2025 VMAs: The Winner Breakdown
The 2025 VMAs was a night of winning all around. Not only did many of our favorite artist leave the show with a Moon Person, but viewers won after getting to see a number of striking performances. Here’s a look at the winners from the night via Teen Vogue.
VIDEO OF THE YEAR
- WINNER: 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”
Ariana Grande joked that the microphone kept getting taller and then really did have to stand on her tip toes to reach it for her speech and then threw to her director, Christian Breslauer, who was tickled to have partnered with her for the project.
ARTIST OF THE YEAR
- WINNER: Lady Gaga
- Bad Bunny
- Beyoncé
- Kendrick Lamar
- Morgan Wallen
- Taylor Swift
- The Weeknd
SONG OF THE YEAR
- WINNER: ROSÉ & Bruno Mars – “APT.”
- Alex Warren – “Ordinary”
- Billie Eilish – “BIRDS OF A FEATHER”
- Doechii – “Anxiety”
- Ed Sheeran – “Sapphire”
- Gracie Abrams – “I Love You, I’m Sorry”
- Lady Gaga & Bruno Mars – “Die With A Smile”
- Lorde – “What Was That”
- Tate McRae – “Sports Car”
- The Weeknd, Playboi Carti – “Timeless”
BEST NEW ARTIST
- WINNER: Alex Warren
- Ella Langley
- Gigi Perez
- Lola Young
- sombr
- The Marías
Alex Warren not only made his VMA performance debut, he took home some hardware in disbelief.
BEST POP ARTIST
- WINNER: Sabrina Carpenter
- Ariana Grande
- Charli XCX
- Justin Bieber
- Lorde
- Miley Cyrus
- Tate McRae
MTV PUSH PERFORMANCE OF THE YEAR
- WINNER: KATSEYE – “Touch” (January 2025)
- Shaboozey – “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” (August 2024)
- Ayra Starr – “Last Heartbreak Song” (September 2024)
- Mark Ambor – “Belong Together” (October 2024)
- Lay Bankz – “Graveyard” (November 2024)
- Dasha – “Bye Bye Bye” (December 2024)
- Jordan Adetunji – “KEHLANI” (February 2025)
- Leon Thomas – “YES IT IS” (March 2025)
- Livingston – “Shadow” (April 2025)
- Damiano David – “Next Summer” (May 2025)
- Gigi Perez – “Sailor Song” (June 2025)
- Role Model – “Sally, When The Wine Runs Out” (July 2025)
BEST COLLABORATION
- WINNER: Lady Gaga & Bruno Mars – “Die With A Smile”
- Bailey Zimmerman with Luke Combs – “Backup Plan (Stagecoach Official Music Video)”
- Kendrick Lamar & SZA – “luther”
- Post Malone ft. Blake Shelton – “Pour Me A Drink”
- ROSÉ & Bruno Mars – “APT.”
- Selena Gomez, benny blanco – “Sunset Blvd”
BEST POP
- WINNER: Ariana Grande – “brighter days ahead”
- Alex Warren – “Ordinary”
- Ed Sheeran – “Sapphire”
- Lady Gaga & Bruno Mars – “Die With A Smile”
- ROSÉ & Bruno Mars – “APT.”
- Sabrina Carpenter – “Manchild”
Ariana Grande shouter out her dad for appearing in the video and for being the best dad in the world in her acceptance speech.
BEST HIP–HOP
- WINNER: 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
- WINNER: Mariah Carey – “Type Dangerous”
- Chris Brown – “Residuals”
- Leon Thomas & Freddie Gibbs – “MUTT (REMIX)”
- PARTYNEXTDOOR – “N o C h i l l”
- Summer Walker – “Heart of a Woman”
- SZA – “Drive”
- The Weeknd, Playboi Carti – “Timeless”
BEST ALTERNATIVE
- WINNER: sombr – “back to friends”
- Gigi Perez – “Sailor Song”
- Imagine Dragons – “Wake Up”
- Lola Young – “Messy”
- mgk & Jelly Roll – “Lonely Road”
- The Marías – “Back To Me”
BEST ROCK
- WINNER: 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
- WINNER: Shakira – “Soltera”
- Bad Bunny – “Baile Inolvidable”
- J Balvin – “Rio”
- Karol G – “Si Antes Te Hubiera Conocido”
- Peso Pluma – “La Patrulla”
- Rauw Alejandro & Romeo Santos – “Khé?”
