The MTV Video Music Awards aired, for the first time in its 41-year history, on CBS. Though the move marked a bit of synergy with Paramount Global, the parent company of both networks, it brought the awards show that had long been at the forefront of youth culture to the broadcaster with the oldest prime-time viewership.
Those watching saw a familiar host in LL Cool J, a previous M.C. of the Grammys on the same network. On Sunday night, performers at the ceremony leaned into nostalgia, beginning with Doja Cat’s Max Headroom-referencing opener and continuing with honors for mainstays of MTV’s T.R.L. heyday: Ricky Martin lived la vida loca once again as the recipient of the inaugural Latin Icon Award and Busta Rhymes became the first recipient of the Rock the Bells Visionary Award.
Lady Gaga entered with the most nominations (12) and questions about how she would manage her appearance at the awards show, staged at the UBS Arena on Long Island, and her tour stop at Madison Square Garden in the same night (more on that later). Mariah Carey received (incomprehensibly!) her first moon person amid standout performances from rising stars like Tate McRae, Alex Warren, Megan Moroney and Yungblud, who paid tribute to Ozzy Osbourne. Here are the highlights of the 2025 MTV V.M.A.s.
Doja Cat threw it back to the 1980s.
The red carpet bouffant should have been the first tipoff. Doja Cat, whose upcoming album, “Vie,” evokes the ’80s, showed up with a teased hairdo straight out of the glam rock era and … promptly took a bite of lipstick during a preshow interview.
The Los Angeles rapper and singer may not have been born when the computerized video jockey Max Headroom hit TVs in the mid-’80s, but that didn’t stop Doja Cat from assuming his look in a video message to kick off her performance of “Jealous Type,” her latest single. Kenny G opened with a few notes on his saxophone, before Doja Cat moved through a mean pop-and-lock and vamped moves that evoked the choreography from Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis’s early productions for Janet Jackson. — BRIAN JOSEPHS
Mariah Carey and Busta Rhymes got overdue honors.
Mariah Carey colored the UBS Arena stage in champagne gold after Ariana Grande, her whistle-register heir, introduced her as this year’s Video Vanguard. Carey was in her glammed diva element launching into “Sugar Sweet” from her upcoming album “Here For It All,” wearing — naturally — a silky robe with feathered sleeves.
Ditching the robe for a sparkly gold jumpsuit, Carey strutted through a medley with nods to video set-ups that have long traded in campy story lines (dressing in drag for “Obsessed”; a fight scene with her alter ego in “Heartbreaker”). Weaving hits “It’s Like That,” “We Belong Together” with the new single “Type Dangerous,” Carey made the case that she was long overdue for MTV’s recognition. Accepting the honor, she playfully asked why it had taken so long: “What in the Sam Hill were you waiting for?” The award turned out to be her second V.M.A.: She won the best R&B moon person for “Type Dangerous,” beating out SZA and the Weeknd, before the broadcast.
Another honoree had been on an even longer award-less streak. Busta Rhymes, known for visually pioneering videos like “Put Your Hands Where My Eyes Could See” and “Gimme Some More,” was 0-for-16 at the V.M.A.s before receiving the Rock the Bells Visionary Award on Sunday.
“I don’t usually do these long speeches; I’m not going to do one today,” he said accepting the honor. “But the next time y’all take 35 years to give me one of these, y’all going to let me talk as long as I want.” — JOSEPHS
Sabrina Carpenter brought out ‘Drag Race’ stars for her ‘Tears’ performance.
A week removed from the release of “Man’s Best Friend,” her latest LP, Sabrina Carpenter had some help for her V.M.A.’s rendition of the single “Tears”: a few of the queens from “RuPaul’s Drag Race.” Lexi Love and Symone were among the troupe who cavorted onstage alongside costumed police officers and even a flasher in a scene from 1980s-era New York City. As Carpenter sang her cheeky ode to “responsible” men (“a little respect for women can get you very, very far”), background dancers held up signs that read “Support Local Drag,” “Protect Trans Rights” and “If You Hate You’ll Never Get Laid.” Later in the night, her “Short n’ Sweet” won best album. — SHIVANI GONZALEZ
Tate McRae’s choreography did not disappoint.
In her first performance on the V.M.A.’s main stage, the Canadian singer showed off serious dance chops through a medley of two songs from her album “So Close to What.” Men wearing black briefs and silver body paint posed on pedestals lining the stage during “Revolving Door,” which culminated with McRae hitting the choreography she’s known for, including a backbend that went viral on TikTok earlier this year. She was joined by more dancers in a pit of black sand, where she performed “Sports Car.” Though McRae was nominated in 2024, she took home her first moon person during this year’s preshow for “Just Keep Watching,” which won song of summer. — GONZALEZ
Lady Gaga brought mayhem to … Madison Square Garden.
Lady Gaga stuck around for the V.M.A.’s opening moments, accepting the show’s first televised award for artist of the year before scampering offstage. “I wish I could stay and watch all these amazing performances, but I have to go back to Madison Square Garden,” she demurred. The show had advertised Gaga as one of the night’s acts, prompting head-scratches from fans and ticket holders for Sunday night’s stop on her Mayhem Ball tour at the arena across town.
It turned out that Gaga had prerecorded a set for the broadcast that wove her infectious hit “Abracadabra” into the jerky “The Dead Dance,” a track also featured in Netflix’s “Wednesday.” Dressed in Elizabethan garb, Gaga’s torso popped out atop a skirt-shaped structure populated with dancers who moved spastically. Lady Gaga, who had the most nominations of the night with 12, also won the best collaboration trophy with Bruno Mars for “Die With a Smile.” — JOSEPHS
Yungblud, Joe Perry and Steven Tyler paid tribute to Ozzy Osbourne.
Ozzy Osbourne was known as the “prince of darkness” and an originator of heavy metal before his death in July at 76. But Osbourne also had a late-career re-emergence as the doddering patriarch on the MTV reality show “The Osbournes,” which aired from 2002 to 2005.
His son Jack, who was a surly teen when the show was in production, appeared via video at the awards surrounded by his own kids to introduce the tribute from Yungblud, Joe Perry and Steven Tyler. “I know it will make him incredibly happy to see these amazing musicians carry on his legacy and help inspire the next generation of rockers,” he said.
Yungblud first met Ozzy Osbourne in 2022, when the British singer appeared in his video for “The Funeral,” and the two maintained a relationship. He channeled Osbourne with the demonic laughter that opens “Crazy Train” and gamely attempted the song’s chorus (although at a lower register) before moving on to “Changes.”
Steven Tyler and Joe Perry, the Aerosmith bandmates, then joined Yungblud onstage for “Mama, I’m Coming Home.” Tyler and Yungblud were among the artists who appeared with Osbourne at his final concert in Birmingham, England, two weeks before his death. — GONZALEZ
Shivani Gonzalez is a news assistant at The Times who writes a weekly TV column and contributes to a variety of sections.
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