The 2025 Video Music Awards showcased both star celebrities and up-and-coming artists. This year, the Video Music Awards, commonly known as the VMAs, were held at the UBS Arena in Elmont, New York. Many attended this award show, including Alex Warren, Ariana Grande, Morgan Wallen, and numerous other celebrities. Awards varied from best music video of the year, best summer song, best collaboration, and more.
On the evening of September 7, 2025, the Video Music Awards had begun. Celebrities walked the red carpet, posed for pictures, and others were awarded in the pre-show awards. One of the topics that was included in the pre-show awards was Best New Artist. Six new stars were nominated, including Sombr, The Marías, Lola Young, Alex Warren, Gigi Perez, and Ella Langley. This year, Alex Warren was the winner, after many of his songs topped the charts. These songs include many popular ones, such as Ordinary, Eternity, and Bloodline (featuring Jelly Roll). Another pre-show award was one for the best Alternative song, and six songs were nominated. The winner of this award was Sombr for his song, “Back to Friends”, which was released last winter. The final preshow award given was for the Best Song of Summer, with a total of 16 nominated songs. These songs include “Mystical Magical” by Benson Boone and “Manchild” by Sabrina Carpenter. This year’s winner was Tate McRae for her new song “Just Keep Watching”, which was featured in the new movie, F1. This song quickly became a hit and rightfully earned its title as Song of Summer.
After the pre-show awards and walking the red carpet, everyone got ready for the central performances and awards to come. Some performances included singing from Sabrina Carpenter, Mariah Carey, Conan Grey, Lady Gaga, Tate McRae, Post Malone, Doja Cat, and Jelly Roll. There was also a tribute to Ozzy Osbourne, who sadly passed during the summer. With the show in progress, awards were being handed out. The Best Video Of The Year award is presented for the best music video, and it was given to Ariana Grande for her song “Brighter Days Ahead”. For Artist Of The Year, there were five nominees, with Lady Gaga pulling through with the win. The Latin Icon Award was presented to Ricky Martin, who began his singing career at the age of 12, making him the perfect recipient of this honor. The next category was Best Country, and it was between many amazing songs and singers. Megan Moroney came out with the win for her song, “Am I Okay”. Ten total songs were nominated for the title of Best Song, and with only one spot for a winner, many were left on the edge of their seats. In the end, ROSÉ and Bruno Mars won for their song “APT.” Best R&B and the Video Vanguard Award were the next awards to be given, and Mariah Carey came out with a win for both.
The PUSH performance of the year was another highly anticipated award of the night, with Katseye coming home with a win for their song, “Touch”. Two smaller categories that were gifting awards were Best K-Pop and Best Afrobeats, with LISA winning Best K-Pop for her song “Born Again” featuring Doja Cat and RAYE, and Tyla winning Best Afrobeats for her song “PUSH 2 START”. A significant award given was Best Album, with six deserving nominations. Sabrina Carpenter came out with the win for her album, “Short n’ Sweet”. Another highly anticipated award was Best Pop, with Ariana Grande taking home the award for “Brighter Days Ahead”. Ending the awards show on a strong note, they gave out the last few awards. These awards were for Best Collaboration, with Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars winning, Best Hip Hop going to Doechii, Best Pop Artist to a major artist, Sabrina Carpenter, Best Latin to Shakira, Best Group to Blackpink, and finally, Best Rock to Coldplay.
