Sabrina Carpenter, Ricky Martin, and More to Perform at 2025 VMAs

Alex Warren, Busta Rhymes, J Balvin ft. DJ Snake, Ricky Martin, Sabrina Carpenter and sombr are the first round of superstar performers at the 2025 MTV VMAs. Hip-hop legend Busta Rhymes will receive the MTV VMA Rock The Bells Visionary Award, with global icon Ricky Martin honored with the Latin Icon Award.

As BroadwayWorld previously reported, the 2025 VMAs nominations are led by Lady Gaga with 12 nominations. Ariana Grande, who will reprise her acclaimed role as Glinda in Wicked: For Good,  has received 7 nominations, including several for "Brigher Days Ahead" and Best Pop Artist. Take a look at the full list here.

LL Cool J hosts the 2025 MTV VMAs, airing LIVE coast-to-coast from New York’s UBS Arena Sunday, Sept. 7 at 8:00 PM, ET/5:00 PM, PT on the CBS Television Network, simulcast on MTV and streaming on Paramount+ in the U.S. Additional performers, presenters and special guests to be revealed in the coming weeks.

Alex Warren

Breakout singer-songwriter and the newest MTV PUSH artist will make his VMAs debut and look to capture his first Moon Person, nominated for Best New Artist, Best Pop and Song of the Year for his global #1 and the top-selling song of 2025 in the U.S., “Ordinary.”

Busta Rhymes

The music icon will receive the first-ever MTV VMA Rock The Bells Visionary Award, celebrating boundary-breaking cultural impact and an indomitable musical career spanning 20 million albums worldwide, 12 GRAMMY® nominations and seven top 10 debuts on the Billboard 200. His catalog boasts over 60 million records certified gold and platinum. He was also the Global Icon honoree at the 2024 MTV EMAs.

Since his first VMAs appearance in 1997, Busta has delivered a slew of show-stealing moments including a rapid-fire medley of greatest hits to close the 2021 show.

J Balvin ft. DJ Snake, Justin Quiles + Lenny Tavárez

Global superstar J Balvin returns to the VMAs with his latest hit, “Zun Zun,” joined by Latin stars Justin Quiles and Lenny Tavárez. He’ll then team up with multiplatinum producer DJ Snake – his first VMAs appearance – for the live premiere of their explosive collab, “Noventa.” A 13-time nominee, Balvin last performed in 2022 and looks to take home his sixth Moon Person this year to become the leading Latin award winner in VMA history.

Ricky Martin

Making history, the multi-GRAMMY® and Latin GRAMMY®-winning international trailblazer will become the first-ever artist to receive the Latin Icon Award, honoring a four-decade career that launched Latin music and culture into the mainstream with over 70 million albums sold worldwide and more than 180 awards for his music, acting and humanitarian work.

Ricky’s electrifying VMAs return marks the 26th anniversary of his first performance (1999), where he made history as the first male Latin artist to win for Best Pop Video and became the night’s overall top winner (five awards). He played Ché in the 2012 Broadway revival of Evita. 

Sabrina Carpenter

Following a show-stopping debut and first VMA win for Song of the Year in 2024, the multi-hyphenate global popstar will make her highly anticipated return to the main stage. The 14-time nominee is up for eight awards this year, including the night’s biggest award for Video of the Year (“Manchild”) from her upcoming album Man’s Best Friend. She made her Broadway debut in Mean Girls in 2020.

sombr

Internationally acclaimed breakout singer-songwriter and producer sombr will make his awards show debut LIVE on the VMAs stage, also receiving first-time nominations for Best New Artist and Best Alter.

Sabrina Carpenter Photo credit: Bryce Anderson

Ricky Martin Photo credit: Jvdas Berra

Busta Rhymes photo credit: Derek Blanks