All the 2025 VMAs Performances Ranked From Worst to Best

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See however the newcomers, hitmakers and veterans stacked up.

9/8/2025

Sabrina Carpenter performs during the 2025 MTV Video Music Awards astatine UBS Arena connected September 07, 2025 successful Elmont, New York.

The 2025 VMAs person wrapped, with Lady Gaga walking distant from the USB Arena successful Elmont, N.Y., with the astir Moon Person trophies this twelvemonth – four successful total. Well, technically Gaga near the arena earlier winning each 4 of those VMAs – aft all, she had a headlining amusement to execute astatine Madison Square Garden – but she was determination agelong capable to cod 1 successful idiosyncratic earlier jetting disconnected to Manhattan.

Hosted by LL COOL J, the 2025 MTV Video Music Awards were 1 of the champion VMAs successful caller memory, a astute premix of newcomers who brought their A-game (and inventive visuals) and veterans who demonstrated wherefore they’ve lasted successful the crippled truthful long. Of the second category, each 1 received immoderate benignant of Moon Person trophy during the three-hour telecast, with Mariah Carey receiving the Video Vanguard Award, Ricky Martin collecting the Latin Icon Award and Busta Rhymes getting the Rock the Bells Visionary Award.

As with immoderate awards show, the awards are important, definite – and based connected the profoundly idiosyncratic acceptance speeches from ROSÉ and Ariana Grande, they look to mean rather a batch – but astir viewers are tuning successful to spot immoderate unthinkable unrecorded music. And this year’s VMAs did not disappoint.

We’re moving down our ranking of the 2025 VMA performances, from worst to best, below. We’re not including the broadside signifier performances (doesn’t truly look just to complaint a 70-second show against a full-on song) oregon the pre-recorded halftime amusement from Gunna (though that was beauteous sick). All that being said, present we go.

Post Malone & Jelly Roll

Usually erstwhile he’s astatine an awards show, Jelly Roll perfectly steals the spotlight, delivering gritty, astonishing vocals and smart, elemental staging that knocks your socks off. So possibly the occupation with this show was simply that Jelly Roll and Post Malone were not really at the show. Beamed successful from an arena successful Hanover, Germany, this duet connected “Losers” sounded good but conscionable couldn’t implicit with magic you get from an in-venue awards amusement performance. That being said, different VMA performer who did an offsite amusement astatine this year’s ceremonial perfectly smashed it (more connected that later). But that artist’s outlandish theatricality goes a agelong mode toward making up for the distance; portion Posty and Jelly person chemistry, this duet unluckily faded into the background. Socks were not, successful fact, knocked off.
Alex Warren

Alex Warren’s “Ordinary” is simply a certified smash, a Billboard Hot 100 topper and 2025’s song of the summer. But a ballad, nary substance however powerful, is simply a pugnacious proposition astatine an awards show, and his caller single, “Eternity,” didn’t precisely acceptable up this two-song medley to soar. When helium brought retired the choir for “Ordinary,” his impassioned vocals (and the audience’s enthusiasm) helped close the vessel a bit. Even so, with th...

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