Yungblud is pulling back the curtain on what went down at the 2025 MTV Video Music Awards. Born Dominic Harrison, 28, the United Kingdom native took the stage alongside Aerosmith legends Steven Tyler and Joe Perry to honor Ozzy Osbourne on Sept. 7, 2025. But the “Idols” singer made a bold claim about being one of the only live performers that night.
“With the VMAs to obviously honor him (Ozzy) and I think we were probably one of the only acts singing live there,” Yungblud told Billy Corgan on his show The Magnificent Others.
“You can tell…amongst all the bubble gum and amongst all the award show, to have us just play live and it be the most viewed video on the internet the day afterwards.”
The trio’s tribute was a fiery mash-up of “Crazy Train,” “Changes” (which Yungblud performs every night on his tour), and “Mama, I’m Coming Home.” It was widely praised as one of the night’s standout moments (aside from what the Darkness’ Dan Hawkins thought).
Still, several other 2025 VMA performers caught heat online during and after the show for allegedly lip-syncing. Doja Cat, who performed a dramatic medley of “Attention,” “Paint the Town Red,” and “Demons” was accused of lip-syncing.
“LIP SYNCING??!?! At the VIDEO MUSIC AWARDS?!?!?!?” one fan wrote on Reddit. “My god… Is nothing sacred?”
Meanwhile, Mariah Carey’s much-hyped return performance also drew criticism for vocals many claimed couldn’t have been live.
But as one Redditor pointed out, “I’d be shocked if anyone playing the VMAs wasn’t lip syncing… why is anyone surprised by this?”
Someone else claimed Lady Gaga‘s performance was “pre-recorded,” but said she sings live in concert.
Who and who wasn’t actually lip-syncing at the 2025 VMAs remains unclear.
Why do performers lip-sync at award shows?
“I’ve been involved in some very big broadcast shows, like the Grammys and the American Music Awards, and the time schedule is so precise,” Grammy-nominated recording and mix engineer Ariel Chobaz told ABC News’ 20/20. Chobaz, who has worked with Nicki Minaj and Rihanna, continued:
“It’s physically not possible to mic an entire band for every segment that comes up. So, when they go to perform it, they have the support of the stacks they recorded. They have the effects on the background vocals,” “They’re singing it on top. It’s kind of like karaoke, in a way.”
This story was originally reported by Parade on Oct 5, 2025, where it first appeared in the News section. Add Parade as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
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