Lady Gaga leads the nominations for the 2025 MTV Video Music Awards with 12 nods, followed closely by her “Die With a Smile” duet partner Bruno Mars, who has 11 nods. Other top contenders are Kendrick Lamar (10), ROSÉ and Sabrina Carpenter (eight each), Ariana Grande and The Weeknd (seven each) and Billie Eilish (six).

This marks the third time Gaga has paced the nominations, having previously done so in 2010 (13 nods) and 2020 (when she was tied for the lead with nine nods). Gaga has won 18 VMAs, so she is within striking distance of the top of the VMA leaderboard. Taylor Swift and Beyoncé are currently tied for most VMA wins (30 each). (Both of those superstars received one nod this year, artist of the year.)

Mars has two nominations for video of the year. He’s nominated for both “Die With a Smile” and “APT.,” his collab with ROSÉ. Mars is just the fourth artist to land two video of the year nods in the same year, following David Lee Roth (1985), U2 (1988) and Lady Gaga (2010).

Lamar’s “Not Like Us” is also up for video of the year. The smash won five Grammys on Feb. 2, including best music video. Lamar has won video of the year at the VMAs twice, as featured artist on Swift’s “Bad Blood” and for his own “HUMBLE.” If he wins again this year, he’ll stand alone as runner-up to Swift for most wins the most wins in this category. Swift has won the award five times, including the last three years in a row. Lamar is currently in a five-way tie for second place with Beyoncé, Eminem, Missy Elliott and Rihanna.

Grande’s “brighter days ahead” is nominated for both video of the year and best long form video. The latter award has been awarded only three times – to Madonna’s The Immaculate Collection (1991), Beyoncé’s Lemonade (2016) and Swift’s All Too Well: The Short Film (2022). Swift’s title also won video of the year.

This year’s other nominees for video of the year, not already named, are Eilish’s “Birds of a Feather,” Carpenter’s “Manchild” and The Weeknd/Playboi Carti collab “Timeless.”

Swift isn’t nominated for video of the year – her only eligible video was “I Can Do It With a Broken Heart” – which means we’ll see someone other than Swift win video of the year for the first time since 2021, when Lil Nas X took the prize for “Montero (Call Me by Your Name.”) Swift also won artist of the year the last two years running, and is competing in that category again — this time with Lady Gaga, the 2020 winner; Bad Bunny, who won in 2022; and four artists who have yet to win in the category: Beyoncé, Lamar, Wallen and The Weeknd.       

The nominees for best new artist are Alex Warren, Ella Langley, Gigi Perez, Lola Young, sombr and The Marías. All are also seen as strong candidates in the upcoming Grammy race for best new artist. (Grammy nominations will be announced on Nov. 7.)

The Marías are also nominated here for best alternative for “Back to Me.” The female-fronted indie pop band is the only group or duo to receive two or more nominations this year.

ROSÉ received eight solo nominations, but the Blackpink star was not eligible for best new artist. Nor was Damiano David of Måneskin fame, who received two solo nods. JENNIE and JISOO (both also of Blackpink) and Jimin (of BTS) also earned their first solo nods.

Eminem, who has won 15 VMAs, more than any other male artist, has three more nominations this year.

The VMAs finally added a country category in their 42nd year. The nominees for the inaugural best country award are Chris Stapleton’s “Think I’m in Love With You,” Cody Johnson with Carrie Underwood’s “I’m Gonna Love You,” Jelly Roll’s “Liar,” Lainey Wilson’s “4x4xU,” Megan Moroney’s “Am I Okay?” and Morgan Wallen’s “Smile.”

The VMAs have added several other genre-specific categories in recent years — best Latin (2010), best K-Pop (2019) and best Afrobeats (2023).

Bad Bunny is this year’s top Latin nominee with four nominations – best Latin for “BAILE INoLVIDABLE” and three in all-genre categories: artist of the year, best album for DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS and best long form video for “DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS (Short Film).” Bunny won the artist of the year award in 2022 and was nominated again last year.

