The 2025 MTV VMAs have unveiled the first wave of presenters for the awards show, which will air this Sunday. The lineup features a mix of music superstars, TV stars, and reality icons, including Jessica Simpson and her sister Ashlee Simpson Ross, Hunting Wives co-stars Brittany Snow and Malin Akerman, Huntrix (Audrey Nuna, EJAE and Rei Ami), Paris Hilton, Megan Stalter, Nikki Glaser, Drew Barrymore, Ice Spice, Ciara, Latto, and Livvy Dunne.
A one-hour preshow will stream across MTV and a wide slate of ViacomCBS networks, including BET, BET Her, Comedy Central, CMT, Logo, MTV 2, Nickelodeon, Paramount Network, Pop, TV Land and VH1. The preshow will be hosted by Nessa and Kevan Kenney, with KATSEYE set to perform “Gnarly” and “Gabriela” from their new Beautiful Chaos EP. The K-pop girl group is a first-time VMA nominee, up for Best Group and MTV Push performance of the year.
For the first time, the VMAs Extended Play Stage will be part of the show, spotlighting first-time nominees Bailey Zimmerman featuring The Kid LAROI, Lola Young, and Megan Moroney.
VMA performers announced so far include Video Vanguard recipient Mariah Carey, Latin Icon Award honoree Ricky Martin, Rock the Bells Visionary Award recipient Busta Rhymes, top nominee Lady Gaga, Sabrina Carpenter, Sombr, Alex Warren, J Balvin featuring DJ Snake, Doja Cat, Jelly Roll, Post Malone, Tate McRae and Conan Gray.
Lady Gaga leads the nominations with 12 nods, followed by Bruno Mars with 11 and Kendrick Lamar with 10, all vying for the coveted Video of the Year prize.
LL Cool J is set to host the ceremony, which will take place at New York’s UBS Arena on Sunday, September 7 at 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT. The show will be broadcast live coast-to-coast on CBS for the first time, with simultaneous coverage on MTV and streaming on Paramount+ in the U.S.
Production is led by Gunpowder & Sky, with Van Toffler, Jesse Ignjatovic and Barb Bialkowski as executive producers. Alicia Portugal serves as co-executive producer, Jackie Barba as executive in charge of production, Wendy Plaut as executive in charge of celebrity talent, and Lisa Lauricella as executive in charge of music talent.
This year’s event reflects MTV’s ongoing push to diversify platforms and talent, delivering a multi-network, multi-format experience that aims to widen the VMAs’ reach while keeping a star-studded, high-energy show at the forefront.