The show airs on September 7th on CBS
Alex Warren, Busta Rhymes, J Balvin featuring DJ Snake, Ricky Martin, Sabrina Carpenter, and Sombr are the first round of superstar performers at the 2025 MTV VMAs.
Hip-Hop legend Busta Rhymes will receive the MTV VMA Rock the Bells Visionary Award, while global icon Ricky Martin will be honored with the Latin Icon Award.
LL Cool J hosts the 2025 MTV VMAs, airing live coast-to-coast from New York’s UBS Arena Sunday, September 7th at 8 pm ET/5 pm PT on the CBS Television Network, simulcast on MTV and streaming on Paramount+ in the U.S.
Breakout singer-songwriter and the newest MTV Push artist Warren will make his VMAs debut and look to capture his first Moon Person, nominated for Best New Artist, Best Pop and Song of the Year for his global number one and the top-selling song of 2025 in the U.S., “Ordinary.”
Rhymes will receive the first-ever MTV VMA Rock the Bells Visionary Award, celebrating boundary-breaking cultural impact and an indomitable musical career spanning 20 million albums worldwide, 12 Grammy nominations and seven Top 10 debuts on the Billboard 200. His catalog boasts over 60 million records certified gold and platinum. He was also the Global Icon honoree at the 2024 MTV EMAs. Since his first VMAs appearance in 1997, Busta has delivered a slew of show-stealing moments, including a rapid-fire medley of greatest hits to close the 2021 show.
Global superstar Balvin returns to the VMAs with his latest hit “Zun Zun,” joined by Latin stars Justin Quiles and Lenny Tavárez. He’ll then team up with multi-platinum producer DJ Snake – his first VMAs appearance – for the live premiere of their explosive collab “Noventa.” A 13-time nominee, Balvin last performed in 2022 and looks to take home his sixth Moon Person this year to become the leading Latin award winner in VMA history.
Making history, international trailblazer Martin will become the first artist to receive the Latin Icon Award, honoring a four-decade career that launched Latin music and culture into the mainstream with 70 million+ albums sold worldwide and 180+ awards for his music, acting and humanitarian work. Martin’s electrifying VMAs return marks the 26th anniversary of his first performance in 1999, where he made history as the first male Latin artist to win for Best Pop Video and became the night’s overall top winner of five awards.
Following a show-stopping debut and first VMA win for Song of the Year in 2024, Carpenter will make her highly anticipated return to the main stage. The 14-time nominee is up for eight awards this year, including the night’s biggest award for Video of the Year for “Manchild” from her upcoming album Man’s Best Friend.
Internationally acclaimed, breakout singer-songwriter and producer Sombr will make his award show debut live on the VMAs stage, also receiving first-time nominations for Best New Artist and Best Alternative for his hit “Back to Friends.”
Lady Gaga leads this year’s nominees with 12, looking to add to her 18 VMAs wins with nominations in Video of the Year, Artist of the Year, Best Album and more. This marks the third time Gaga has led nominations, previously in 2010 with 13 nods) and 2020, where she tied with nine nods. Other top contenders include Bruno Mars with 11, Kendrick Lamar with ten, Rosé and Sabrina Carpenter with eight each, Ariana Grande and The Weeknd with seven each, Billie Eilish with six, Charli XCX with five, and Bad Bunny, Doechii, Ed Sheeran, Jelly Roll, Miley Cyrus and Tate McRae with four apiece.