All VMA categories are gender-neutral for the ninth consecutive year. 

The VMAs will air on CBS for the first time this year, and will simulcast on MTV and stream on Paramount+ in the U.S. The show, set for Sunday, Sept. 7 at 8 p.m. ET/PT, will be held at UBS Arena in Elmont, N.Y for the second year in a row.

Fan voting is now open in 19 categories (which is everything but the six technical categories). Fans can vote by visiting vote.mtv.com until Sept. 5 at 6 p.m. ET. Voting for best new artist will remain active into show. (Fans can get additional votes for video of the year, artist of the year and best new artist by commenting under the pinned posts on @VMAs Instagram using the artist-specific hashtags through Aug. 8 at 6 p.m. ET/3 p.m. PT.  Fans get double the votes per category every day during “Power Hour,” running daily 1-2 p.m. ET from Aug. 7 through Sept. 4.)

There are initially 10 nominees for song of the year. On Aug. 18 at 12 p.m. ET, the field will narrow, with the top six vote-getters moving on to Round 2. (The eliminated artists will retain their nominations in MTV’s official nominations tallies.) Voting for Round 2 continues through Sept. 5 at 6 p.m. ET, when voting closes for all categories except best new artist.

The 2025 VMAs are executive produced by Bruce Gillmer, Den of Thieves co-founder Jesse Ignjatovic, and Barb Bialkowski. Gunpowder & Sky CEO Van Toffler is producer. Alicia Portugal is co-executive producer. Jackie Barba is executive in charge of production. Wendy Plaut is executive in charge of celebrity talent. Lisa Lauricella is executive in charge of music talent.

The 2024 VMAs delivered the show’s biggest multi-network audience in four years (up 25% year-over-year). Moreover, it ranked as the most social VMAs ever (66.7 million social interactions).

Here’s the complete list of nominations for the 2025 MTV Video Music Awards, followed by a list of every artist who received two or more nominations this year.

Video of the Year

Ariana Grande – “brighter days ahead” – Republic Records

Billie Eilish – “Birds of a Feather” – Darkroom/Interscope Records

Kendrick Lamar – “Not Like Us” – pgLang/Interscope Records

Lady Gaga & Bruno Mars – “Die With a Smile” – Interscope Records

ROSÉ & Bruno Mars – “APT.” – Atlantic Records

Sabrina Carpenter – “Manchild” – Island

The Weeknd, Playboi Carti – “Timeless” – XO/Republic Records

Artist of the Year

Bad Bunny – Rimas Entertainment           

Beyoncé – Parkwood Entertainment/Columbia Records 

Kendrick Lamar – pgLang/Interscope Records     

Lady Gaga – Interscope Records

Morgan Wallen – Big Loud Records/Mercury Records      

Taylor Swift – Republic Records 

The Weeknd – XO/Republic Records       

Song of the Year

Alex Warren – “Ordinary” – Atlantic Records        

Billie Eilish – “Birds of a Feather” – Darkroom/Interscope Records        

Doechii – “Anxiety” – Top Dawg Entertainment/Capitol Records  

Ed Sheeran – “Sapphire” – Gingerbread Man Records/Atlantic Records    

Gracie Abrams – “I Love You, I’m Sorry” – Interscope Records       

Lady Gaga & Bruno Mars – “Die With a Smile” – Interscope Records          

Lorde – “What Was That” – Republic Records      

ROSÉ & Bruno Mars – “APT.” – Atlantic Records  

Tate McRae – “Sports Car” – RCA Records             

The Weeknd, Playboi Carti – “Timeless” – XO/Republic Records

Best New Artist

Alex Warren – Atlantic Records

Ella Langley – SAWGOD/Columbia Records

Gigi Perez – Island

Lola Young – Island

sombr – SMB Music/Warner Records

The Marías – Nice Life/Atlantic Records

Best Collaboration

Bailey Zimmerman with Luke Combs – “Backup Plan (Stagecoach Official Music Video)” – Atlantic Records/Warner Music Nashville

