African artists earn multiple nominations at the 2025 MTV VMAs, with Asake, Tyla and Burna Boy among the standouts

The nominees for the 2025 MTV Video Music Awards were announced ahead of the live ceremony, set to take place on September 8 at the UBS Arena in New York. The show will air live on MTV (DStv Channel 130) at 3 a.m. East Africa Time, with coverage including MTV Africa programming.

This year, African artists are once again making their mark on one of music’s biggest global stages.

Nigerian singer Asake picked up two nominations: one for Active, his collaboration with Travis Scott, and another for Get It Right with Tems.

Burna Boy, also from Nigeria, was nominated in two categories as well. His track TaTaTa, featuring Travis Scott, appears in the Best Afrobeats category, while Higher was recognized in the Video for Good category.

South Africa’s Tyla continues her breakout year with two nominations. Her song PUSH 2 START landed in both the Best Afrobeats and Best Choreography categories.

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Ghanaian artist MOLIY joins the Best Afrobeats lineup with Shake It To The Max (FLY) (Remix), alongside collaborators Silent Addy, Skillibeng and Shenseea. Rema was nominated for Baby (Is It A Crime), while Wizkid received a nod for Piece Of My Heart, his track with Brent Faiyaz.

Lady Gaga leads the overall list with 12 nominations, followed by Bruno Mars with 11, and Kendrick Lamar with 10. Beyoncé and Taylor Swift will once again face off in the Artist of the Year category — both artists are now among the most decorated in VMA history.

Ariana Grande and The Weeknd earned seven nominations each. Billie Eilish follows with six. Charli XCX, who has had a busy year with multiple releases, was nominated five times. Bad Bunny, Doechii, Ed Sheeran, Jelly Roll, Miley Cyrus and Tate McRae each received four nods.

Monde Twala, senior vice-president and general manager of Paramount Africa, said the nominations reflect a wider cultural moment.

“The global recognition of African artists at this year’s MTV VMAs is a resounding affirmation of the genre’s influence and the visionary creativity shaping its evolution,” Twala said.

“These nominations are not just milestones for the artists. They represent a cultural shift. At MTV Africa, we are proud to continue elevating African music and talent.”

Fans can vote now across 19 gender-neutral categories through MTV’s website until 6 p.m. ET on September 5. Voting for Song of the Year will close earlier, on August 18, when the category will be narrowed down to six finalists. Votes will then reopen for the final round until September 5.

MTV is also hosting a “Power Hour” from August 7 to September 4, where votes submitted between 1 and 2 p.m. ET will count double. Fans can vote through the MTV website or by commenting on specific Instagram posts with artist hashtags — but only until August 8 at 1 a.m. EAT.

The full list of performers and special honourees is expected to be released in the coming weeks.

Full list of nominees below.

Best Collaboration

• Bailey Zimmerman with Luke Combs – ‘Backup Plan (Stagecoach Official Music Video)’ –
• Kendrick Lamar & SZA – ‘luther’
• Lady Gaga & Bruno Mars – ‘Die With A Smile’
• Post Malone ft. Blake Shelton – ‘Pour Me A Drink’
• ROSÉ & Bruno Mars – ‘APT’
• Selena Gomez, benny blanco – ‘Sunset Blvd’

Best Pop

• Alex Warren – ‘Ordinary’
• Ariana Grande – ‘brighter days ahead’
• Ed Sheeran – ‘Sapphire’
• Lady Gaga & Bruno Mars – ‘Die With A Smile’
• ROSÉ & Bruno Mars – ‘APT.’
• Sabrina Carpenter – ‘Manchild’

Best Hip Hop

• Doechii – ‘Anxiety’
• Drake – ‘NOKIA’
• Eminem ft. Jelly Roll – ‘Somebody Save Me’
• GloRilla ft. Sexyy Red – ‘WHATCHU KNO ABOUT ME’
• Kendrick Lamar – ‘Not Like Us’
• LL COOL J ft. Eminem – ‘Murdergram Deux’
• Travis Scott – ‘4X4’

Best R&B

• Chris Brown – ‘Residuals’
• Leon Thomas & Freddie Gibbs – ‘MUTT (REMIX)’
• Mariah Carey – ‘Type Dangerous’
• PARTYNEXTDOOR – ‘N o C h i l l’
• Summer Walker – ‘Heart Of A Woman’
• SZA – ‘Drive’
• The Weeknd, Playboi Carti – ‘Timeless’

