MTV Video Music Awards 2025: All the nominees

African musicians continue to gain international recognition, with several earning nominations in major categories at the VMAs. Nigerian artist Asake received two nominations for his collaborations: ‘Active’ with Travis Scott and ‘Get It Right’ with Tems. Burna Boy also received two nods, with ‘TaTaTa’ featuring Travis Scott in the Best Afrobeats category and ‘Higher’ nominated in the Video for Good category. South African singer Tyla was also nominated twice. Her track ‘PUSH 2 START’ received recognition in both Best Afrobeats and Best Choreography.

Other African artists nominated in the Best Afrobeats category include Ghanaian singer MOLIY, alongside collaborators Silent Addy, Skillibeng and Shenseea for ‘Shake It To The Max (FLY) (Remix)’. Rema received a nomination for ‘Baby (Is It A Crime)’, and Wizkid was recognised for ‘Piece Of My Heart’ featuring Brent Faiyaz.

Lady Gaga leads this year’s nominations with 12 nods, followed by Bruno Mars (11) and Kendrick Lamar (10). Beyoncé and Taylor Swift are both in the running for Artist of the Year, continuing their competition for the most career wins at the VMAs.

“The global recognition of African artists at this year’s MTV VMAs is a resounding affirmation of the genre’s influence and the visionary creativity shaping its evolution,” Paramount Africa senior vice-president and general manager Monde Twala said. “These nominations are not just milestones for the artists, they represent a cultural shift. At MTV Africa, we are proud to continue elevating African music and talent.”

Voting and awards ceremony

Voting is now open for 19 gender-neutral categories here until 5 September at 6PM ET. The Song of the Year category will be narrowed down to six finalists on 18 August, with voting continuing until 5 September. Fans can also vote by commenting on pinned posts on the Instagram page using artist-specific hashtags until 8 August at 1am CAT.

A daily “Power Hour” voting window, where fans can double their votes per category, will run from 7 August to 4 September between 1 and 2pm ET. The full list of performers and honourees for the ceremony will be announced in the coming weeks.

Below is the full list of nominees:

Best Afrobeats

• 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’
• Tyla – ‘PUSH 2 START’
• Wizkid ft. Brent Faiyaz – ‘Piece Of My Heart’

Video of the Year

• 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’

Artist of the Year

• Bad Bunny – Rimas Entertainment
• Beyoncé – Parkwood Entertainment/Columbia Records
• Kendrick Lamar – pgLang/Interscope Records
• Lady Gaga – Interscope Records
• Morgan Wallen – Big Loud Records/Mercury Records
• Taylor Swift – Republic Records
• The Weeknd – XO/Republic Records

Song of the Year

• 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’
• ROSÉ & Bruno Mars – ‘APT.’
• Tate McRae – ‘Sports Car’
• The Weeknd, Playboi Carti – ‘Timeless’

Best New Artist

• Alex Warren – Atlantic Records
• Ella Langley – SAWGOD/Columbia Records
• Gigi Perez – Island
• Lola Young – Island
• sombr – SMB Music/Warner Records
• The Marías – Nice Life/Atlantic Records

Best Pop Artist

• Ariana Grande – Republic Records
• Charli xcx – Atlantic Records
• Justin Bieber – Def Jam Recordings
• Lorde – Republic Records
• Miley Cyrus – Columbia Records
• Sabrina Carpenter – Island
• Tate McRae – RCA Records

MTV Push Performance of the Year

• Aug 2024 – Shaboozey – ‘A Bar Song (Tipsy)’
• Sept 2024 – Ayra Starr – ‘Last Heartbreak Song’
• Oct 2024 – Mark Ambor – ‘Belong Together’
• Nov 2024 – Lay Bankz – ‘Graveyard’
• Dec 2024 – Dasha – ‘Bye Bye Bye’
• Jan 2025 – KATSEYE – ‘Touch’
• Feb 2025 – Jordan Adetunji – ‘KEHLANI’
• Mar 2025 – Leon Thomas – ‘YES IT IS’
• Apr 2025 – Livingston – ‘Shadow’
• May 2025 – Damiano David – ‘Next Summer’
• June 2025 – Gigi Perez – ‘Sailor Song’
• July 2025 – ROLE MODEL – ‘Sally, When The Wine Runs Out’

Best Collaboration

• Bailey Zimmerman with Luke Combs – ‘Backup Plan (Stagecoach Official Music Video)’ –
• Kendrick Lamar & SZA – ‘luther’
• Lady Gaga & Bruno Mars – ‘Die With A Smile’
• Post Malone ft. Blake Shelton – ‘Pour Me A Drink’
• ROSÉ & Bruno Mars – ‘APT’
• Selena Gomez, benny blanco – ‘Sunset Blvd’

