Lady Gaga led the 2025 MTV Video Music Awards nominations with 12, followed by Bruno Mars with 11 and Kendrick Lamar with 10. ROSÉ and Sabrina Carpenter each received eight. The ceremony took place on September 7, 2025, so the nominee list below is followed by a brief results recap.
2025 MTV VMAs nominee counts
The figures below are totals in the official Paramount Press Express/CBS Entertainment announcement published August 5, 2025. The announcement reported 33 first-time nominees.
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| Artist | Nominations |
|---|---|
| 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 |
| Bad Bunny, Doechii, Ed Sheeran, Jelly Roll, Miley Cyrus and Tate McRae | 4 each |
See the official nomination announcement for the complete category-by-category list and nominee spellings. Nominees within each category are listed alphabetically by first name.
Lady Gaga’s 12 nominations
Lady Gaga’s nominations covered “Die with a Smile,” “Abracadabra” and her album Mayhem. The official announcement specifically identifies these entries:
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- Video of the Year, Song of the Year, Best Collaboration and Best Pop for “Die with a Smile”
- Artist of the Year
- Best Album for Mayhem
- Best Direction and Best Art Direction for “Abracadabra”
Those named entries do not exhaust the 12-nomination total; consult the official category list for every entry.
Sabrina Carpenter’s eight nominations
Carpenter received nominations for “Manchild” and Short n’ Sweet, including:
- Video of the Year and Best Pop for “Manchild”
- Best Pop Artist
- Best Album for Short n’ Sweet
- Best Direction, Best Cinematography, Best Editing and Best Visual Effects for “Manchild”
What categories were new in 2025?
Best Country and Best Pop Artist were new categories for the 2025 show. The wider slate also included Video of the Year, Artist of the Year, Song of the Year, Best New Artist, Best Album, Best Collaboration, genre categories and video craft awards.
Who won the 2025 VMAs?
The event was held at UBS Arena on September 7, 2025. In the results reported by CBS after the show, Ariana Grande won Video of the Year. Gaga won four awards: Artist of the Year, Best Collaboration, Best Direction and Best Art Direction. Carpenter won Best Pop Artist and Best Album for Short n’ Sweet. Gaga’s nomination lead did not translate into the Video of the Year win.
LL Cool J hosted the ceremony. MTV’s event page also lists Mariah Carey as the Video Vanguard honoree and performer, Busta Rhymes as the Rock The Bells Visionary Award honoree and performer, and Ricky Martin as the Latin Icon Award honoree and performer. See CBS’s winners recap and MTV’s event information.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.When and where was the ceremony?
The 2025 ceremony took place at UBS Arena in New York on September 7. Before the event, CBS announced an 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT broadcast on CBS and MTV, with streaming on Paramount+ in the United States. Those were the announced arrangements for the 2025 event, not a statement about present-day viewing availability.
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