The Video Music Awards (VMAs) might seem like the total package in terms of awards shows: performances with incredibly technical and stunning sets, a wide variety of celebrities presenting and receiving awards, and a ranking system involving fan feedback, ensuring the general public can have their say. However, many recent critics have accused the VMAs of not being as memorable as in the past. This year, with few stand-out performances and many major industry giants missing, it felt like the VMAs had “fallen off,” to put things simply. Here are the highlights and snubs from the three-hour Sept. 8 award show.
highlights
Ariana Grande finally receives her flowers
After many years of being overlooked during awards shows — most recently her 2025 GRAMMY snub for Eternal Sunshine — Ariana Grande walked away with three awards tonight, including the most coveted prize, Best Music Video for “Brighter Days Ahead.” Grande definitely made her presence known this night, as she presented Mariah Carey with the honorary Vanguard Award, sat in the front row, and had over four costume changes! This VMAs marks Grande’s first return to a musical award show since the 2020 GRAMMYs and VMAs. She emphasized thanking her fans in her speech, as well as her family and music video crew, who helped her create art she loves.
“apt.” wins best song
K-pop star Rosé sniffled back her tears as she accepted her first Moon Man for her hit song, “APT.” with Bruno Mars. With 19 weeks at number one, the song instantly became a hit, and the fans supported that by voting it as Song of the Year. Rosé took the moment to thank her support group, old bandmates, and even herself, “as my therapist likes to remind me [to appreciate myself].” This emotional moment was definitely a highlight, as I thought it showed a newer artist getting the breakout recognition they deserve.
snubs
Best New Artist: Alex Warren
This category has been one of the most competitive the VMAs have seen in years, especially since there is no clear winner. However, I think the VMAs could have made a better decision than Alex Warren. I’m not saying Warren is a bad artist — in fact, his song “The Ordinary” is one of my favorite show-stopping, gut-wrenching ballads — but with so many strong contenders for Best New Artist, it seemed like a long shot that Warren would win compared to others.
Other artists like Sombr, who recently released a full album that went straight to number one, or Lola Young, who’s had a generational run with her song “Messy,” and then was featured in Tyler, the Creator’s hit album Chromakopia, might have been better selections. I just wish Warren had released more music so we could properly compare the new artists based on song consistency and quality instead of one-hit wonders.
Song of the Summer: “Sports Car”
With over 12 nominations, this category appeared to be the most competitive of the lot. Many influencers have been pointing out the lack of a song of the summer this year, which is why lots of light has been shed on this category at the 2025 VMAs. Many speculated “Mystical Magical” by Benson Boone or “Manchild” by Sabrina Carpenter would take home the win, but it was in fact Tate McRae’s “Sports car” that took the prize.
This came as a shock to me and many other internet commenters, as in most Song of the Summer discussion videos, “Sports car” wasn’t even up for grabs. Awarding “Sports car” to McRae is a signifier to many, including myself, that this category is starting to lose credibility and is seen as a consolation prize to those who don’t win anything else.
Sabrina Carpenter’s “Manchild”
Carpenter did walk away with Album of the Year at the VMAs — a top honor of the night — but her hit “Manchild” did not receive any major VMA wins. With “Manchild” being Carpenter’s longest number one single, even beating “Espresso,” it seemed like a snub that she received no awards besides Visual Effects for her hit song.
performances
sombr
Sombr’s mic was definitely turned on for this performance. Performing two of his hit songs, “back to friends” and “12 to 12,” Sombr was a standout performer for me this evening. His set was very reminiscent of New York at night, giving a grungy feel to the depressive songs he’s singing, or as fans endearingly like to put it, “crashing out to.” I had no complaints with the performance, and it left me much more satisfied than others of the night.
sabrina carpenter
Her performance was short and sweet, to put it simply. Only performing her new single, “Tears,” off her brand-new album, it struck me odd that she didn’t use more time to promote her new music. I do wish Carpenter had added another song to her set, since it was one of the best of the night. However, the set, costumes, and special effects (including some impressive rain) made up for Carpenter’s short set with show-stopping qualities.
conan gray
My surprise standout performance of the night! I didn’t expect Gray to perform his new song “Vodka Cranberry” in a set that had such depth and literary reference. A combination of Romeo and Juliet, Adam and Eve, and Snow White references, the performance was incredibly visually entertaining, and it also brought a whole new layer to the song I hadn’t considered before. A performance could rarely make me like a song I previously had no feelings for, but Gray managed that with his VMAs performance this year.
final takeaways
After listening to the same clips of songs on TikTok all summer long, it appears to me that the VMAs are focusing more on artists who generate trending songs rather than great art. The music industry is now shifting to accommodate songs with short, catchy tunes and subpar verses rather than the overall quality of a song, front to back.
We, as students, could try to change the way we consume media: instead of discarding music so quickly for short “TikTok-able” soundbites, maybe we could start valuing the front-to-back beauty of music. This can help change the way current music is structured and bring back great music, so we’re not left debating what the “song of the summer” is from 12 mediocre songs.
And while Taylor Swift’s presence was certainly missed, as there was no “Taylor Cam” this year, it did appear that in her absence, awards were distributed more evenly throughout the evening. Take what you will from that.
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