie – “Like Jennie”
- Jimin – “Who”
- Jisoo – “Earthquake”
- 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 ft. Asake – “Get It Right”
- Tyla – “Push 2 Start”
- Wizkid ft. Brent Faiyaz – “Piece of My Heart”
Best Country (New Category)
- 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” (feat. 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”
Best Direction
- Ariana Grande – “Brighter Days Ahead”
- Charli XCX – “Guess” (feat. Billie Eilish)
- Kendrick Lamar – “Not Like Us”
- Lady Gaga – “Abracadabra”
- Rosé & Bruno Mars – “Apt.”
- Sabrina Carpenter – “Manchild”
Best Art Direction
- Charli XCX – “Guess” (feat. 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” (feat. Billie Eilish)
- Ed Sheeran – “Sapphire”
- Kendrick Lamar – “Not Like Us”
- Lady Gaga – “Abracadabra”
- Sabrina Carpenter – “Manchild”
- Tate McRae – “Just Keep Watching”
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”
- The Weeknd – “Hurry Up Tomorrow”
