The MTV VMAs can always be counted on for a few things: Memorable performances, lots of creative nudity and plenty of “best, worst and oops” moments to discuss. The PEOPLE staff had plenty of hot takes (or shall we say Pop Takes?) about everything from the acrobatics of Tate McRae to the many wardrobe changes of Ariana Grande, and by the end of the night, some clear favorites had emerged. See what we deemed the best and worst moments of the 2025 MTV VMAs.
Poops: Alex Warren Threatens to Go … for the Gold
When presented with the best new artist award during the pre-show, Alex Warren declared that his excitement might manifest itself in gastrointestinal distress. “I don’t even know what to say to you right now. I pooped twice today. I might go a third,” he mused, adding, “you’d like that for ratings, wouldn’t you?”
Worst: Mariah Carey Not Getting a VMA Until Now
When you think of Mariah Carey, the word “underappreciated” might not be the first one that comes to mind — there are few artists more iconic on the planet — and yet, her Video Vanguard award Sunday night was the first time she took home a Moon Person. This is the lady who gave us the “Heartbreaker” music video, in which she fights herself. What were you people thinking for the past 35 years?! Watch that video again and feel shame!
Best Tribute to MTV’s Early Days: Doja Cat
Doja Cat’s pitch-perfect ’80s tribute for her performance of “Jealous Type” started off with a Kenny G solo and ended with a Janet Jackson-inspired dance break that made us say “Miss Cat if you’re nasty” and called back to MTV’s glory days.
Best Argument for Public Transportation: Lady Gaga
Shortly before her Madison Square Garden concert was about to begin, Lady Gaga accepted her artist of the year award in person at the UBS Arena, 45 minutes away.. She gave a heartfelt speech before concluding with, “I wish I could stay and watch all these amazing performances, but I have to go back to Madison Square Garden” — after which, one assumes, she hopped on the LIRR in full regalia in order to beat the traffic to the venue.
Most Unburdened Conscience as Evidenced by His Ageless Appearance: Ricky Martin
Ricky Martin picked up the show’s first ever Latin Icon Award — but he was already a winner for the fact that his performance of “Livin’ La Vida Loca” as part of a medley of his hits was virtually indistinguishable from his performance of the same in 1999 (right), the year he won best pop video for that song.
Best Reason to Revisit This Photo: Busta Rhymes’ Achievement Award
Busta Rhymes’ astonishingly tongue-twisting lyrical prowess earned him the Rock the Bells Visionary Award, but over his decades of VMAs attendance, he’s also proven himself willing to bend genres — resulting in memorable photo opps with a variety of stars that includes John Popper, David Lee Roth, Lady Gaga, and perhaps the most iconic of all, Martha Stewart. We’re grateful his legacy award gave us the opportunity to revisit this photo from 1997. Now is it too much to ask for them to collab on a track?
Worst Moment to Be Digging into a Pint of Ice Cream: Tate McRae’s Backup Dancers Take the Stage
Is that the Australian water polo team, or did Tate McRae somehow come up with half a dozen other ridiculously ripped men in Speedos?
Oops, There Go Their Shirts: Everyone in Sabrina Carpenter’s Performance
Sabrina Carpenter’s performance of “Tears” started out surprisingly tame (that is, if you didn’t listen too closely to the words), leading us to wonder if she was taking the night off from being our provocative pop star du jour. But then she ripped off her top, ripped the buttons off a few hot cops and cued the rain for a very sexy finale. That’s the Sabrina we know and love!
Most Informative: Yungblud
Though extremely bare torsos were one of the night’s constants (see above), only Yungblud went out of his way to give us a glimpse of how he’s grooming his nether regions these days.
Best Commitment to Being Mariah Carey: Mariah Carey
As noted above, Mariah Carey doesn’t need to do another damn thing to enter the pantheon of all-time music legends. And guess what? She’s not going to! For her medley of songs ahead of accepting her Video Vanguard Award (for which she said, correctly, “What in the Sam Hill were you waiting for?”) she tiptoed around the stage in $10 million of diamonds, vaguely gestured to the lyrics and overall reminded us that she’s Mimi, dammit, and other people work for her — she doesn’t work for the people.
Worst News for Your Bank Account: Everyone at PEOPLE Thinks You Should See Lady Gaga Live
Lady Gaga’s pretaped performance was one of the most electrifying of the evening, and completely blew up the PEOPLE VMAs slack. One staffer called the star’s Mayhem Ball tour “genuinely life changing,” while another said she went with kidney stones and had no regrets. After one writer said she didn’t “regret ponying up” for her seats, another was resigned to charging the $600 tickets so she could have the experience. Mother monster … impact on our credit card bill. Worth it!!!
Oops, the Emmys Are Next Week: The Super Long Speeches
Sure, we would listen to Rosé, Lady Gaga or Ariana Grande read Travis Kelce’s old tweets, so we’re not going to complain about their extended acceptance speeches. But we are going to express our surprise that, at a show dedicated to music and visuals, so much of the night was spent on pages of thanks to everyone they know, up to and including “myself” and “my therapist and gay people.”
Worst: The Mic Issues
Surely somebody knew Ariana Grande was going to be a big winner on Sunday night (and that somebody might include Ariana herself, given her thought-out speeches and multiple outfit changes). So what’s the excuse for making her deliver her thanks into a mic she could barely reach, even in her sky-high stilettos? “This is ridiculous!” she fumed partway through her acceptance for video of the year, before letting her (equally height-challenged) director for the “Brighter Days Ahead” video, Christian Breslauer, take the mic on tiptoes as well. Somebody owes her a Grande apology.
Best On-Time Ending
Our thanks (said into a mic set at the correct height) to whoever was running the stopwatch backstage: You delivered a show that wrapped up a mere two minutes after it promised to. We do a lot of these awards shows, and are usually set with enough snacks to last us a half hour or more past the stated end, so we’re always appreciative when everything wraps up promptly and we can save the snacks for tomorrow.
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