Ariana Grande took home the top honor at the 2025 MTV Video Music Awards.
The Wicked star, 32, won the Video of the Year category for “Brighter Days Ahead” during the Sunday, September 7, ceremony at UBS Arena in New York. (Grande also won Best Pop moments earlier, notably thanking her “therapist and gay people.”)
“I want to start again with my fans, thank you so so so much. I love you with all my heart [and] I have since I was a teenager, since we first crossed paths, and I will for my whole life,” Grande said in her speech. “Art has been a safe space for me since I was a kid. I’m so grateful that I get to do this with my life, and to have such fiercely loving and supportive fans.”
She continued, “Thank you for growing with me and being so supportive of me as a human being navigating in real-time, which creative itch needs to be scratched, whether it’s acting, music, musical theatre or a little bit of tour. This project is about the hard work that is healing all different types of trauma and coming home to our young selves and creating safety in our own lives, which is a lifelong process and a daily exercise. If you’re on that journey, please continue onward because I promise there are brighter days ahead.”
Billie Eilish’s “Birds of a Feather,” Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us,” Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars’ “Die With a Smile,” Rosé and Mars’ “APT.,” Sabrina Carpenter’s “Manchild” and The Weeknd and Playboi Carti’s “Timeless” were also nominated for Video of the Year.
The Video of the Year contenders were some of the most-nominated artists at the VMAs this year. Gaga led the pack with 12 total nods, followed by Mars with 11, Lamar with 10, Carpenter and Rosé with eight, Grande and The Weeknd with seven, Eilish with six and Carti with three.
Of the nominees, Lamar, Gaga and The Weeknd are the only past winners of Video of the Year. Lamar, 38, has earned the honor twice during his career — once for being featured on Taylor Swift’s “Bad Blood” in 2015 and again for his song “Humble” in 2017. Gaga, 39, received the accolade for “Bad Romance” in 2010, while The Weeknd, 35, won the award for “Blinding Lights” in 2020.
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Mars, 39, and Grande, for their parts, both have four previous nominations for Video of the Year. Eilish, 23, boasts three past nods in the category.
Meanwhile, Carpenter, 26, Carti, 29, and Rosé, 28, each earned their first-ever Video of the Year nominations in 2025.
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While Swift, 35, was not up for the award this year, she has won the category more times than any other artist, taking home five Video of the Year trophies during her career. Prior to Sunday’s ceremony, the pop star was the reigning winner after receiving the accolade in 2024 for her “Fortnight” music video with Post Malone. At the time, Swift dedicated the award to Travis Kelce, who she recalled “cheering” her on behind the scenes of the project.
“Everything this man touches turns to happiness and fun and magic,” she gushed of her now-fiancé. “So I want to thank him for adding that to our shoot because I’ll always remember that.”
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