BEST K–POP
- WINNER: Lisa ft. Doja Cat & Raye – “Born Again”
- aespa – “Whiplash”
- Jennie – “Like Jennie”
- Jimin – “Who”
- Jisoo – “Earthquake”
- Stray Kids – “Chk Chk Boom”
- Rosé – “Toxic Till the End”
Lisa accepted the award for “Born Again” remotely. She thanks her collaborators, MTV, her record label, and her fans.
BEST AFROBEATS
- WINNER: Tyla – “Push 2 Start”
- 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”
- Wizkid ft. Brent Faiyaz – “Piece of My Heart”
BEST COUNTRY
- WINNER: Megan Moroney – “Am I Okay?”
- 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”
- Morgan Wallen – “Smile”
The emo cowgirl, Megan Maroney, relishes over having a real Moon Person award after losing one in a game of White Elephant last Christmas.
BEST ALBUM
- WINNER: Sabrina Carpenter – Short n’ Sweet
- Bad Bunny – Debí Tirar Más Fotos
- Kendrick Lamar – GNX
- Lady Gaga – Mayhem
- Morgan Wallen – I’m the Problem
- The Weeknd – Hurry Up Tomorrow
Sabrina Carpenter counted herself the luckiest girl in the world to have won best album and then gave a special shout to the drag performers who joined her on stage for “Tears” earlier in the show.
BEST LONG FORM VIDEO
- WINNER: 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
- WINNER: Charli XCX – “Guess” (featuring Billie Eilish)
- Burna Boy – “Higher”
- 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
- WINNER: Lady Gaga – “Abracadabra”
- Ariana Grande – “Brighter Days Ahead”
- Charli XCX – “Guess” (featuring Billie Eilish)
- Kendrick Lamar – “Not Like Us”
- ROSÉ & Bruno Mars – “APT.”
- Sabrina Carpenter – “Manchild”
BEST ART DIRECTION
- WINNER: Lady Gaga – “Abracadabra”
- Charli XCX – “Guess” (featuring Billie Eilish)
- Kendrick Lamar – “Not Like Us”
- Lorde – “Man of the Year”
- Miley Cyrus – “End of the World”
- ROSÉ & Bruno Mars – “APT.”
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
- WINNER: Kendrick Lamar – “Not Like Us”
- Ariana Grande – “Brighter Days Ahead”
- Ed Sheeran – “Sapphire”
- Lady Gaga – “Abracadabra”
- Miley Cyrus – “Easy Lover”
- Sabrina Carpenter – “Manchild”
BEST EDITING
- WINNER: Tate McRae – “Just Keep Watching” (From F1® The Movie)
- Charli XCX – “Guess” (featuring Billie Eilish)
- Ed Sheeran – “Sapphire”
- Kendrick Lamar – “Not Like Us”
- Lady Gaga – “Abracadabra”
- Sabrina Carpenter – “Manchild”
BEST CHOREOGRAPHY
- WINNER: Doechii – “Anxiety”
- FKA twigs – “Eusexua”
- Kendrick Lamar – “Not Like Us”
- Lady Gaga – “Abracadabra”
- Tyla – “Push 2 Start”
- Zara Larsson – “Pretty Ugly”
BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
- WINNER: Sabrina Carpenter – “Manchild”
- Ariana Grande – “Brighter Days Ahead”
- Lady Gaga – “Abracadabra”
- ROSÉ & Bruno Mars – “APT.”
- Tate McRae – “Just Keep Watching” (From F1® The Movie)
- The Weeknd – “Hurry Up Tomorrow”
SONG OF SUMMER
- WINNER: Tate McRae – “Just Keep Watching”
- Addison Rae – “Headphones On”
- Alex Warren – “Ordinary”
- Benson Boone – “Mystical Magical”
- BigXthaPlug and Bailey Zimmerman – “All the Way”
- Chappell Roan – “The Subway”
- Demi Lovato – “Fast”
- Doja Cat – “Jealous Type”
- HUNTR/X – “Golden”
- Jessie Murph – “Blue Strips”
- Justin Bieber – “Daisies”
- MOLIY, Silent Addy, Skillibeng & Shenseea – “Shake It to the Max (FLY) (Remix)”
- Morgan Wallen and Tate McRae – “What I Want”
- Ravyn Lenae – “Love Me Not”
- Sabrina Carpenter – “Manchild”
- Sombr – “12 to 12”
BEST GROUP
- WINNER: BLACKPINK
- aespa
- KATSEYE
- SEVENTEEN
- Stray Kids
- All Time Low
- Backstreet Boys
- Coldplay
- Evanescence
- Fuerza Regida
- Grupo Frontera
- Imagine Dragons
- Jonas Brothers
- My Chemical Romance
- The Marías
- twenty one pilots