Lady Gaga has emerged as the frontrunner for the 2025 MTV Video Music Awards (VMAs), securing an impressive 12 nominations. This achievement marks the third time Gaga has topped the VMA nominations, previously leading in 2010 and 2020. Her nominations span several major categories, including Artist of the Year, Video of the Year, Song of the Year, and Best Album.

Gaga's strong showing ends Taylor Swift's two-year reign at the top of the nominations list. The nominations reflect work from Gaga's new album, Mayhem, and her collaboration with Bruno Mars, "Die With a Smile". "Die With a Smile" and her song "Abracadabra" are responsible for a significant portion of her nominations.

Following closely behind Lady Gaga is Bruno Mars, with 11 nominations. Kendrick Lamar secured 10 nominations. ROSÉ and Sabrina Carpenter are tied with eight nominations each. Ariana Grande and The Weeknd both garnered seven nominations.

Other artists with multiple nominations include Billie Eilish with six, Charli XCX with five, and Bad Bunny, Doechii, Ed Sheeran, Jelly Roll, Miley Cyrus, and Tate McRae, each receiving four nods.

The nominees for the coveted Video of the Year award include: * Ariana Grande – "brighter days ahead" * 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"

The Artist of the Year category features: * Bad Bunny * Beyoncé * Kendrick Lamar * Lady Gaga * Morgan Wallen * Taylor Swift * The Weeknd

Notably, both Beyoncé and Taylor Swift are nominated for Artist of the Year and are currently tied for the most VMA wins in history, with 30 awards each. If either wins this year, they will become the most-awarded artist in VMA history.

This year's VMAs introduce two new categories: Best Country Artist and Best Pop Artist. The Best Pop Artist nominees include Ariana Grande, Charli XCX, Justin Bieber, Lorde, Miley Cyrus, Sabrina Carpenter, and Tate McRae.

Thirty-three artists are first-time nominees this year, including Alex Warren, Blake Shelton, Gigi Perez and KATSEYE. Mac Miller received a posthumous nomination for “Balloonerism”.

The 2025 MTV VMAs will be held on Sunday, September 7, at the UBS Arena in New York City. The show will be broadcast live on CBS and MTV and available to stream on Paramount+. Fan voting is open until September 5 via vote.mtv.com, with the exception of the Best New Artist category, for which voting remains open through the show.