Best Pop

• Alex Warren – ‘Ordinary’
• Ariana Grande – ‘brighter days ahead’
• Ed Sheeran – ‘Sapphire’
• Lady Gaga & Bruno Mars – ‘Die With A Smile’
• ROSÉ & Bruno Mars – ‘APT.’
• Sabrina Carpenter – ‘Manchild’

Best Hip Hop

• 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

• Chris Brown – ‘Residuals’
• Leon Thomas & Freddie Gibbs – ‘MUTT (REMIX)’
• Mariah Carey – ‘Type Dangerous’
• PARTYNEXTDOOR – ‘N o C h i l l’
• Summer Walker – ‘Heart Of A Woman’
• SZA – ‘Drive’
• The Weeknd, Playboi Carti – ‘Timeless’

Best Alternative

• Gigi Perez – ‘Sailor Song’
• Imagine Dragons – ‘Wake Up’
• Lola Young – ‘Messy’
• mgk & Jelly Roll – ‘Lonely Road’
• sombr – ‘back to friends’
• The Marías – ‘Back To Me’

Best Rock

• 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

• Bad Bunny – ‘BAILE INoLVIDABLE’      
• J Balvin – ‘Rio’         
• KAROL G – ‘Si Antes Te Hubiera Conocido’         
• Peso Pluma – ‘LA PATRULLA’      
• Rauw Alejandro & Romeo Santos – ‘Khé?’         
• Shakira – ‘Soltera’

Best K-Pop

• aespa – ‘Whiplash’
• JENNIE – ‘like JENNIE’ 
• Jimin – ‘Who’
• JISOO – ‘earthquake’
• LISA ft. Doja Cat & RAYE – ‘Born Again’       
• Stray Kids – ‘Chk Chk Boom’
• ROSÉ – ‘toxic till the end’    

Best Country

• 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’
• Megan Moroney – ‘Am I Okay?’    
• Morgan Wallen – Smile’

Best Album

• Bad Bunny – ‘DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS’
• Kendrick Lamar – ‘GNX’
• Lady Gaga – Mayhem’
• Morgan Wallen – ‘I’m The Problem’
• Sabrina Carpenter – ‘Short n' Sweet’
• The Weeknd – ‘Hurry Up Tomorrow’

Best Long Form Video

• 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

• Burna Boy – ‘Higher’               
• Charli xcx – ‘Guess’ featuring Billie Eilish
• 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

• Ariana Grande – ‘brighter days ahead’
• Charli xcx – ‘Guess’ featuring Billie Eilish
• Kendrick Lamar – ‘Not Like Us’
• Lady Gaga – ‘Abracadabra’
• ROSÉ & Bruno Mars – ‘APT’
• Sabrina Carpenter – ‘Manchild’

Best Art Direction

• Charli xcx – ‘Guess’ featuring Billie Eilish’
• Kendrick Lamar – ‘Not Like Us’
• Lady Gaga – ‘Abracadabra’
• Lorde – ‘Man Of The Year’
• Miley Cyrus – ‘End of the World’
• ROSÉ & Bruno Mars – ‘APT’

Best Cinematography

• Ariana Grande – ‘brighter days ahead’
• Ed Sheeran – ‘Sapphire’
• Kendrick Lamar – ‘Not Like Us’
• Lady Gaga – ‘Abracadabra’
• Miley Cyrus – ‘Easy Lover’
• Sabrina Carpenter – ‘Manchild’ 

Best Editing

• Charli xcx – ‘Guess’ featuring Billie Eilish
• Ed Sheeran – ‘Sapphire’
• Kendrick Lamar – ‘Not Like Us’
• Lady Gaga – ‘Abracadabra’
• Sabrina Carpenter – ‘Manchild’
• Tate McRae – ‘Just Keep Watching (From F1® The Movie)’

Best Choreography

• Doechii – ‘Anxiety’
• FKA twigs – ‘Eusexua’
• Kendrick Lamar – ‘Not Like Us’
• Lady Gaga – ‘Abracadabra’
• Tyla – ‘PUSH 2 START’
• Zara Larsson – ‘Pretty Ugly’

Best Visual Effects

• Ariana Grande – ‘brighter days ahead’
• Lady Gaga – ‘Abracadabra’
• ROSÉ & Bruno Mars – ‘APT’
• Sabrina Carpenter – ‘Manchild’
• Tate McRae – ‘Just Keep Watching (From F1® The Movie)’
• The Weeknd – ‘Hurry Up Tomorrow’