Best Alternative

• Gigi Perez – ‘Sailor Song’
• Imagine Dragons – ‘Wake Up’
• Lola Young – ‘Messy’
• mgk & Jelly Roll – ‘Lonely Road’
• sombr – ‘back to friends’
• The Marías – ‘Back To Me’

Best Rock

• Coldplay – ‘ALL MY LOVE’
• Evanescence – ‘Afterlife (From the Netflix Series “Devil May Cry”)’
• Green Day – ‘One Eyed Bastard’
• Lenny Kravitz – ‘Honey’
• Linkin Park – ‘The Emptiness Machine’
• Twenty One Pilots – ‘The Contract’              

Best Latin

• Bad Bunny – ‘BAILE INoLVIDABLE’      
• J Balvin – ‘Rio’         
• KAROL G – ‘Si Antes Te Hubiera Conocido’         
• Peso Pluma – ‘LA PATRULLA’      
• Rauw Alejandro & Romeo Santos – ‘Khé?’         
• Shakira – ‘Soltera’

Best K-Pop

• aespa – ‘Whiplash’
• JENNIE – ‘like JENNIE’ 
• Jimin – ‘Who’
• JISOO – ‘earthquake’
• LISA ft. Doja Cat & RAYE – ‘Born Again’       
• Stray Kids – ‘Chk Chk Boom’
• ROSÉ – ‘toxic till the end’    

Best Country

• Chris Stapleton – ‘Think I’m In Love With You’        
• Cody Johnson with Carrie Underwood – ‘I’m Gonna Love You’
• Jelly Roll – ‘Liar’    
• Lainey Wilson – ‘4x4xU’
• Megan Moroney – ‘Am I Okay?’    
• Morgan Wallen – Smile’

Best Album

• Bad Bunny – ‘DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS’
• Kendrick Lamar – ‘GNX’
• Lady Gaga – Mayhem’
• Morgan Wallen – ‘I’m The Problem’
• Sabrina Carpenter – ‘Short n’ Sweet’
• The Weeknd – ‘Hurry Up Tomorrow’

Best Long Form Video

• Ariana Grande – ‘brighter days ahead’
• Bad Bunny – ‘DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS (Short Film)’         
• Damiano David – ‘FUNNY little STORIES’   
• Mac Miller – ‘Balloonerism’  
• Miley Cyrus – ‘Something Beautiful’
• The Weeknd – ‘Hurry Up Tomorrow’     

Video For Good

• Burna Boy – ‘Higher’               
• Charli xcx – ‘Guess’ featuring Billie Eilish
• Doechii – ‘Anxiety’             
• Eminem ft. Jelly Roll – ‘Somebody Save Me’                      
• Selena Gomez, benny blanco – ‘Younger And Hotter Than Me’
• Zach Hood ft. Sasha Alex Sloan – ‘Sleepwalking’

Best Direction

• Ariana Grande – ‘brighter days ahead’
• Charli xcx – ‘Guess’ featuring Billie Eilish
• Kendrick Lamar – ‘Not Like Us’
• Lady Gaga – ‘Abracadabra’
• ROSÉ & Bruno Mars – ‘APT’
• Sabrina Carpenter – ‘Manchild’

Best Art Direction

• Charli xcx – ‘Guess’ featuring Billie Eilish’
• Kendrick Lamar – ‘Not Like Us’
• Lady Gaga – ‘Abracadabra’
• Lorde – ‘Man Of The Year’
• Miley Cyrus – ‘End of the World’
• ROSÉ & Bruno Mars – ‘APT’

Best Cinematography

• Ariana Grande – ‘brighter days ahead’
• Ed Sheeran – ‘Sapphire’
• Kendrick Lamar – ‘Not Like Us’
• Lady Gaga – ‘Abracadabra’
• Miley Cyrus – ‘Easy Lover’
• Sabrina Carpenter – ‘Manchild’ 

