Wow, okay, so the MTV Video Music Awards for 2025 are shaping up to be a real barn burner! I just spent like, way too long looking up the nominees and my brain is a little scrambled, but here's what I got.
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| (Photo Credit: Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for Liv) Kendrick vs. Gaga: Who Will Rule the MTV Video Music Awards 2025 |
First of all, let me tell you, it's a battle of the pop titans. Lady Gaga is leading the pack with, like, a zillion nominations. Okay, not a zillion, but 12, which is basically the same thing. Her new album, Mayhem, and her song "Abracadabra" are all over the place. I love that song, it's so witchy. Bruno Mars is right on her heels with 11 nominations. He and Gaga have a duet, "Die With A Smile," which is also nominated a bunch. It's so cute that they're working together!
Then you've got Kendrick Lamar, who is also a huge contender. I mean, his song "Not Like Us" is nominated for a whole bunch of stuff, including Video of the Year, which is, like, the big one. He's got 10 nominations total, so he's definitely in the running to take home a bunch of Moon Persons, or whatever those statue things are called.
The other big one is Sabrina Carpenter. She's everywhere right now, and her song "Manchild" is getting a lot of love, and so is her album Short n' Sweet. She has nine nominations, so she's right up there with the big shots. Also, her song from last year, "Espresso," won Song of the Year, so she's already got a VMA. That's so cool.
Okay, so this is like, the classic lineup. Taylor Swift is nominated, of course, but she only has one nomination this year which is kinda wild since she usually has, like, all of them. Gaga is a strong contender, and so is Kendrick. Honestly, I could see any of these people winning. I feel like it's a popularity contest, and they're all super popular.
They even added a new category this year, which is called "Best Pop Artist." I guess they realized that "Best Pop" wasn't enough, which is a good point!
So, first off, let's talk about the big, main ones that everyone argues about on Twitter.
Video of the Year
This is the one that gets all the headlines. The nominees are:
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"This list is stacked. Kendrick and Sabrina are having a huge moment, but you can never count out Gaga and Bruno. And Bruno has two videos in this category, which is just bananas.
Artist of the Year
This one feels like a popularity contest, but in a good way. The nominees are:
Bad Bunny
Beyoncé
Kendrick Lamar
Lady Gaga
Morgan Wallen
Taylor Swift
The WeekndI still can't believe Taylor Swift only got one nomination. I mean, she's Taylor Swift! But Lady Gaga is leading the way, so it's a real shake-up from last year.
Song of the Year
This is a new one, I think? No wait, they've had this before, I just get confused. It's for the song itself, not the video. The nominees are:
Billie Eilish - "BIRDS OF A FEATHER"
Doechii - "Anxiety"
Gracie Abrams - "I Love You, I'm Sorry"
Lady Gaga & Bruno Mars - "Die with a Smile"
ROSÉ & Bruno Mars - "APT."
Tate McRae - "Sports Car"I'm rooting for Gracie Abrams, she's so underrated!
Best New Artist
This category is always so fun because you get to see who's really blowing up. The nominees are:
Alex Warren - "Ordinary"
Ella Langley
Gigi Perez
Lola Young
sombr
The MaríasI've heard of Alex Warren from TikTok, so that's cool he's on here. And Mac Miller even got a posthumous nomination this year for his album, which is just so sad but also so cool.
Okay, now let's get into the genres. There are a TON of these.
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 (This is the new category I was talking about!)
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 - "No Chill"
SZA - "Drive"
Summer Walker - "Heart of a Woman"
The Weeknd & Playboi Carti - "Timeless"
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"I'm so excited to see Linkin Park on this list! They're back!
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 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"
ROSÉ - "toxic till the end"
Stray Kids - "Chk Chk Boom"
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 (Another new one! So cool.)
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"
And then there's a bunch of technical categories for all the video nerds out there!
Best Collaboration
Bailey Zimmerman with Luke Combs - "Backup Plan"
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"Post Malone and Blake Shelton, seriously? That's a random combo but I love it.
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 ft. Billie Eilish - "Guess"
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"
Best Direction
Ariana Grande - "brighter days ahead"
Charli XC7X ft. Billie Eilish - "Guess"
Kendrick Lamar - "Not Like Us"
Lady Gaga - "Abracadabra"
ROSÉ & Bruno Mars - "APT."
Sabrina Carpenter - "Manchild"
Best Art Direction
Charli XCX ft. Billie Eilish - "Guess"
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"
The Weeknd - "Hurry Up Tomorrow"
Best Editing
Charli XCX ft. Billie Eilish - "Guess"
Kendrick Lamar - "Not Like Us"
Lady Gaga - "Abracadabra"
Sabrina Carpenter - "Manchild"
Tate McRae - "Just Keep Watching"
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"
Best Choreography
Doechii - "Anxiety"
FKA twigs - "Eusexua"
Kendrick Lamar - "Not Like Us"
Lady Gaga - "Abracadabra"
Tyla - "PUSH 2 START"
Zara Larsson - "Pretty Ugly"
And finally, the social categories!
Song of the Summer
Addison Rae - "Headphones On"
Alex Warren - "Ordinary"
Benson Boone - "Mystical Magical"
BigXthaPlug ft. Bailey Zimmerman - "All The Way"
Chappell Roan - "The Subway"
Demi Lovato - "Fast"
Doja Cat - "Jealous Type"
HUNTR/X ft. EJAE, Audrey Nuna & REI AMI - "Golden"
Jessie Murph - "Blue Strips"
Justin Bieber - "Daisies"
MOLIY, Silent Addy, Skillibeng & Shenseea - "Shake It To The Max (FLY) (Remix)"
Morgan Wallen ft. Tate McRae - "What I Want"
Ravyn Lenae ft. Rex Orange County - "Love Me Not"
Sabrina Carpenter - "Manchild"
sombr - "12 to 12"
Tate McRae - "Just Keep Watching"That is a LOT of songs. I feel like they just put every summer song in there.
Best Group
aespa
All Time Low
Backstreet Boys
BLACKPINK
Coldplay
Evanescence
Fuerza Regida
Grupo Frontera
Imagine Dragons
Jonas Brothers
KATSEYE
My Chemical Romance
SEVENTEEN
Stray Kids
The Marías
twenty one pilots
Backstreet Boys and My Chemical Romance? Wow, that's a throwback! I love it.
Oh, and Mariah Carey is getting the Video Vanguard Award, which is a HUGE deal. She totally deserves it. And LL Cool J is hosting, which is super cool, I love him.
So yeah, the VMAs are on September 7th, and I'm honestly so excited to see who wins! I hope I remembered everything. I probably forgot something important, like the fact that Doja Cat is performing, but oh well. This list is long enough as it is, I can't keep track of everything!

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