On Aug. 18, the nominations for the 43rd annual MTV Video Music Awards were announced. Unlike other awards shows honoring musicians, the VMAs honor those who perform the best in the music video genre.
There are a whopping 19 categories that musicians can be nominated for. Here’s the lowdown on the biggest categories.
Video of the Year
Ariana Grande, Bruno Mars, Gener8ion, Madonna, Sabrina Carpenter and Taylor Swift are all up for Video of the Year. It’s no shocker to see Grande, Carpenter and Swift competing for such a major category, but it is intriguing to see Madonna in that major category considering her heyday was in the 1980s.
At the first-ever VMAs, Madonna iconically performed “Like a Virgin,” solidifying her pop stardom. Seeing as the first VMAs were 43 years ago, it is quite an achievement to still be in the running. Even more impressively, Madonna leads with the most nominations at 11 nominations.
Likely the least familiar artist on this list is Gener8ion, a collaborative project between electronic musician Surkin and film director Romain Garvas. Both collaborators are French, so this nomination could put them on the map for American listeners.
Artist of the Year
Competing for Artist of the Year are Grande, Mars, Madonna, Morgan Wallen, Carpenter and Swift.
None of these are unexpected, perhaps with the exception of Madonna. It is also interesting to see Wallen a country artist, be nominated for an award that is so much larger than just the genre he is known for. Especially seeing as all the other artists nominated in the category are predominantly pop musicians, it may be something of an upset if Wallen was awarded Artist of the Year.
Song of the Year
Notably, this category does not bear much similarity to the previous two, with different artists being nominated for outstanding songs.
In the K-pop genre, BTS is nominated for “Swim” and HUNTR/X for “Golden.” BTS has been in the public eye for years and should come as no surprise to audiences. Comparatively, HUNTR/X is a fictional band from the animated movie “KPop Demon Hunters.” HUNTR/X is comprised of the real musicians EJAE, AUDREY NUNA* and REI AMI. It is still a very unusual situation to have a fictional band be nominated for such a major award.
This year’s rising country star Ella Langley was nominated for “Choosin’ Texas,” unsurprisingly, considering how she has been somewhat at the forefront of the cultural zeitgeist this year.
In terms of pop songs, Madonna appears once again for her collaboration with Carpenter on “Bring Your Love.” In another iconic collab, PinkPantheress and Zara Larsson are nominated for “Stateside.” That specific collab was brought to popularity this year by Olympic8 figure skater Alysa Liu’s routine using the song.
Rising artist Olivia Dean, who won Best New Artist at The Grammys, is nominated for “Man I Need." Another artist nominated for Best New Artist at The Grammys is RAYE, who was nominated for the catchy “WHERE IS MY HUSBAND!”
Best New Artist
When it comes to new artists, there are a slew of up-and-coming musicians nominated for this category, some more recognizable than others. A name that stands out on this list is Malcolm Todd, who has gained some reputation for his music in recent times. Notably, his sister Audrey Hobert has also been a very popular new artist recently in spite of not being nominated.
Indie pop singer-songwriter Bella Kay was also nominated. She is most well-known for her song “The Sick.”K-pop boy band CORTIS was nominated, which is impressive considering they debuted only about a year ago on Aug. 18, 2025.
Interestingly, Will Ferrell’s son, Magnus Ferrell has been nominated for that category as well. It seems that performing talent runs in the family. In the acting sphere, Magnus Ferrell has acted in “Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues,” “You're Cordially Invited” and “A Very Jonas Christmas Movie.”
British singer-songwriter Myles Smith, most well-known for his 2024 single “Stargazing,” has been nominated following the release of his debut album “My Mess, My Heart, My Life.” Fellow British singer-songwriter SIENNA SPIRO, who rose to fame through viral singing videos on TikTok, was also nominated.
Known for her viral country-pop single “Boston,” singer-songwriter STELLA LEFTY* was nominated, but not without controversy. Lefty has faced backlash for her family background. Her father, Eric Lefkofsky, is among the richest men in the world with a net worth of approximately 5 billion. Lefkofsky achieved that by co-founding Groupon, and now is the CEO of the health technology company Tempus AI.
Lefty has faced backlash from some on social media for her inauthentic rise to fame, but it is clear that she is not the only “new artist” who had a little help along the way.
Those are just a few of the most notable categories at the VMAs; audiences can tune in on Sept. 27 at 7:30 p.m. Viewers can also vote for their favorites prior to the show.
