Mariah Carey to Receive Video Vanguard Award at 2025 MTV VMAs
After several decades as a mainstay in the music industry, Mariah Carey is set to receive the MTV Video Music Awards‘ 2025 Video Vanguard Award.
In addition to accepting the award, Carey will also take the stage to perform a medley of her greatest hits during the awards show.
Carey has been nominated for eight VMAs over the years, including a nod in the best R&B video category for her song “Type Dangerous” at the 2025 ceremony. She made her VMAs debut in 1991 with a memorable performance of “Emotions” and returned to the awards show in 1997 to present the Video Vanguard Award to LL Cool J.
The following year, Carey was joined by Whitney Houston to open the show with a skit in which both women “accidentally” wore the same dress.
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Carey is a five-time Grammy Award winner who has sold more than 220 million albums worldwide. She has also racked up 19 Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 singles, which is more than any solo artist in history. Additionally, Carey has released several memorable music videos for singles including “Honey,” “Heartbreaker,” “Obsessed,” “Touch My Body,” “Breakdown” and “#Beautiful.”
The awards show will take place less than two weeks before the release of her latest studio album, Here For It All, on Sept. 26.
Previous Video Vanguard recipients include Katy Perry, Beyoncé, Madonna, Janet Jackson, Missy Elliott, Rihanna, Shakira and Justin Timberlake. Meanwhile, David Bowie, The Beatles and director Richard Lester shared the honor at the inaugural VMAs in 1984.
Lady Gaga has received the most nominations for the 2025 MTV VMAs with 12 nods. Bruno Mars follows closely behind with with 11 nominations, while Kendrick Lamar earned 10 nods. Gaga, Mars and Lamar are all competing for the top prize of video of the year.
The night will also feature several performances from artists including Sabrina Carpenter, Sombr, Alex Warren and J Balvin featuring DJ Snake. Busta Rhymes, who is set to receive the Rock the Bells Visionary Award, and Ricky Martin, who will be given the Latin Icon Award, are also scheduled to perform at the show.
LL Cool J is set to host the 2025 MTV VMAs, which will take place on Sept. 7 at 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT. The ceremony will be held at UBS Arena in Elmont, New York, for the second year in a row.
The awards show will air live coast-to-coast on CBS for the first time, while it will also simulcast on MTV and will be available to stream on Paramount+ in the U.S.
