Mariah Carey Takes Video Vanguard Award and Bests the Field With First VMA Win

Mariah Carey finally got her MTV moment — twice. The singer accepted the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award at Sunday’s 2025 MTV Video Music Awards and, earlier in the night, won her first competitive VMA, taking Best R&B for “Type Dangerous.”

Carey marked the honor with a career-spanning medley that doubled as a reminder of her video legacy. She opened with her new single “Sugar Sweet,” then flipped through “Fantasy,” “Honey,” “Heartbreaker,” “Obsessed” and “It’s Like That,” closing with a string-kissed “We Belong Together.” Ariana Grande presented the Vanguard; onstage, Carey joked about the long wait for her first Moon Person and nodded to the show’s role in her career.

The telecast — hosted by LL Cool J at UBS Arena — threaded legacy and spectacle. Ariana Grande took Video of the Year for “Brighter Days Ahead,” and Lady Gaga won Artist of the Year and Best Collaboration for “Die With a Smile” with Bruno Mars. ROSÉ and Bruno Mars earned Song of the Year for “APT.” New special honors expanded the frame: Busta Rhymes received the inaugural Rock the Bells Visionary Award, and Ricky Martin was named the first Latin Icon. The show aired on CBS and MTV with streaming on Paramount+.

Also notable: Doechii won Best Hip-Hop for “Anxiety,” Tyla took Best Afrobeats for “PUSH 2 START,” and LISA’s “Born Again” — featuring Doja Cat and RAYE — won Best K-pop. BLACKPINK claimed Best Group; Sabrina Carpenter’s Short n’ Sweet won Best Album.

What lingered was Carey’s set — precise, playful and pointed. The cuts that once defined TRL afternoons and late-night countdowns felt newly present, and the acknowledgment finally matched the scale of that history. With “Here for It All” due Sept. 26, the night functioned as both celebration and reset: a Hall-of-Fame résumé met with hardware, and a new chapter arriving on schedule.