Lady Gaga, Kendrick Lamar, and Sabrina Carpenter Top 2025 MTV VMA Nominations
The 2025 MTV Video Music Awards nominations have been announced, with Lady Gaga leading all nominees, followed closely by Kendrick Lamar and Sabrina Carpenter. This year’s nominations reflect a wide array of genres and artists, with several newcomers receiving recognition alongside established names. The ceremony is scheduled to air live on September 7 at 8 p.m. ET on CBS, MTV, and Paramount+.
Lady Gaga earned 12 nominations this year, making her the most-nominated artist of the 2025 VMAs. Much of her recognition stems from her high-profile collaboration with Bruno Mars on the track “Die With a Smile,” which received nominations for Video of the Year, Song of the Year, and Best Collaboration. Gaga is also in contention for Artist of the Year and Album of the Year for her latest studio release, Mayhem. The visual presentation of her single “Abracadabra,” also from , received multiple technical and creative nods, including Best Direction, Cinematography, and Choreography.
Kendrick Lamar follows with 10 nominations, largely driven by the impact of his Grammy-winning single “Not Like Us,” a widely discussed diss track aimed at Drake. The video for “Not Like Us” secured nominations in major categories, including Video of the Year. Lamar is also a contender for Artist of the Year and Best Collaboration, the latter for “Luther,” his track featuring SZA.
Sabrina Carpenter, who won her first VMA last year for “Espresso,” continues her rise with eight nominations. Her latest single, “Manchild,” is nominated for Video of the Year, placing her alongside artists such as Gaga, Lamar, Billie Eilish, Ariana Grande, Rosé and Mars, and the Weeknd and Playboi Carti. Carpenter’s consistent presence across multiple categories further solidifies her position as one of the breakout stars of the past year.
The Video of the Year category will be a key highlight, with seven diverse entries in the running: Gaga and Bruno Mars’ “Die With a Smile,” Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us,” Sabrina Carpenter’s “Manchild,” Ariana Grande’s “Brighter Days Ahead,” Billie Eilish’s “Birds of a Feather,” Rosé and Mars’ “APT,” and the Weeknd and Playboi Carti’s “Timeless.”
The Artist of the Year category also includes a strong lineup of contenders. In addition to Gaga and Lamar, nominees include Bad Bunny, Beyoncé, Morgan Wallen, Taylor Swift, and the Weeknd, reflecting both genre and global diversity.
Song of the Year will see a two-stage selection process. The initial longlist includes ten entries, among them Gaga and Mars’ “Die With a Smile,” Rosé and Mars’ “APT,” the Weeknd and Carti’s “Timeless,” Billie Eilish’s “Birds of a Feather,” and Gracie Abrams’ “I Love You, I’m Sorry.” Other contenders include tracks by Doechii, Ed Sheeran, Alex Warren, Lorde, and Tate McRae. This list will be narrowed to six finalists by August 18, with voting open until September 5.
Fan voting is now open across all 19 gender-neutral categories. Voting for all categories will close on September 5, with the exception of Best New Artist, which will remain open during the live broadcast.
This year also sees several first-time nominees earning recognition. Rosé, Lola Young, Alex Warren, The Marías, Gigi Perez, and Måneskin frontman Damiano David are among the newcomers. The late Mac Miller received a posthumous nomination for Best Long Form Video for his visual project Baloonerism.
The 2025 VMAs will also introduce two new categories: Best Country and Best Pop Artist, further expanding the show’s recognition of genre-specific excellence.
2025 MTV Video Music Awards Nominations
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”
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
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”
Jan. 2025 – KATSEYE – “Touch”
Feb. 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”
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 – “Watch 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 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 (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?”
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
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”
