Lady Gaga Claims Artist of the Year at MTV VMAs

Lady Gaga Takes Center Stage at 2025 MTV VMAs

Lady Gaga was crowned Artist of the Year at the 2025 MTV Video Music Awards (VMAs), securing four awards during the event. She outshone competition from artists like Taylor Swift, Beyoncé, and Kendrick Lamar, dedicating her win to her “Little Monster” fans and fiancé Michael Polansky.

The ceremony was a celebration of creativity and talent, with several artists taking home multiple awards. Sabrina Carpenter and Ariana Grande each won three awards, highlighting the diversity and strength of the music industry.

Gaga’s speech was heartfelt and inspiring. She said: “I cannot begin to tell you what this means to me. Being an artist is an attempt to connect the souls of people all over the world. Being an artist is a discipline, a craft meant for reaching into someone’s heart, where it grows its roots, and reminding them to dream. Being an artist is a responsibility to make the audience smile, dance, cry, release… It is a method of building understanding and celebrating community.”

After collecting her award, Gaga left the UBS Arena in Long Island but returned later that night for her concert at New York’s Madison Square Garden. There, she performed hits like "Abracadabra" and "The Dead Dance," which appeared in the Netflix series Wednesday.

Gaga, who received 12 nominations, also took home the Best Direction and Art Direction awards for "Abracadabra." She added another win in the Best Collaboration category for "Die With A Smile" alongside Bruno Mars. Mars, in turn, partnered with Blackpink’s Rose to win Song of the Year for "APT."

Blackpink was honored as Best Group, while Mariah Carey made history by winning her first VMA. She took home the R&B award for "Type Dangerous" and then received the Video Vanguard Award. In a video message, she joked, “This is amazing MTV, I don’t know why it took you so long!”

New achievement awards were given to Ricky Martin, who performed a medley of his hits, including "Livin’ La Vida Loca," and rapper Busta Rhymes, who received the Rock The Bells Visionary Award. Martin expressed his excitement, saying, “We just want to break boundaries, and we just want to keep music alive.”

The VMAs also paid tribute to the late Ozzy Osbourne, with a performance introduced by a video message from his son Jack. British singer Yungblud joined Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler and Joe Perry, along with Extreme guitarist Nuno Bettencourt, to perform hits like "Crazy Train" and "Changes."

Ariana Grande won Video of the Year, Long-Form Video, and Best Pop Video for "Brighter Days Ahead," thanking her father for his cameo. Sabrina Carpenter's Short n’ Sweet was named Album of the Year, and she also won Best Pop Artist and the Visual Effects Award for "Manchild."

Other notable winners included Doechii, who won the Hip-Hop Award and Choreography for "Anxiety," and Tate McRae, who took home the Editing Award and Song of the Summer for "Just Keep Watching" from the F1 movie.

Coldplay won the Rock Category for "All My Love," while Sombr claimed the Alternative Award for "Back To Friends." Shakira took the Latin Prize for "Soltera."

Several artists performed at the ceremony, including Carpenter, Sombr, McRae, Best New Artist Alex Warren, and Katseye, who won Performance of the Year. Post Malone performed from Germany alongside Jelly Roll.

The live show concluded with several awards announced after the event on X.