Unforgettable moments from 2025 MTV VMAs

The 2025 MTV VMAs was held at the UBS Arena in Elmont, New York, on September 7, 2025, and was hosted by LL Cool J.

The event is an award show presented by the cable channel MTV to honour the best artists in the music video medium.

Prominent artists who graced and performed in this year’s event include Lady Gaga, Ariana Grande, Sabrina Carpenter, Bruno Mars, Doja Cat and many more.

Below are major moments from the ceremony:

First nominations for a slew of artists, including Rose, Warren, Lola Young, the Marias, Gigi Perez, and Damiano David.

Mac Miller earned his first VMA nomination posthumously, with his ‘Baloonerism’ visual up for Best Long Form Video.

The 2025 VMAs also saw the introduction of two new categories, Best Country and Best Pop Artist.

Lady Gaga, Sabrina Carpenter and Ariana Grande took home two Moonman trophies each. This act once again is seen as a medium to celebrate Female pop artists as well as their legacies.

Gaga, the most nominated artist of the evening with 12 nods, took home the first award, for artist of the year, which was presented to her two days after she was forced to cancel a show in Miami, winning over fellow superstars Taylor Swift, Bad Bunny and Beyonce, who were all absent at the ceremony. She was the biggest winner of the night.

She furthermore dedicated her award to her partner, Michael Polansky and the audience who supported her before she dashed off to her final show at Madison Square Garden.

The singer, dressed in a baroque black gown, expressed how much the award meant to her. Sabrina Carpenter won Album of the Year for Short n’ Sweet and Best Pop Artist.

Ariana Grande won Best Pop Video and the evening’s top award, Video of the Year, for Brighter Days Ahead, which she accepted alongside director Christian Breslauer. In her speech, she said, “If you’re on that journey, please continue onward, because I promise there are brighter days ahead.”

Other highlights of the event were Colombian superstar J Balvin and French producer DJ Snake teaming up for their track.

Multinational girl group Katseye, alongside members from the Philippines, South Korea, Switzerland and the United States, won for Push Performance of the year.

Busta Rhymes delivered a high-energy performance at the 2025 MTV VMAs, showcasing his rapid-fire bars in a medley of hits alongside other guests before accepting the award.

LL Cool J celebrated the hip-hop pioneer Busta Rhymes for the Rock the Bells Visionary Award, calling him a “sonic equivalent of a time bomb”.

Mariah Carey was presented with the Video Vanguard Award by Ariana Grande, becoming the eighth consecutive woman to win the evening’s top lifetime achievement honour.

“Music videos are my way of life, of bringing music to my own life. Let’s be honest, sometimes they’re just an excuse to bring the drama and do things I wouldn’t do in real life. Music evolves, but fun? That is eternal,” she said in her acceptance speech.

Later on the show, Yungblud paid tribute to the “Prince of Darkness” Ozzy Osbourne, who died in July, with a rendition of the Black Sabbath classics Crazy Train and Changes, and Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler and Joe Perry joining in for Mama, I’m coming home.

Source: The Sun