Grande, Gaga and Carpenter rule VMAs

Ariana Grande, Lady Gaga, and Sabrina Carpenter emerged as the big winners at the 2025 MTV Video Music Awards, a night that celebrated female artistry, global collaborations, and the enduring legacy of pop culture icons. Grande claimed the evening's top prize, Video of the Year, for Brighter Days Ahead, a song and video she described as "a project about healing" and "creating safety in our own lives."

Holding the iconic MTV Moon Person trophy at Long Island's UBS Arena, she spoke with emotion. "Art has been a safe space for me since I was a kid," Grande said. "If you're on that journey, please continue onward, because I promise there are brighter days ahead." Grande also pocketed the award for Best Pop Video, thanking her father, who appeared in the Brighter Days Ahead video. "The best scene partner, and dad, in the world," she called him, smiling as the audience cheered. If Grande took the climactic prize, it was Lady Gaga who set the tone at the start of the show. Dressed in a dramatic black-and-purple ruffled gown, Gaga won Artist of the Year, beating out fellow heavyweights Beyoncé, Taylor Swift, and Bad Bunny.

"I cannot begin to tell you what this means - to be rewarded for something that is already so rewarding," Gaga said, dedicating the award to her fans and longtime partner Michael Polansky. Moments later, she dashed off to Madison Square Garden for the closing concert of her Mayhem tour. Gaga didn't leave empty-handed from the rest of the evening. She also claimed Best Collaboration for Die With a Smile, her duet with Bruno Mars, a song that had been in contention for the night's top video award.

Her victories also carried symbolic weight: by clinching artist of the year, Gaga prevented either Beyoncé or Swift from surpassing each other in the race for most career VMAs. The two remain tied at 30 apiece.

Another of the night's defining moments belonged to Sabrina Carpenter, who won Album of the Year for Short n' Sweet. Beaming as she accepted her award, the 26-year-old pop star reflected on her journey.

"I really don't take for granted when you guys take the time out of your lives to listen to an album," she said. "I'm just the luckiest girl in the world." Carpenter also added Best Pop Artist to her haul and delivered a performance of Tears that doubled as a statement of solidarity with the trans community, featuring a line-up of RuPaul's Drag Race stars and ballroom icons.

K-pop singer Rosé, best known as a member of Blackpink, shared one of the night's most emotional speeches. She and Bruno Mars won Song of the Year for their collaboration APT.

"This is a really big moment for 16-year-old me, and for anyone else dreaming of being accepted equally for their hard work," Rosé said, addressing her younger self as she clutched her Moon Person trophy.

The track's win underscored the increasingly global nature of the VMAs, where Colombian superstar J Balvin, French producer DJ Snake, and multinational girl group Katseye also showcased the blending of genres and borders in modern pop.

The VMAs, once infamous for jaw-dropping stunts like Madonna and Britney Spears' onstage kiss or Gaga's raw meat dress, leaned heavily this year into nostalgia and legacy. Two new lifetime achievement categories were introduced.

Mariah Carey received the Video Vanguard Award, handed to her by Ariana Grande. Performing a medley of her greatest hits before accepting the trophy, Carey joked: "I can't believe I'm getting my first VMA tonight. What in the Sam Hill were you waiting for?"

She then reflected on her decades of visual artistry. "Music videos are my way of life… sometimes just an excuse to bring the drama and do things I wouldn't do in real life," she said.

Elsewhere, Latin icon Ricky Martin was honoured with the inaugural Latin Icon Award, performing a medley of Livin' La Vida Loca, Maria and The Cup of Life. Hip-hop pioneer Busta Rhymes received the Rock the Bells Visionary Award, introduced by LL Cool J, who hailed him as "the sonic equivalent of a timebomb." Rhymes' rapid-fire medley, though heavily censored for language, brought the audience to its feet.

The night also included a poignant tribute to the late Ozzy Osbourne, who died in July. British rocker Yungblud launched into Crazy Train before Aerosmith legends Steven Tyler and Joe Perry joined him for Mama, I'm Coming Home, as fans raised their hands in unison.

Feminine edge

Despite the star power of its winners, the 2025 ceremony was less bombastic than past editions. Hosted mostly off-screen by LL Cool J, the broadcast handed out only seven awards during its three-hour runtime - six of them to women.

Performances from Doja Cat, Tate McRae, Carpenter, and newcomers like Alex Warren gave the show a youthful, feminine energy. Warren, a TikTok star turned musician, was named Best New Artist before the telecast and performed his breakout hit Ordinary, the year's longest-running No. 1.

Grande, Gaga, Carpenter, Rosé and Carey together defined the evening, with men largely appearing as collaborators, backing musicians, or honourees for past contributions.

Since its debut in 1984, the VMAs have thrived on unpredictable, culture-shaping moments. But in recent years, the show has shifted focus - less about shock and more about legacy, artistry, and global reach.

Sunday's show was emblematic of that transformation. It was short on jaw-dropping controversy but long on celebrations of women, tributes to legends, and nods to music's expanding global map. Grande perhaps put it best in her acceptance speech: "This project is about healing… about coming home to our young selves and creating safety in our own lives. It's a lifelong process and a daily exercise."

For MTV, and for the artists it spotlighted on Sunday, the same could be said of pop culture itself: less about disruption now, more about endurance - and brighter days ahead.