CBS and MTV unveiled the nominees for the 2025 MTV Video Music Awards (VMAs), honoring artists whose work in the past year has influenced the music industry and sparked global conversations.
The VMAs will air live from New York’s UBS Arena on Sunday, Sept. 7, at 8 p.m. Eastern time on CBS, simulcast on MTV, and streamed on Paramount+ in the U.S.
Fan voting opened immediately for 19 gender-neutral categories at vote.mtv.com and will remain open through Sept. 5 at 6 p.m. ET. The Best New Artist category will continue accepting votes during the show. The Song of the Year category will narrow from seven to six nominees on Aug. 18 at noon ET, with voting continuing alongside other categories through Sept. 5.
Fans can earn additional votes for Video of the Year, Artist of the Year, and Best New Artist by commenting under pinned posts on @VMAs Instagram using artist-specific hashtags through Aug. 8 at 6 p.m. ET. Daily Power Hour voting, sponsored by BACARDÍ Rum, will double votes per category from 1-2 p.m. ET between Aug. 7 and Sept. 4.
Details on performers, honorees, and social media categories will be announced later.
Nomination Highlights
Lady Gaga leads the nominations with 12 nods, including Video of the Year, Artist of the Year, and Best Album. This marks the third time Gaga has led the VMAs nominations, previously in 2010 and 2020. Bruno Mars follows with 11 nominations, Kendrick Lamar has 10, and both ROSÉ and Sabrina Carpenter received eight nominations each.
Ariana Grande and The Weeknd have seven nominations, Billie Eilish has six, and Charli XCX has five. Bad Bunny, Doechii, Ed Sheeran, Jelly Roll, Miley Cyrus, and Tate McRae each earned four nominations.
The competition continues between Beyoncé and Taylor Swift for the most-ever VMA wins; both are nominated for Artist of the Year.
Several first-time nominees received multiple nominations. ROSÉ earned eight as a solo artist for the first time. Alex Warren and Gigi Perez each received three nominations. Others with multiple first-time nods include Damiano David, Leon Thomas, Lola Young, sombr, and The Marías. JENNIE, Jimin, and JISOO also earned their first solo nominations.
Additional first-time nominees include Bailey Zimmerman, Blake Shelton, Brent Faiyaz, Cody Johnson, Dasha, Ella Langley, Freddie Gibbs, Jordan Adetunji, KATSEYE, Lainey Wilson, Lay Bankz, Livingston, Mac Miller, Mark Ambor, Megan Moroney, MOLIY, PARTYNEXTDOOR, ROLE MODEL, Sasha Alex Sloan, Silent Addy, Skillibeng, and Zach Hood.
Fans are encouraged to participate early and often as the countdown continues to the live broadcast.
