The 2025 MTV Video Music Awards season has exploded into life with Lady Gaga — ever the shape-shifting chameleon of pop — snagging a staggering dozen nominations. Her latest visual feast has clearly struck a chord with the Academy, marking her third time dominating the nomination count. (Remember when everyone thought her meat dress days were behind her? Yeah, right.)
Hot on Gaga’s stiletto-clad heels, Bruno Mars clocked in with 11 nods, while Kendrick Lamar’s visual masterpieces earned him 10 nominations. But here’s where things get interesting — ROSÉ and Sabrina Carpenter have muscled their way into the upper echelons with 8 nominations each. Not too shabby for the new kids on the block.
The VMAs are finally catching up with the times, too. After years of genre-boxing artists, they’ve thrown open the doors with new Best Country and Best Pop Artist categories. About time, honestly. The September 7 broadcast — simulcast across CBS, MTV, and Paramount+ — promises to showcase just how beautifully blurred those genre lines have become.
This week’s musical landscape hasn’t just been about glittering awards and industry politics, though. Lauren Alaina dropped “Little Things,” and wow — talk about a gut punch. Her tribute to her late father cuts straight through the industry noise with raw honesty. During her ET interview, she laid bare the impact of loss on her creative journey: “Life is really short and losing my dad literally stopped me in my tracks, and made me really want to prioritize my mental health and just be a happier person in general.”
Meanwhile, the Jonas Brothers are getting nostalgic (and who can blame them after 20 years?). Their seventh studio album, “Greetings From Your Hometown,” reads like a love letter to their New Jersey roots. The timing couldn’t be better — their JONAS20 tour kicks off at MetLife Stadium, right where it all began.
Speaking of fresh voices — Amaarae’s “Black Star” just dropped, and it’s something else. The Ghanaian American artist has taken her “Fountain Baby” success and run with it, diving headfirst into underground dance territories. “Girlie-Pop!” stands out as an earworm that’ll probably be stuck in your head until next winter… that “pop!” refrain is ridiculously catchy.
In a touching display of music’s healing power, the Stand Up To Cancer fundraising special has assembled quite the lineup. The Jonas Brothers (busy year for them), Noah Cyrus, and Jelly Roll are set to perform at the Nashville-based event. With Sheryl Crow at the helm, the broadcast promises to weave together survivor stories and performances that remind us why music matters beyond the charts and streaming numbers.
As we cruise through 2025’s musical offerings, one thing’s crystal clear — the industry’s evolving faster than ever. Whether it’s established icons reinventing themselves or newcomers shaking up the status quo, music continues to surprise, comfort, and challenge us in equal measure. Not bad for an industry that some claimed would never recover from the streaming wars, right?
Leave a Reply