2025 MTV Video Music Awards: Nominations Announced

gainst each other for ultimate bragging rights. This year, the nominees include Bad Bunny, who has been dominating the charts with over 20 billion streams worldwide. Beyoncé, with her Cowboy Carter era and three #1 hits on the Hot 100, exuding queen energy. Kendrick Lamar, whose Not Like Us has already garnered 500+ million streams in its first month, showcasing his dominance. Lady Gaga, with a whopping 12 nominations, including her collaboration with Bruno Mars on Die with a Smile, hitting #1 on iTunes in 10 countries. Morgan Wallen, the country star who crossed over with One Thing at a Time spending 8 weeks at #1 on Billboard’s country charts. Taylor Swift, who is unstoppable with her new album The Life of A Showgirl on the way, promising 12 new “bangers” according to her boyfriend. And The Weeknd, with seven nominations, and his song Timeless racking up over 400 million streams in the first month.
Video of the Year is all about visual storytelling and this year’s nominees include Ariana Grande with brighter days ahead reaching 75 million views on YouTube in its first week. Billie Eilish’s BIRDS OF A FEATHER with 50 million+ Spotify streams. Kendrick Lamar’s Not Like Us making waves with its bold political visuals. Lady Gaga & Bruno Mars with Die with a Smile, topping the iTunes video charts in multiple countries. ROSÉ & Bruno Mars with APT., a K-pop/Pop fusion already at 25 million streams. Sabrina Carpenter’s Manchild hitting the Top 40 on the Billboard Hot 100. And The Weeknd & Playboi Carti’s Timeless glowing in neon with over 400 million combined streams.
The Best New Artist category is all about who’s next in the music scene. Nominees include Alex Warren, a TikTok favorite with 50 million streams for Ordinary. Ella Langley, a rising country star whose debut EP hit the Top 10 on Billboard Country Albums. Gigi Perez, an indie-pop artist with 10+ viral tracks streaming non-stop. Lola Young, a soulful storyteller earning major critical love. Sombr, a lo-fi and mysterious artist going viral across TikTok. And The Marías, bringing dream-pop vibes with over 200 million streams globally.
The Best Pop Artist category is stacked with some of pop’s biggest hits and most-streamed artists of 2025. Ariana Grande, fresh off her release of the “brighter days” edition of her eternal sunshine album. Charli XCX, proving why we can’t stop talking about her with over 1 billion cumulative streams this year. Justin Bieber, who just dropped his new album SWAG and hit #1 on Apple Music in 15 countries. Lorde, whose new release Virgin has already reached over 200 million streams. Miley Cyrus, whose track Something Beautiful is streaming like crazy with 150 million TikTok streams. Sabrina Carpenter, with her highly anticipated upcoming album Manchild and her single Manchild cracking the Top 40 on the Billboard Hot 100. And Tate McRae, whose track So Close To What keeps her at the top of Spotify’s Viral 50, already reaching 300 million streams worldwide.
Don’t miss a single Moon Person moment at the 2025 MTV Video Music Awards, hosted by LL COOL J live from New York’s UBS Arena on September 7th at 8PM ET/5PM PT. Tune in on the CBS Television Network or MTV, or stream it on Paramount+ in the U.S. For more information and the full list of nominees, check out the MTV VMAs Official Site.