Best Editing

• Charli xcx – ‘Guess’ featuring Billie Eilish
• Ed Sheeran – ‘Sapphire’
• Kendrick Lamar – ‘Not Like Us’
• Lady Gaga – ‘Abracadabra’
• Sabrina Carpenter – ‘Manchild’
• Tate McRae – ‘Just Keep Watching (From F1® The Movie)’

Best Choreography

• Doechii – ‘Anxiety’
• FKA twigs – ‘Eusexua’
• Kendrick Lamar – ‘Not Like Us’
• Lady Gaga – ‘Abracadabra’
• Tyla – ‘PUSH 2 START’
• Zara Larsson – ‘Pretty Ugly’

Best Visual Effects

• Ariana Grande – ‘brighter days ahead’
• Lady Gaga – ‘Abracadabra’
• ROSÉ & Bruno Mars – ‘APT’
• Sabrina Carpenter – ‘Manchild’
• Tate McRae – ‘Just Keep Watching (From F1® The Movie)’
• The Weeknd – ‘Hurry Up Tomorrow’

Best Afrobeats

• Asake & Travis Scott – ‘Active’
• Burna Boy ft. Travis Scott – ‘TaTaTa’
• MOLIY, Silent Addy, Skillibeng & Shenseea – ‘Shake It To The Max (FLY) (Remix)’
• Rema – ‘Baby (Is It A Crime)’
• Tems ft. Asake – ‘Get It Right’
• Tyla – ‘PUSH 2 START’
• Wizkid ft. Brent Faiyaz – ‘Piece Of My Heart’

Video of the Year

• Ariana Grande – ‘brighter days ahead’
• Billie Eilish – ‘BIRDS OF A FEATHER’
• Kendrick Lamar – ‘Not Like Us’
• Lady Gaga & Bruno Mars – ‘Die With A Smile’
• ROSÉ & Bruno Mars – ‘APT.’
• Sabrina Carpenter – ‘Manchild’
• The Weeknd, Playboi Carti – ‘Timeless’

Artist of the Year

• Bad Bunny – Rimas Entertainment
• Beyoncé – Parkwood Entertainment/Columbia Records
• Kendrick Lamar – pgLang/Interscope Records
• Lady Gaga – Interscope Records
• Morgan Wallen – Big Loud Records/Mercury Records
• Taylor Swift – Republic Records
• The Weeknd – XO/Republic Records

Song of the Year

• Alex Warren – ‘Ordinary’
• Billie Eilish – ‘BIRDS OF A FEATHER’
• Doechii – ‘Anxiety’
• Ed Sheeran – ‘Sapphire’
• Gracie Abrams – ‘I Love You, I’m Sorry’
• Lady Gaga & Bruno Mars – ‘Die With A Smile’
• Lorde – ‘What Was That’
• ROSÉ & Bruno Mars – ‘APT.’
• Tate McRae – ‘Sports Car’
• The Weeknd, Playboi Carti – ‘Timeless’

Best New Artist

• Alex Warren – Atlantic Records
• Ella Langley – SAWGOD/Columbia Records
• Gigi Perez – Island
• Lola Young – Island
• sombr – SMB Music/Warner Records
• The Marías – Nice Life/Atlantic Records

Best Pop Artist

• Ariana Grande – Republic Records
• Charli xcx – Atlantic Records
• Justin Bieber – Def Jam Recordings
• Lorde – Republic Records
• Miley Cyrus – Columbia Records
• Sabrina Carpenter – Island
• Tate McRae – RCA Records

MTV Push Performance of the Year

• Aug 2024 – Shaboozey – ‘A Bar Song (Tipsy)’
• Sept 2024 – Ayra Starr – ‘Last Heartbreak Song’
• Oct 2024 – Mark Ambor – ‘Belong Together’
• Nov 2024 – Lay Bankz – ‘Graveyard’
• Dec 2024 – Dasha – ‘Bye Bye Bye’
• Jan 2025 – KATSEYE – ‘Touch’
• Feb 2025 – Jordan Adetunji – ‘KEHLANI’
• Mar 2025 – Leon Thomas – ‘YES IT IS’
• Apr 2025 – Livingston – ‘Shadow’
• May 2025 – Damiano David – ‘Next Summer’
• June 2025 – Gigi Perez – ‘Sailor Song’
• July 2025 – ROLE MODEL – ‘Sally, When The Wine Runs Out’