Lady Gaga was the night’s big winner at the 2025 MTV Video Music Awards, which took place on Sunday night, September 7, at Long Island’s UBS Arena. Gaga earned a staggering 12 nominations and took away four Moon Person trophies. Ariana Grande and Sabrina Carpenter were also big winners. Mariah Carey was presented with the Video Vanguard Award. Hosted by LL COOL J, the awards ceremony aired live on CBS for the first time.

Gaga earned a large number of her nominations thanks to her Bruno Mars collaboration, “Die With a Smile,” which took home Best Collaboration. Gaga also won Artist of the Year, while the video for Gaga’s Mayhem single “Abracadabra” won Best Direction. Gaga’s pre-taped performances of “Abracadra” and “The Dead Dance” were featured in the show.

Carey performed a career-spanning medley that included “Sugar Sweet,” “Fantasy,” “Heartbreaker,” “Obsessed,” “It’s Like That,” and “We Belong Together.” It marked her first performance at the Awards since 2005. In addition to her Video Vanguard Award, Carey also won her first ever VMA for Best R&B for “Type Dangerous.”

Ariana Grande took home three trophies for her short film “Brighter Days Ahead,” including Video of the Year, Best Pop, and Best Long Form Video.

Sabrina Carpenter also received three trophies after earning eight nominations. She took home awards for Best Pop Artist, Best Album for Short N’ Sweet, and Best Visual Effects for “Manchild” off her recently-released album Man’s Best Friend. Carpenter won her first VMA last year for “Espresso,” which she performed last year. This year, she delivered “Tears” alongside dancers and drag queens displaying messages of trans solidarity.

Kendrick Lamar received 10 nominations largely for his Grammy-winning hit “Not Like Us.” The song’s video won Best Cinematography. Billie Eilish received six nominations and won the Video For Good award for “Guess,” her collaboration with Charli XCX.

Busta Rhymes won the MTV VMA Rock the Bells Visionary Award, while Ricky Martin received the Latin Icon Award.

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