Women were dominating the MTV Video Music Awards this year at the UBS Arena in New York on Sept. 7. Out of the 27 awards, 23 of them were won by female artists or groups.
Mariah Carey won the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard award and the Best R&B award. Shining in gold, Carey performed a medley of “It’s Like That,” “We Belong Together,” “Obsessed” and her new single “Type Dangerous.” During her performance, Carey brought her alter ego “Bianca” from her song “Heartbreak” and slapped her on stage. Carey was first nominated in 1996 and finally earned her first “Moon Person” trophy this year. In her acceptance speech, she joked, “What in the Sam Hill were you waiting for?”
At the pre-show, global girl group KATSEYE performed the song “Gnarly” with choreographed dance routines, while the crowd screamed the lyrics back. Next, they performed “Gabriela,” with its signature helicopter hands dance, and Latina member Daniela Avanzini sang the iconic Spanish bridge. Later, they won their first VMA ever for Push Performance of the Year.
Lady Gaga won the Artist of the Year award. She had the most awards of the night with four wins and the most overall nominations of 12.
During her acceptance speech, she said she ran to Madison Square Garden to perform at her sold-out Mayhem Ball Tour. Even though she had to leave, Gaga gave a pre-recorded performance from MSG of her songs “Abracadabra” and “The Dead Dance.” It was later posted on social media that Gaga had incorporated her “Moon People” into her performance at MSG.
Tate McRae performed “Revolving door,” which had semi-dressed men frozen on pedestals around her in a white dress, ending with her signature backbend. Then, McRae performed “Sports car” in a black sandpit with the men alongside her, finishing her performance with a fiery dance break. “Just Keep Watching” won Song of the Summer at the VMAs.
“My performance is inspired by Medusa, so it’s the scorned woman and making all the boys stone,” McRae said in an interview.
Sabrina Carpenter performed the second track, “Tears,” from her latest album for the first time at the VMAs. The stage was set in retro-style New York as she emerged from the sewer, and she was accompanied by drag performers, one of them being Lexi Love. She sent a clear message throughout the performance, using her platform to call for the protection of trans rights. For the finale, water rained down on the stage during a dance break, with Carpenter doing a quick
change into an iconic Britney Spears’s outfit. Later, Carpenter won the Album of the Year award for her album “Short n’ Sweet.”
History was made at the 2025 VMAs when Megan Moroney was the first artist to win the best country award. This marks the first time the VMAs have given out this award. Moroney performed her song “6 Months Later” with her signature shining guitar in the spotlight.
Another historical achievement at the VMAs was the win of K-pop artist Rosé, who received the Song of the Year award for her song “APT” with Bruno Mars. Rosé became the first ever K-pop artist to win the award. K-pop was also in the spotlight after HUNTR/X from Netflix’s most-watched movie ever, “K-pop Demon Hunters,” presented the award for Album of the Year to Carpenter.
The show ended with Ariana Grande taking home the Video of the Year award for her song “Brighter Days Ahead.” In her speech, she gave credit to the director of the music video, Christian Breslauer, who gave an acceptance speech after Grande. Video of the Year was among the three awards she received this year.
Grande explained how important this song was to her because it was written “about the hard work that is healing all different kinds of trauma and coming home to our younger selves and creating safety in our own lives,” she said.
A complete list of the winners and nominees for each category can be found on the MTV website.
