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Topics: Award Shows, Music, VMAs
Ilana Frost
So, I’m gonna need a word with the MTV execs. Like, immediately. The 2025 VMAs nominations are finally here, and as a woman who baked cakes for this award show throughout her childhood, I have *thoughts* about this list. Sure, it’s a fabulous day for Lady Gaga, who’s leading the pack with 12 noms, and for Bruno Mars, Kendrick Lamar, Rosé, Sabrina Carpenter, and Ariana Grande, who scored an impressive number as well. Love this for these icons, who are all beyond deserving, of course. But! ‘Scuse me if I also can’t ignore the shocking snubs and truly bizarre inclusions here. Certain standout artists are missing from the nominations entirely (*cough* Goddison Rae), while a few names on the list have literally no business being there (a certain evil Rihanna ex). I desperately need to rant right now, so let’s get into the 2025 MTV VMAs nominations snubs and surprises, shall we?
Addison Rae has spent all of 2025 serving fans who appreciate elite, innovative pop. She released a dreamy and flawless debut album that Pitchfork gave a high score of 8.0 and The New York Times called “one of the year’s signature pop releases.” She’s been co-signed by Lana Del Rey, Charli XCX, Demi Lovato, Chappell Roan, and Finneas, among other A-listers. Her imagination, stacked harmonies, avant-garde music videos and choreo, and lyrics about femininity, manifestation, and freedom are precisely what pop needs in this moment.
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I’ll be blunt: It’s a joke that Addison didn’t receive a single nomination, and it’s such a preposterous oversight/diss that I can’t even take this noms list that seriously.
Sorry, where TF is Olivia Dean’s name in the best new artist category? Her performance videos have been going viral, everyone with taste is obsessed with “Nice to Each Other,” and she’s set to open for Sabrina Carpenter later this year. This neo-soul, jazzy pop queen is more deserving of the award than any of the artists who are nominated, I fear.
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I don’t personally GAF that Benson wasn’t nominated at all, but still, it’s objectively shocking. I definitely thought “Mystical Magical” (aka “Moonbeam Ice Cream”) would appear in multiple categories, including song of the year, and I also expected to see the flipping king’s name in the best pop artist category. But alas, Justin Bieber is the only male artist who got a nod in that category.
*Whispers* I don’t care for Lana at all (boiling hot take, I know), so it doesn’t bother me that she didn’t get any nods either. That being said, I’m very surprised, considering she’s so beloved and did release music this year.
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I have a very serious, urgent question for everyone: Have you ever met a single person in your life who listens to this TikToker’s annoying-ass song, “Ordinary”? I’m genuinely baffled and concerned by its constant No. 1 position on the charts and now a VMA nom for song of the fucking year… Are we being so for real? Not to mention, he’s also nominated for best new artist and best pop. That just feels like some alternate reality I’m not part of, sorry.