Lead
The 2025 MTV Video Music Awards, held on September 7, 2025, delivered a blend of legacy honors, high-profile performances and onstage statements. Confirmed winners announced during the broadcast include Lady Gaga, Sabrina Carpenter, Rosé and Bruno Mars, while Mariah Carey received her first-ever VMA with the Video Vanguard Award. The ceremony featured tributes and surprise moments that generated immediate social-media attention and industry reaction. This report summarizes confirmed outcomes, notable performances and the broader implications for artists and audiences.
Key Takeaways
- Mariah Carey received the Video Vanguard Award — her first VMA honor — during the September 7, 2025 broadcast.
- Artists confirmed among winners include Lady Gaga, Sabrina Carpenter, Rosé and Bruno Mars, as reported during the live event.
- Sabrina Carpenter used her performance of “Tears” to display a sign reading “Protect Trans Rights,” creating a politically charged moment onstage.
- Tributes included a segment honoring Ozzy Osbourne featuring performances by Steven Tyler, Joe Perry, Yungblud and Nuno Bettencourt.
- Busta Rhymes accepted the Rock the Bells Visionary Award and paid tribute to Ananda Lewis while onstage.
- Tate McRae performed songs including “Revolving Door” and “Sports Car,” contributing to a lineup that mixed rising stars and established names.
- The ceremony showcased the VMAs’ ongoing expansion of genre categories and international acts, reflecting music-streaming-era diversity.
Background
The MTV Video Music Awards have long positioned themselves as a yearly cultural snapshot where visual artistry, star moments and viral incidents intersect. Since their founding, the VMAs have served both as an industry accolade and a public spectacle, with performances and acceptance moments frequently reverberating across social platforms. In recent years the show has broadened category recognition to include more international and genre-specific awards, responding to global streaming trends and the commercial rise of K-pop, Latin music and Afrobeats.
Legacy honors such as the Video Vanguard Award historically celebrate sustained commercial impact and cultural influence; previous recipients include artists whose careers span decades. The 2025 decision to present Mariah Carey with the Video Vanguard underscores a continuing industry tendency to formalize recognition for long-term contributions to music video culture. Simultaneously, the event remains a stage for newer talents — the mix of established icons and breakout acts aims to capture a multi-generational audience.
Main Event
The broadcast on September 7, 2025, combined award presentations with a sequence of performances. Mariah Carey’s Video Vanguard segment stood out for its celebratory tone and a line that captured headlines: “What in the Sam Hill Took You So Long?!” according to coverage of her acceptance. That moment framed the ceremony’s dual focus on legacy and contemporary relevance.
Sabrina Carpenter delivered a performance of “Tears” that included a visible sign reading “Protect Trans Rights.” The gesture was widely shared online and became one of the night’s most discussed moments, illustrating how artists continue to use awards stages to advance social and political messages. Other performers, like Tate McRae, contributed high-energy sets that emphasized the show’s commitment to both radio-friendly hits and emerging-pop theatricality.
Tribute segments punctuated the evening. An Ozzy Osbourne tribute featured contributions from rock figures Steven Tyler and Joe Perry alongside alternative artists such as Yungblud and guitarist Nuno Bettencourt. Busta Rhymes’ acceptance of the Rock the Bells Visionary Award included an onstage homage to Ananda Lewis, blending personal reflection with a recognition of hip-hop culture’s broader narratives.
Analysis & Implications
Mariah Carey’s Video Vanguard recognition is both symbolic and strategic: it closes a perceived gap between the artist’s commercial legacy and formalized institutional acknowledgment. For the industry, such honors reinforce the VMAs’ role in canonizing pop milestones, which can translate into renewed catalog streaming and media attention for the artist.
The use of the VMAs stage for explicit political messaging — exemplified by Sabrina Carpenter’s sign — highlights an enduring tension in live-broadcast entertainment. While some viewers embrace artists’ activism as authentic engagement, others see it as polarizing. For artists, these actions can deepen connections with core audiences while risking backlash in other segments; for promoters and sponsors, the calculus of booking socially active performers becomes more complex.
The ceremony’s mix of genres and international presence reflects market realities shaped by streaming: playlists and global fanbases have expanded what mainstream awards shows must represent. Categories that recognize Latin, K-pop and Afrobeats artists — noted in the broadcast program — indicate an institutional response to shifting consumption patterns and the commercial imperative to remain relevant to a global audience.
Comparison & Data
| Confirmed Name | Onstage Note |
|---|---|
| Mariah Carey | Received Video Vanguard Award (first VMA) |
| Sabrina Carpenter | Displayed “Protect Trans Rights” during “Tears” performance |
| Lady Gaga | Reported among winners during broadcast |
| Bruno Mars | Reported among winners during broadcast |
| Rosé | Reported among winners during broadcast |
The table above lists confirmed people and key onstage notes drawn from live coverage. A full, category-by-category winners list was being updated by outlets in the hours after the broadcast. The presence of multiple confirmed legacy and contemporary winners suggests the VMAs remain a hybrid ceremony where industry recognition and realtime cultural conversation intersect.
Reactions & Quotes
The highlights produced immediate responses from viewers, industry figures and fan communities. Below are short, representative onstage and on-screen moments from the night:
“What in the Sam Hill Took You So Long?!”
Mariah Carey (accepting the Video Vanguard Award)
“Protect Trans Rights”
Sabrina Carpenter (onstage signage during “Tears”)
Both moments were widely shared on social platforms and referenced in post-show coverage, amplifying the night beyond traditional TV ratings and into streaming and social metrics.
Unconfirmed
- Complete category-by-category winners list had not been finalized in the earliest live reports; some artist-category pairings remain unconfirmed.
- Exact vote tallies, selection methodologies for each award and any internal criteria changes for 2025 had not been publicly disclosed at time of reporting.
- Further details about which awards Lady Gaga, Bruno Mars and Rosé won (specific category names) were not specified in the initial live update and require confirmation.
Bottom Line
The 2025 MTV VMAs blended institutional recognition and contemporary spectacle: Mariah Carey’s long-awaited Video Vanguard honor and high-profile onstage messages illustrate the ceremony’s dual role as both a legacy marker and an active cultural forum. Confirmed winners ranged from established superstars to current chart-dominant acts, underscoring the VMAs’ continued relevance to artist branding and streaming-era visibility.
For industry watchers, the takeaways are twofold: awards and televised honors still generate measurable commercial and reputational effects, and live moments that engage political or social issues can amplify an artist’s cultural footprint. Readers should expect complete category results and vote-methodology details to be published by official outlets and the ceremony’s producers in subsequent updates.
Sources
- The Hollywood Reporter (Entertainment news — live coverage and winners update)
- MTV (Official broadcaster — ceremony programming and awards)
- Getty Images (Photo agency — event photography credit)