When darkness fell upon the Prudential Center in New Jersey on Sunday evening, the VMAs showed the world why they are among the most unpredictable, exciting, and talked about stages in pop culture. The 2025 VMAs celebrated the year of genre-less hits, viral performances, and stars who are setting the new rulebook for pop stardom-from powerhouse solo singers to global-girl groups!
This year, the awards, just like the performances, glinted with the presence of Korean popcules ROSÉ of BLACKPINK, the ever-dominant Lady Gaga, Ariana Grande with her powerful vocal shelves, young sweethearts of America Sabrina Carpenter, and the next-generation K-pop global group KATSEYE.
The spotlight shone brighter on ROSÉ this year, with wins for Artist of the Year, Best Pop Video, and Song of the Summer, all for her biggest-ever-selling solo single “Eclipse.”
It was a milestone in the globalization of pop music, with ROSÉ set to become the very first female K-pop solo artist to be appointed Artist of the Year at VMAs, an award that has for the most part been held by American superstars.
“This isn’t just for me,” ROSÉ said hard with tears. “This is for every girl who ever dreamed in another language, who ever thought she wasn’t enough, and for every fan out there who ever believed that music has no borders.”
At that point, the arena exploded with cheers, with the BLACKPINK members seen celebrating the triumph of their fellow artist. Fans online called this “ROSÉ’s coronation,” while social media feeds were flooded with clips of her emotional speech.
If ROSÉ represented the futuristic side of pop music, with Lady Gaga, it was announced that the reigning queen still remains gracing the scene. Gaga won Video of the Year for “Venus Rising,” an immensely beautiful spectacle merging surreal sci-fi visualizations with Gaga’s own brand of theatrics.
Praised for all its daring visuals and bold statements on artificial intelligence and identity in the digital age, the video was an awe-inspiring creation by Jonas Åkerlund. Gaga accepted the accolade in a shimmering metallic gown and gave a speech half performance art, half manifesto, just as expected from her.
“Art is resistance,” she declared with flair. “And resistance is beautiful.”
She later went on to perform a medley of “Venus Rising” and an early hit of hers, “Bad Romance,” and in a matter of minutes, choreography from her performance had taken over the internet worldwide.
After diverting her attention from music to pursue projects for film and Broadway, Ariana Grande made her triumphant comeback. Upon winning the award for Best Collaboration for her duet with The Weeknd on the track “Eternal Flame,” a truly cinematic tune that charted earlier in the year, showcased Grande’s throat-stretching vocals against the almost brooding falsetto of The Weeknd.
Grande entered the arena in an orchid-colored gown and thanked everyone for their patience. “I’ve missed this,” she said. “Music has always been my first love, and to be back on this stage with all of you means the world.”
There were several highlights of the night, one of which was a collaborative live performance of “Eternal Flame” by Grande and The Weeknd, complemented by fire-from-above effects best described by the title of the song.
Nobody gives more 2025 pop vibes than Sabrina Carpenter. Her cheeky hit “Espresso” was a viral breakout that is morphing into full-blown superstardom.
Carpenter walked away with Best New Artist and Performance in Push, moving out of the Disney Channel alum in a pop powerhouse with staying power.
“I just want to say,” Carpenter smiled widely as she held up her moon person trophy, “thank you to caffeine, chaos, and every single fan who danced in their kitchen to Espresso this year.”
Her high-energy medley performance of “Espresso” and her new single, “Wildflower,” was greeted with deafening cheers that cemented her as one of pop’s leading ladies.
A K-pop force or two has to grace a 2025 awards show. However, more attention shall be declared to KATSEYE. This girl group was formed on the survival show sponsored by HYBE and Geffen Records.
Winning Best Group and Best K-pop awards, the sextet confirmed the pace of their ascent to the pinnacle of global dominance. Their smooth choreography and sharp sounds coupled with multilingual lyrics are all favorite ways of KATSEYE fans on different continents.
During the acceptance speech, the members spoke in English, Korean, and Japanese, emphasizing their theme of unity through music.
The live presentation of the ballad, “Starlight,” was mesmerising and magical with laser effects, perfectly synchronised choreography, and live vocals. The appreciation was in the form of standing ovations followed by innumerable fan chants reverberating throughout the arena.
Doja won Best Hip-Hop Video for “Wildfire,” a rap track that threw in the rock influences for good measure. Her act saw fire-breathing dancers and was totally Doja.
Olivia picked Best Cinematography for “Neon Heartbreak,” maintaining her perfect track record for Gen-Z heartbreak anthems.
Bad Bunny picked Best Latin Video for “La Noche,” a reggaeton tune acting as a love letter to Puerto Rico.
Billie took home Best Direction for directing the eerie vidéo “Static Dreams” herself.
Taylor Swift, having led the pack in terms of nominations, took home the Best Longform Video for “The Story of Us (Taylor’s Version),” a 15-minute cinematic short film that is really testimony to her storytelling prowess.
Beyond the trophies, the VMAs again set the cultural stage. Fashion—and ROSÉ’s ethereal black gown seemed to be one of the hot topics of the day, along with Sabrina Carpenter’s mini gown encrusted with crystals—fed social media discourse just as much as did the performances.
Politically charged speeches also marked the evening. Doja Cat used her platform to speak for creative ownership in an age where music is being created using AI. Meanwhile, Gaga’s plea for “art as resistance” came at a time when discussions regarding artistic freedom amid increasing commercialization have taken center stage.
In continuation of lore and as the tremendous leap forward was made, the 2025 VMAs truly felt like they were at the crossroads of tradition and innovation. For so long, these awards have been a meeting ground for greatest pop icons of today and tomorrow’s stars, birthing defining moments for musical history.
However, the winners this year painted a wider lens: one of global representation, artistic experimentation, and dissolution of genre boundaries. From K-pop stars to Latin trailblazers to American pop royalty, the VMAs loudly chime into the future of music as a borderless domain.
As ROSÉ, Lady Gaga, and Ariana Grande stood together backstage, their victories emerged as symbols of coexistence rather than competition-practically asserting that it’s a place for different voices and styles alike.
The 2025 MTV VMAs will be remembered as a night that saw the rising of new stars, legends reasserting their dominance, and celebration of the globality of pop music like never before.
From Rosé’s historic win, foreshadowing Sabrina Carpenter’s breakout moment, to Gaga’s breathtaking visuals and KATSEYE’s ascent to global realization, this year’s VMAs were a true muse for the magnificence of an industry in full bloom-messy, dazzling, and intimately bound to its audiences.
If the winners are anything to go by, the next chapter of pop will be penned not from any one region, genre, or language, but from a kaleidoscope of voices and rhythms casting this world into a dance.
