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Arturo Holmes/MG23 / Contributor via Getty Images and Dominik Bindl/GA / Contributor
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Kendrick Lamar at 2023 Met Gala and The Weeknd at Hurry Up Tomorrow world premiere
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It’s shaping up to be a good year for the MTV Video Music Awards. On Tuesday (Aug. 5), the awards show announced their nominations for 2025, with Lady Gaga leading the pack at 12 nods. Bruno Mars trails close behind with 11, while Kendrick Lamar secured 10.
It’s a slight change of pace, given the Compton rapper has led in nominations at the Grammy Awards, American Music Awards, BET Awards and more earlier in the year. One thing that hasn’t changed, though, is how much his Drake diss, “Not Like Us,” has propelled him forward. In fact, the track is competing in several major categories, including Video of the Year, Best Direction, Best Art Direction and Best Editing. In most of those, Lamar is the only Hip Hop nominee.
Speaking of rap, Best Hip Hop has a lot of strong contenders. “Not Like Us” will go head-to-head with Drake’s “NOKIA,” Travis Scott’s “4X4,” GloRilla and Sexyy Red’s “WHATCHU KNO ABOUT ME,” Eminem’s “Somebody Save Me,” LL COOL J’s “Murdergram Deux,” and Doechii’s “Anxiety.” The Swamp Princess is up for three additional awards for her TikTok-viral hit, including Song of the Year, Video for Good and Best Choreography.
Best R&B, on the other hand, feels a little less balanced. Heavy hitters like Chris Brown’s “Residuals,” The Weeknd and Playboi Carti’s “Timeless,” Leon Thomas and Freddie Gibbs’ “MUTT (Remix),” SZA’s “Drive,” and PARTYNEXTDOOR’s “N o C h i l l” are all in the running, along with a few others.
Then there’s Best Afrobeats, in which Travis Scott interestingly has two entries in the running thanks to his features on Asake’s “Active” and Burna Boy’s “TaTaTa.” Both records will be competing against Tyla’s “PUSH 2 START” and Tems’ “Get it Right,” among others, making it one of the more exciting categories to watch for.
See the full list of nominations below.
Video of the Year
Ariana Grande – “Brighter Days Ahead”
Billie Eilish – “BIRDS OF A FEATHER”
Kendrick Lamar – “Not Like Us”
Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars – “Die With A Smile”
ROSÉ and Bruno Mars – “APT.”
Sabrina Carpenter – “Manchild”
The Weeknd and Playboi Carti – “Timeless”
Artist of the Year
Bad Bunny
Beyoncé
Kendrick Lamar
Lady Gaga
Morgan Wallen
Taylor Swift
The Weeknd
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 and Bruno Mars – “Die With A Smile”
Lorde – “What Was That”
ROSÉ and Bruno Mars – “APT.”
Tate McRae – “Sports car”
The Weeknd and Playboi Carti – “Timeless”
Best New Artist
Alex Warren
Ella Langley
Gigi Perez
Lola Young
sombr
The Marías
Best Pop Artist
Ariana Grande
Charli xcx
Justin Bieber
Lorde
Miley Cyrus
Sabrina Carpenter
Tate McRae
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”
March 2025 – Leon Thomas – “YES IT IS”
April 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 and SZA – “luther”
Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars – “Die With A Smile”
Post Malone featuring Blake Shelton – “Pour Me A Drink”
ROSÉ and Bruno Mars – “APT.”
Selena Gomez and benny blanco – “Sunset Blvd”
Best Pop
Alex Warren – “Ordinary”
Ariana Grande – “Brighter Days Ahead”
Ed Sheeran – “Sapphire”
Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars – “Die With A Smile”
ROSÉ and Bruno Mars – “APT.”
Sabrina Carpenter – “Manchild”
Best Hip-Hop
Doechii – “Anxiety”
Drake – “NOKIA”
Eminem featuring Jelly Roll – “Somebody Save Me”
GloRilla featuring Sexyy Red – “WATCHU KNO ABOUT ME”
Kendrick Lamar – “Not Like Us”
LL COOL J featuring Eminem – “Murdergram Deux”
Travis Scott – “4X4”
Best R&B
Chris Brown – “Residuals”
Leon Thomas and 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 and Playboi Carti – “Timeless”
Best Alternative
Gigi Perez – “Sailor Song”
Imagine Dragons – “Wake Up”
Lola Young – “Messy”
mgk and Jelly Roll – “Lonely Road”
sombr – “back to friends”
The Marías – “Back To Me”
Best Afrobeats
Asake and Travis Scott – “Active
Burna Boy featuring Travis Scott – “TaTaTa”
MOLIY, Silent Addy, Skillibeng and Shenseea – “Shake It To The Max (FLY) – Remix”
Rema – “Baby (Is it a Crime)”
Tems featuring Asake – “Get it Right”
Tyla – “PUSH 2 START”
Wizkid featuring Brent Faiyaz – “Piece of My Heart”
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”
Doechii – “Anxiety”
Eminem featuring Jelly Roll – “Somebody Save Me”
Selena Gomez and benny blanco – “Younger And Hotter Than Me”
Zach Hood featuring Sasha Alex Sloan – “Sleepwalking”
Best Direction
Ariana Grande – “Brighter Days Ahead”
Charli xcx featuring Billie Eilish – “Guess featuring billie eilish”
Kendrick Lamar – “Not Like Us”
Lady Gaga – “Abracadabra”
ROSÉ and Bruno Mars – “APT.”
Sabrina Carpenter – “Manchild”
Best Art Direction
Charli xcx featuring Billie Eilish – “Guess featuring billie eilish”
Kendrick Lamar – “Not Like Us”
Lady Gaga – “Abracadabra”
Lorde – “Man Of The Year”
Miley Cyrus – “End of the World”
ROSÉ and 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 featuring Billie Eilish – “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 and Bruno Mars – “APT.”
Sabrina Carpenter – “Manchild”
Tate McRae – “Just Keep Watching (From F1 The Movie)”
The Weeknd – “Hurry Up Tomorrow”
