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Lady Gaga dominates the 2025 MTV Video Music Awards nominations, scoring an impressive 12 nods across multiple categories, including Video of the Year, Best Collaboration, Best Direction, and Best Pop. Gaga’s collaborative smash “Die with a Smile” with Bruno Mars has emerged as a frontrunner, while her solo hit “Abracadabra” picked up key mentions in visual categories like Best Visual Effects, Best Art Direction, and Best Cinematography.

Bruno Mars follows closely with 11 nominations, making him the most-nominated male artist of the year, fueled by high-profile collaborations with Lady Gaga and ROSÉ. Kendrick Lamar secured 10 nominations, celebrating a remarkable run with hits like “Not Like Us,” while Sabrina Carpenter and ROSÉ each earned eight nods. Ariana Grande also impressed with seven nominations, highlighting her visual masterpiece “Brighter Days Ahead.”

This year’s VMAs reflect an eclectic field of global sounds, with strong representation from Afrobeats, K-pop, and Latin music alongside pop and hip-hop. Artists like Bad Bunny, ROSÉ, and The Weeknd continue to cement their influence, while newcomers such as Alex Warren and Gigi Perez break through with Best New Artist nominations.

The 2025 MTV Video Music Awards will take place on Sunday, September 7, 2025, at the UBS Arena in Elmont, New York. The show airs live on CBS (its first airing on network television), simulcast on MTV, and streamed on Paramount.

The MTV Video Music Awards 2025 will no doubt celebrate a diverse and exciting year in music. Here’s the complete list of nominees:

2025 MTV Video Music Awards Nominees

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

• 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 Pop Artist

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

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 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 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 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 & Carrie Underwood – “I’m Gonna Love You”
• Jelly Roll – “Liar”
• Lainey Wilson – “4x4xU”
• Megan Moroney – “Am I Okay?”
• Morgan Wallen – “Smile”

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”

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 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”

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”

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”