Mariah Carey Receives First VMA With Video Vanguard Award: “What in the Sam Hill Took You So Long?!”

Mariah Carey Receives First VMA With Video Vanguard Award: “What in the Sam Hill Took You So Long?!”

Mariah Carey finally received her first MTV Video Music Award on Sunday night when the Grammy-winning superstar singer was honored with the Video Vanguard Award. Though she’d been nominated for eight VMAs over the years, Carey had yet to win a competitive prize even as she was recognized with the prestigious Video Vanguard honor.

Taking the stage after a performance of a medley of her hits, Carey joked of her long-awaited award, “What in the Sam Hill took you so long?!”

Prior to receiving her honor, Carey performed snippets of her many hits, highlighting singles that also had particularly memorable videos, including “Honey,” “Heartbreaker,” “Obsessed,” “It’s Like That,” “We Belong Together” and the remix of her hit “Fantasy,” complete with audio of the late Ol’ Dirty Bastard’s rap intro.

She began the medley with latest single, “Sugar Sweet,” donning a silk robe and performing alongside two dancers.

She then ditched the robe to reveal a shimmery gold one-piece jumpsuit as she made her way across the VMAs stage and through her hits. From “Fantasy,” she briefly went into “Honey” and then “Heartbreaker” and back to “Honey” again, joined by numerous dancers including some in “Honey”-inspired sailor outfits.

Carey also called back to her “Heartbreaker” video with a cameo from her video alter ego, still sporting popcorn in her hair and the same all-red ensemble from the video. Carey then pretended to knock out Bianca and segued into “Obsessed” as she moved into her Emancipation of Mimi era, complete with “MIMI” in lights behind her. She then delivered the first two singles from that 2005 album: “It’s Like That” and “We Belong Together.”

Ariana Grande presented Carey with her Vanguard award, saying that the “queen” vocalist is “the reason why so many of us here sing.” Carey, Grande proclaimed, has given listeners an “anthem for every single occasion.”

“A song to sing and hand to hold during the best and worst of times,” Grande, who was once dubbed “mini Mariah” for her powerhouse vocals, said of Carey, citing the chanteuse’s five-octave range, a “pop playbook” of music videos and how she’s provided listeners with “the soundtrack of our lives.”

Accepting the award, Carey gave Grande a kiss on the cheek and praised the young performer, telling her she’s “so proud of everything you’ve achieved, girl.”

She also reflected on her past times on the VMAs stage including presenting this year’s host, LL Cool J with his Video Vanguard Award and opening the 1998 show with her and Whitney Houston facing off while wearing the same dress.

Carey called her videos “mini movies visualizing the sheer fantasy of it all.”

“Sometimes there’s a chance to bring the drama and do things I wouldn’t do,” Carey said, listing her “drag” persona in “Obsessed,” fighting Bianca in “Heartbreaker” and escaping to a desert island with a hot guy in “Honey,” which she admitted wasn’t too much of a stretch.

Carey also made sure to remind viewers of her upcoming, new studio album, Here For It All, out Sept. 26.

Carey also won a competitive VMA on Sunday night, taking home the award for best R&B for “Type Dangerous.”

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.

The 2025 MTV VMAs took place from New York’s UBS Arena Sunday night and aired live coast-to-coast on CBS, for the first time on the broadcast network, as well as simulcast on MTV and streaming on Paramount+ in the U.S.

Lady Gaga went into the show as the leading nominee this year, with 12 nods, followed by Bruno Mars with 11 nominations and Kendrick Lamar with 10. All three artists were nominated for the top prize of video of the year.