For the first time — and perhaps a sign of the times — the MTV Music Video Awards were simulcast on CBS. And that might be one reason stars such as Sabrina Carpenter, Lady Gaga, Doja Cat, Post Malone, Tate McRae, and Jelly Roll took the time to perform. Hosted by former Grammy Awards mainstay LL Cool J, the night was dominated by Gaga, who won four awards, including Artist of the Year. Grande won three trophies, including Video of the Year for “Brighter Days Ahead” (headscratching), while Carpenter also took three, including Album of the Year.
Mariah Carey received the Video Vanguard Award and also won Best R&B. Ricky Martin was honored with the first-ever Latin Icon Award.
Gaga’s other wins included Best Direction and Art Direction for “Abracadabra,” as well as Best Collaboration with Bruno Mars for “Die With A Smile.” Carpenter also took Best Pop Artist and Best Visual Effects for “Manchild.” Grande added trophies for Best Pop (Video) and Longform Video for “Brighter Days Ahead.” Doechii won both Hip-Hop (Video) and Choreography for “Anxiety.”
Other major winners included BLACKPINK for Best Group; Rose & Bruno Mars won Song of the Year for “APT.”; Megan Moroey took out some big guns in the Country category with “Am I Okay?”; and Charli xcx and Billie Eilish won, um, Video for Good for “Guess” (shockingly not even a Video of the Year nominee).
READ MORE: “Wednesday”: Lady Gaga Joins The Second Season Of Tim Burton’s Macabre Netflix Series
A complete rundown of this year’s nominees and winners is as follows:
VIDEO OF THE YEAR
Ariana Grande – “Brighter Days Ahead” – ***WINNER***
Billie Eilish – “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
Beyoncé
Kendrick Lamar
Lady Gaga – ***WINNER***
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 & Bruno Mars – “Die with a Smile”
Lorde – “What Was That”
Rosé & Bruno Mars – “Apt.” – ***WINNER***
Tate McRae – “Sports Car”
The Weeknd, Playboi Carti – “Timeless”
BEST NEW ARTIST
Alex Warren – ***WINNER***
Ella Langley
Gigi Perez
Lola Young
Sombr
The Marías
BEST POP ARTIST
Ariana Grande
Charli xcx
Justin Bieber
Lorde
Miley Cyrus
Sabrina Carpenter – ***WINNER***
Tate McRae
MTV PUSH PERFORMANCE OF THE YEAR
August 2024 – Shaboozey – “A Bar Song (Tipsy)”
September 2024 – Ayra Starr – “Last Heartbreak Song”
October 2024 – Mark Ambor – “Belong Together”
November 2024 – Lay Bankz – “Graveyard”
December 2024 – Dasha – “Bye Bye Bye”
January 2025 – Katseye – “Touch” – ***WINNER***
February 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 & SZA – “Luther”
Lady Gaga & Bruno Mars – “Die with a Smile” – ***WINNER***
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” – ***WINNER***
Ed Sheeran – “Sapphire”
Lady Gaga & Bruno Mars – “Die with a Smile”
Rosé & Bruno Mars – “Apt.”
Sabrina Carpenter – “Manchild”
BEST HIP-HOP
Doechii – “Anxiety” – ***WINNER***
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” – Cactus Jack/Epic Records
BEST R&B
Chris Brown – “Residuals”
Leon Thomas & Freddie Gibbs – “Mutt (Remix)”
Mariah Carey – “Type Dangerous” – ***WINNER***
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” – ***WINNER***
The Marías – “Back to Me”
BEST ROCK
Coldplay – “All My Love” – ***WINNER***
Evanescence – “Afterlife (From the Netflix Series ‘Devil May Cry’)”
Green Day – “One Eyed Bastard”
Lenny Kravitz – “Honey” – Roxie Records
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“ – ***WINNER***
BEST K-POP
Aespa – “Whiplash”
Jennie – “Like Jennie ”
Jimin – “Who”
Jisoo – “Earthquake”
Lisa ft. Doja Cat & Raye – “Born Again” – ***WINNER***
Stray Kids – “Chk Chk Boom”
Rosé – “Toxic Till the End”
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” – ***WINNER***
Wizkid ft. Brent Faiyaz – “Piece of My Heart”
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?” – ***WINNER***
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 – ***WINNER***
The Weeknd – Hurry Up Tomorrow
BEST LONG FORM VIDEO
Ariana Grande – “Brighter Days Ahead” – ***WINNER***
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” – ***WINNER***
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” – ***WINNER***
Rosé & Bruno Mars – “Apt.”
Sabrina Carpenter – “Manchild”
BEST ART DIRECTION
Charli xcx – “Guess featuring Billie Eilish”
Kendrick Lamar – “Not Like Us”
Lady Gaga – “Abracadabra” – ***WINNER***
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 Lik Us” – ***WINNER***
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’)” – ***WINNER***
BEST CHOREOGRAPHY
Doechii – “Anxiety” – ***WINNER***
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” – ***WINNER***
Tate McRae – “Just Keep Watching” (From ‘F1 The Movie’)
The Weeknd – “Hurry Up Tomorrow”
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