The 2025 MTV Video Music Awards has unveiled its first wave of performers, with Sabrina Carpenter leading the charge alongside J Balvin, Alex Warren, and Sombr.
The ceremony is scheduled to broadcast live on September 7th from UBS Arena in New York.
Carpenter returns to the VMAs stage following her breakthrough performance last year, where she claimed Song of the Year for “Espresso”. This time around, she enters as one of the ceremony’s most nominated artists with eight nods, including Video of the Year for “Manchild” from her forthcoming album Man’s Best Friend.
J Balvin will deliver a double-header performance, first taking the stage with Justin Quiles and Lenny Tavárez for his latest single “Zun Zun”, before joining DJ Snake for the live debut of their collaboration “Noventa”. The pairing marks DJ Snake’s inaugural VMAs performance. Balvin also secured a nomination in the Best Latin category for “Rio”.
Two newcomers will make their VMAs debuts with Warren and Sombr both competing in the Best New Artist category. Warren brings additional momentum with nominations for Best Pop and Song of the Year for “Ordinary”, whilst Sombr earned recognition in Best Alternative for his breakthrough track “Back to Friends”.
The ceremony will honour two significant figures in music history. Ricky Martin will receive the inaugural Latin Icon Award, returning to the VMAs 26 years after his groundbreaking 1999 win for “Livin’ la Vida Loca” as the first male Latin artist to claim Best Pop Video. Meanwhile, Busta Rhymes will be recognised with the first MTV VMA Rock the Bells Visionary Award, acknowledging his extensive VMAs legacy dating back to 1997 and his career-spanning medley that closed the 2021 ceremony.
LL Cool J will host the proceedings, bringing his veteran presence to anchor the ceremony. Additional performers are expected to be revealed in the coming weeks leading up to the September broadcast.
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