Kendrick Lamar & SZA – “luther” – pgLang/Interscope Records

Lady Gaga & Bruno Mars – “Die With a Smile” – Interscope Records

Post Malone feat. Blake Shelton – “Pour Me a Drink” – Mercury Records

ROSÉ & Bruno Mars – “APT.” – Atlantic Records

Selena Gomez, benny blanco – “Sunset Blvd” – SMG Music/Friends Keep Secrets/Interscope Records

Best Album

Bad Bunny – DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS – Rimas Entertainment

Kendrick Lamar – GNX – pgLang/Interscope Records         

Lady Gaga – Mayhem – Interscope Records          

Morgan Wallen – I’m the Problem – Big Loud Records/Mercury Records  

Sabrina Carpenter – Short n’ Sweet – Island          

The Weeknd – Hurry Up Tomorrow – XO/Republic Records            

Best Long Form Video

Ariana Grande – “brighter days ahead” – Republic Records

Bad Bunny – “DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS (Short Film)” – Rimas Entertainment             

Damiano David – “FUNNY little STORIES” – Sony Italy/Arista Records         

Mac Miller – “Balloonerism” – Warner Records   

Miley Cyrus – “Something Beautiful” – Columbia Records

The Weeknd – “Hurry Up Tomorrow” – XO/Republic Records       

Video for Good

Burna Boy – “Higher” – Spaceship/Bad Habit/Atlantic Records                     

Charli xcx – “Guess” featuring Billie Eilish – Atlantic Records

Doechii – “Anxiety” – Top Dawg Entertainment/Capitol Records                  

Eminem feat. Jelly Roll – “Somebody Save Me” – Shady/Aftermath/Interscope Records                         

Selena Gomez, benny blanco – “Younger and Hotter Than Me” – SMG Music/Friends Keep Secrets/Interscope Records                              

Zach Hood feat. Sasha Alex Sloan – “Sleepwalking” – Arista Records

MTV Push Performance of the Year

August 2024 – Shaboozey – “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” – American Dogwood/EMPIRE          

September 2024 – Ayra Starr – “Last Heartbreak Song” – Mavin Records/Republic Records           

October 2024 – Mark Ambor – “Belong Together” – Hundred Days Records/Virgin Music           

November 2024 – Lay Bankz – “Graveyard” – Artist Partner Group Inc.   

December 2024 – Dasha – “Bye Bye Bye” – Warner Records        

January 2025 – KATSEYE – “Touch” – HYBE/Geffen Records     

February 2025 – Jordan Adetunji – “KEHLANI” – 300 Entertainment      

March 2025 – Leon Thomas – “YES IT IS” – EZMNY Records/Motown Records             

April 2025 – Livingston – “Shadow” – Republic Records      

May 2025 – Damiano David – “Next Summer” – Sony Italy/Arista Records

June 2025 – Gigi Perez – “Sailor Song” – Island     

July 2025 – ROLE MODEL – “Sally, When the Wine Runs Out” – Interscope Records             

Genre Categories

Best Pop Artist

Ariana Grande – Republic Records

Charli xcx – Atlantic Records

Justin Bieber – Def Jam Recordings

Lorde – Republic Records

Miley Cyrus – Columbia Records

Sabrina Carpenter – Island

Tate McRae – RCA Records

Best Pop

Alex Warren – “Ordinary” – Atlantic Records        

Ariana Grande – “brighter days ahead” – Republic Record              

Ed Sheeran – “Sapphire” – Gingerbread Man Records/Atlantic Records    

Lady Gaga & Bruno Mars – “Die With a Smile” – Interscope Records          

ROSÉ & Bruno Mars – “APT.” – Atlantic Records  

Sabrina Carpenter – “Manchild” – Island

Best Hip-Hop

Doechii – “Anxiety” – Top Dawg Entertainment/Capitol Records  

Drake – “NOKIA” – OVO/Santa Anna/Republic     

Eminem feat. Jelly Roll – “Somebody Save Me” – Shady/Aftermath/Interscope Records         

