MTV’s 2025 Video Music Awards nominations dropped Friday, and they’re serving up the kind of delicious musical gumbo that only the VMAs can cook up. From pop royalty to TikTok sensations, this year’s lineup reads like a fascinating snapshot of where music stands at the quarter-mark of this wild decade.
Lady Gaga — fresh off her acclaimed virtual reality concert series — is leading the charge with a whopping 12 nominations. Not far behind, Bruno Mars (whose Mars-to-Mars livestream concert made headlines last month) and Kendrick Lamar are nipping at her heels with 11 and 10 nods respectively.
The Best Group category? Now that’s where things get really interesting. Picture this: Backstreet Boys sharing nomination space with K-pop phenoms BLACKPINK and SEVENTEEN. Throw in Coldplay (still riding high from their carbon-neutral world tour), My Chemical Romance, and All Time Low, and you’ve got yourself a category that perfectly captures music’s increasingly genre-fluid landscape.
Speaking of capturing moments — the Song of the Summer category is trying its darndest to bottle that lightning we call seasonal vibes. Breakout star Chappell Roan’s subway anthem has been practically inescapable on BeReal feeds everywhere, while Tate McRae’s “Just Keep Watching” (you know, that earworm from Brad Pitt’s F1 flick) is making waves across platforms.
Here’s a sign of the times: Addison Rae — yeah, the same one who broke the internet with those dance moves — just snagged her first VMAs nomination. “Headphones On” might have started as a social media moment, but it’s morphed into something bigger. Same goes for BigXthaPlug and Bailey Zimmerman’s “All the Way” — proof that the path to mainstream success keeps shape-shifting.
MTV’s getting clever with the voting process, too. They’re rolling out this bracket-style showdown for Best Group that kicks off Tuesday, September 2. It’s basically March Madness meets music, running through Saturday, September 6. Pretty smart way to keep folks engaged, honestly.
Meanwhile, Sabrina Carpenter’s quietly becoming the dark horse of this year’s awards, sitting pretty with nine nominations. Not too shabby for someone who was mostly known for Disney Channel reruns a few years back. And Tate McRae? Double-dipping in the Song of the Summer category with both “Just Keep Watching” and that Morgan Wallen collab “What I Want.”
The performance lineup’s shaping up to be quite the mixed bag — in the best way possible. Doja Cat, Post Malone, and Jelly Roll are bringing the new school energy, while Mariah Carey and Ricky Martin are there to remind everyone how it’s done. LL Cool J’s hosting duties feel like the perfect cherry on top.
Mark your calendars for Sunday, September 7, at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT. Whether you’re catching it on good old-fashioned CBS, MTV, or streaming on Paramount+ (because who even knows what a TV schedule is anymore?), this year’s show is promising to be one for the books.
In a year where AI-generated tracks are charting and virtual concerts are becoming the norm, these nominations feel like a fascinating time capsule of an industry that’s constantly reinventing itself. The VMAs have always been music’s crystal ball — and this year’s lineup suggests we’re in for quite a ride.
Leave a Reply