The 2025 MTV Video Music Awards arrive with star-studded performances, major category shakeups and a long list of artists who could rewrite VMA history. Cord cutters can find the 2025 MTV VMAs on Paramount+, and for the first time, the long-running award show will air on broadcast TV.
As one of the biggest events across pop culture, the VMAs spotlights the best songs and music videos released from June 20, 2024, and June 18, 2025. Rock and Roll Hall of Famer and rapper-turned-actor LL Cool J is scheduled to host the event.
This year’s ceremony mixes legacy honors with fresh categories, including two fan-voted categories: Best Country and Best Pop Artist. Mariah Carey will receive the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award, Busta Rhymes is slated for the Rock the Bells Visionary honor, and Ricky Martin will be acknowledged with the Latin Icon award. Lady Gaga leads all nominees with 12 nominations, and you can check out the full list of 2025 MTV VMAs Nominees here.
Quick 2025 MTV VMA Facts to Know
- When to Watch: Sunday, September 7, 2025
- Start Time: 7:00 PM (Pre-Show) | 8:00 PM (Main Show)
- Location: UBS Arena, Elmont, New York
- Where to Watch: Paramount+ | CBS| MTV
- Where to Stream: Paramount+ | DIRECTV | Fubo | Sling TV | YouTube TV | Hulu + Live TV | Philo
Subscribers can watch the 2025 MTV VMAs live with Paramount+ Premium; the ceremony is available the next day with Paramount Essential.
How to Watch the 2025 MTV VMAs for Free
No need for contracts or bulky equipment to watch one of the biggest nights in music. Whether you have an Apple TV, Fire TV, Roku, Google TV or another compatible device, streaming the 2025 MTV VMAs is simple.
For new subscribers, you can watch the 2025 VMAs for free by using a live TV streaming service that carries CBS, MTV, or any of its sister channels carrying the ceremony. In addition to CBS and MTV, you can find the 2025 MTV VMAs (main show and pre-show) on sister channels: MTV2, BET, BET Her, CMT, CC, Logo, Nickelodeon, Paramount Network, TV Land, and VH1.
By utilizing free trials, new subscribers can watch the 2025 MTV VMAs for free on
- DIRECTV with a 5-day trial
- Fubo offers various trial lengths, usually 5 days
- Hulu + Live TV gives you a 3-day trial
- YouTube TV trials vary up to 21 days free
- Paramount+ has a 7-day free trial
- Philo is another option for a free 7-day trial
Additionally, you can watch the ceremony live on CBS for free with an antenna. By using a site like Antennas Direct, you can find which CBS affiliate is in your area and the right antenna to watch live.
2025 MTV VMA Performers & Presenters
Main Show Presenters:
- Jessica Simpson & Ashlee Simpson Ross
- Ciara
- Drew Barrymore
- Ice Spice
- Latto
- Livvy Dunne
- Brittany Snow & Malin Akerman (from The Hunting Wives)
- Megan Stalter
- Nikki Glaser
- Paris Hilton
- EJAE, Audrey Nuna, and REI AMI (the real-life voices behind Netflix’s fictional K-Pop group HUNTR/X)
Performers
Pre-Show:
- Hosted by: Nessa and Kevan Kenney
- Performance: KATSEYE performing “Gnarly” and “Gabriela”
Extended Play Stage:
- Bailey Zimmerman featuring The Kid LAROI
- Lola Young
- Megan Moroney
Main Stage Performers:
- Lady Gaga
- Doja Cat
- Post Malone
- Sabrina Carpenter
- J Balvin featuring DJ Snake (Performing the newly released “Noventa”)
- Alex Warren
- Conan Gray
- Jelly Roll
- Tate McRae
- sombr
Special Tribute & Honorees:
- Ozzy Osbourne Tribute: Steven Tyler, Joe Perry (Aerosmith), Yungblud, and Nuno Bettencourt perform a tribute of Ozzy’s greatest hit
- Performances by Honorees: Busta Rhymes, Mariah Carey, and Ricky Martin
2025 MTV VMAs Nominees
Lady Gaga (12) leads the nominations and is at the center of much of the pre-show chatter. Her album Mayhem and collaborations put her in the running across major categories. Bruno Mars (11) and Kendrick Lamar (10) follow closely in nominations, making the top-of-card categories very competitive. While Taylor Swift and Beyoncé each show up in heavyweight categories (Artist of the Year among them), keeping the long-running “who will be the most-awarded artist” story alive
Check out the full list of nominees:
Video of the Year
- 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”
Artist of the Year
- Bad Bunny
- Beyoncé
- Kendrick Lamar
- Lady Gaga
- Taylor Swift
- Morgan Wallen
- The Weeknd
Song of the Year
- Alex Warren — “Ordinary”
- Billie Eilish — “Birds of a Feather”
- Gracie Abrams — “I Love You, I’m Sorry”
- Lady Gaga & Bruno Mars — “Die with a Smile”
- Rosé & Bruno Mars — “Apt.”
- Tate McRae — “Sports Car”
Best New Artist
- Alex Warren
- Ella Langley
- Gigi Perez
- Lola Young
- Sombr
- The Marías
Best Pop Artist
- Ariana Grande
- Charli XCX
- Justin Bieber
- Lorde
- Miley Cyrus
- Sabrina Carpenter
- Tate McRae
Push Performance of the Year (monthly winners listed on page)
- (Monthly winners from Aug 2024 – July 2025: Shaboozey, Ayra Starr, Mark Ambor, Lay Bankz, Dasha, Katseye, Jordan Adetunji, Leon Thomas, Livingston, Damiano David, Gigi Perez, Role Model)
Best Collaboration
- Bailey Zimmerman & 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”
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 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 — “4×4”
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 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 Rock
- Coldplay — “All My Love”
- Evanescence — “Afterlife (From the Netflix series Devil May Cry)”
- Green Day — “One Eyed Bastard”
- Lenny Kravitz — “Honey”
- Linkin Park — “The Emptiness Machine”
- Twenty One Pilots — “The Contract”
Best Latin
- Bad Bunny — “Baile Inolvidable”
- J Balvin — “Rio”
- Karol G — “Si Antes Te Hubiera Conocido”
- Peso Pluma & Netón Vega — “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 & Travis Scott — “TaTaTa”
- Moliy, Silent Addy, Skillibeng & Shenseea — “Shake It to the Max (Fly) (remix)”
- Rema — “Baby (Is It a Crime)”
- Tems & Asake — “Get It Right”
- Tyla — “Push 2 Start”
- Wizkid & Brent Faiyaz — “Piece of My Heart”
Best Country
- Chris Stapleton — “Think I’m in Love with You”
- Cody Johnson & Carrie Underwood — “I’m Gonna Love You”
- Jelly Roll — “Liar”
- Megan Moroney — “Am I Okay?”
- Morgan Wallen — “Smile”
- Lainey Wilson — “4x4xU”
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 (Dir: Christian Breslauer)
- Charli XCX ft. Billie Eilish — “Guess” (Dir: Aidan Zamiri)
- Kendrick Lamar — “Not Like Us” (Dir: Dave Free & Kendrick Lamar)
- Lady Gaga — “Abracadabra” (Dirs: Lady Gaga, Bethany Vargas & Parris Goebel)
- Rosé & Bruno Mars — “Apt.” (Dirs: Bruno Mars & Daniel Ramos)
- Sabrina Carpenter — “Manchild” (Dirs: Vania Heymann & Gal Muggia)
Best Art Direction, Cinematography, Editing, Choreography, Visual Effects — see the Wikipedia page for complete nominee breakdown in each technical category.