GloRilla feat. Sexyy Red – “WHATCHU KNO ABOUT ME” – CMG/Interscope Records

Kendrick Lamar – “Not Like Us” – pgLang/Interscope Records       

LL COOL J feat. Eminem – “Murdergram Deux” – Def Jam Recordings             

Travis Scott – “4X4” – Cactus Jack/Epic Records   

Best R&B

Chris Brown – “Residuals” – Chris Brown Entertainment/RCA Records       

Leon Thomas & Freddie Gibbs – “MUTT (REMIX)” – EZMNY Records/Motown Records      

Mariah Carey – “Type Dangerous” – gamma.        

PARTYNEXTDOOR – “N o C h i l l” – OVO Sound   

Summer Walker – “Heart of a Woman” – LVRN/Interscope Records          

SZA – “Drive” – Top Dawg Entertainment/RCA Records    

The Weeknd, Playboi Carti – “Timeless” – XO/Republic Records   

Best Alternative

Gigi Perez – “Sailor Song” – Island             

Imagine Dragons – “Wake Up” – KIDinaKorner/Interscope Records            

Lola Young – “Messy” – Island

mgk & Jelly Roll – “Lonely Road” – EST 19XX/Interscope Records 

sombr – “back to friends” – SMB Music/Warner Records

The Marías – “Back to Me” – Nice Life/Atlantic Records  

Best Rock

Coldplay – “All My Love” – Atlantic Records

Evanescence – “Afterlife (From the Netflix Series Devil May Cry)” – Netflix Music             

Green Day – “One Eyed Bastard” – Reprise Records/Warner Records

Lenny Kravitz – “Honey” – ℗© 2024 Roxie Records Inc. under exclusive license to BMG Rights Management GmbH

Linkin Park – “The Emptiness Machine” – Warner Records

twenty one pilots – “The Contract” – Fueled By Ramen                    

Best Latin

Bad Bunny – “BAILE INoLVIDABLE” – Rimas Entertainment             

J Balvin – “Rio” – Capitol Records

KAROL G – “Si Antes Te Hubiera Conocido” – Bichota Records/Interscope Records

Peso Pluma – “LA PATRULLA” – Double P Records              

Rauw Alejandro & Romeo Santos – “Khé?” – Sony Music US Latin

Shakira – “Soltera“ – Sony Music US Latin

Best K-Pop

aespa – “Whiplash” – SM Entertainment/Virgin Music Group        

JENNIE – “like JENNIE” – OA Entertainment/Columbia Records     

Jimin – “Who” – BIGHIT MUSIC   

JISOO – “earthquake” – Warner Records

LISA feat. Doja Cat & RAYE – “Born Again” – Lloud Co./RCA Records

Stray Kids – “Chk Chk Boom” – JYP/IMPERIAL/Republic    

ROSÉ – “toxic till the end” – Atlantic Records       

Best Afrobeats

Asake & Travis Scott – “Active” – YBNL Nation/EMPIRE    

Burna Boy feat. Travis Scott – “TaTaTa” – Spaceship/Bad Habit/Atlantic Records       

MOLIY, Silent Addy, Skillibeng & Shenseea – “Shake It To The Max (FLY) (Remix)” – gamma.            

Rema – “Baby (Is It a Crime)” – Mavin Global Holdings Ltd / Jonzing World Entertainment / Interscope Records    

Tems feat. Asake – “Get It Right” – RCA Records/Since ’93  

Tyla – “PUSH 2 START” – FAX Records/Epic Records           

Wizkid feat. Brent Faiyaz – “Piece Of My Heart” – Starboy/RCA Records

Best Country

Chris Stapleton – “Think I’m In Love With You” – Mercury Nashville           

Cody Johnson with Carrie Underwood – “I’m Gonna Love You” – CoJo Music / Warner Music Nashville      

Jelly Roll – “Liar” – BBR Music Group/BMG/Republic Records        

Lainey Wilson – “4x4xU” – Broken Bow Records 

Megan Moroney – “Am I Okay?” – Columbia Records       

Morgan Wallen – “Smile” – Big Loud Records/Mercury Records

Technical Categories

Best Direction

Ariana Grande – “brighter days ahead” – Republic Records

Charli xcx – “Guess” featuring Billie Eilish – Atlantic Records

Kendrick Lamar – “Not Like Us” – pgLang/Interscope Records

Lady Gaga – “Abracadabra” – Interscope Records

ROSÉ & Bruno Mars – “APT.” – Atlantic Records

Sabrina Carpenter – “Manchild” – Island

Best Art Direction

Charli xcx – “Guess” featuring Billie Eilish – Atlantic Records

Kendrick Lamar – “Not Like Us” – pgLang/Interscope Records

Lady Gaga – “Abracadabra” – Interscope Records

Lorde – “Man Of The Year” – Republic Records

Miley Cyrus – “End of the World” – Columbia Records

ROSÉ & Bruno Mars – “APT.” – Atlantic Records

Best Cinematography

Ariana Grande – “brighter days ahead” – Republic Records

Ed Sheeran – “Sapphire” – Gingerbread Man Records/Atlantic Records

Kendrick Lamar – “Not Like Us” – pgLang/Interscope Records

Lady Gaga – “Abracadabra” – Interscope Records

Miley Cyrus – “Easy Lover” – Columbia Records

Sabrina Carpenter – “Manchild” – Island

Best Editing

Charli xcx – “Guess” featuring Billie Eilish – Atlantic Records

Ed Sheeran – “Sapphire” – Gingerbread Man Records/Atlantic Records

Kendrick Lamar – “Not Like Us” – pgLang/Interscope Records

Lady Gaga – “Abracadabra” – Interscope Records

Sabrina Carpenter – “Manchild” – Island

Tate McRae – “Just Keep Watching (From F1 The Movie)” – Atlantic Records

Best Choreography

Doechii – “Anxiety” – Top Dawg Entertainment/Capitol Records

FKA twigs – “Eusexua” – Atlantic Records

Kendrick Lamar – “Not Like Us” – pgLang/Interscope Records

Lady Gaga – “Abracadabra” – Interscope Records

Tyla – “PUSH 2 START” – FAX Records/Epic Records

Zara Larsson – “Pretty Ugly” – Epic Records

Best Visual Effects

Ariana Grande – “brighter days ahead” – Republic Records

Lady Gaga – “Abracadabra” – Interscope Records

ROSÉ & Bruno Mars – “APT.” – Atlantic Records

Sabrina Carpenter – “Manchild” – Island

Tate McRae – “Just Keep Watching (From F1 The Movie)” – Atlantic Records

The Weeknd – “Hurry Up Tomorrow” – XO/Republic Records

All Artists With 2 or More Nominations

(Asterisk denotes first-time nominee)

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

Playboi Carti, 5

Bad Bunny, 4

Doechii, 4

Ed Sheeran, 4

Jelly Roll, 4

Miley Cyrus, 4

Tate McRae, 4

Alex Warren, 3 *

Eminem, 3

Gigi Perez, 3 *

Lorde, 3

Morgan Wallen, 3

Playboi Carti, 3

Travis Scott, 3

Asake, 2

benny blanco, 2

Burna Boy, 2

Damiano David, 2 *

Leon Thomas, 2 *

Lola Young, 2 *

Selena Gomez, 2

sombr, 2 *

SZA, 2

The Marías, 2 *

Tyla, 2