Mariah Carey will be the 2025 honoree for the MTV Video Music Awards‘ Video Vanguard Award. The award honors artists who have had a profound impact on both music videos and pop culture as a whole.
As part of her acceptance, Carey will perform a medley of her biggest hits live onstage during the VMAs. The ceremony, which will be hosted by LL Cool J and will take place at New York’s UBS Arena, will air on Sept. 7 at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT. The event will simulcast on both MTV and CBS — a first for the awards show that’s been around since 1984 — and will be available to stream on Paramount+.
Carey’s return will be a full-circle moment for her. When Carey presented at the VMAs in 1997, it was to give LL Cool J the Vanguard Award. Known as the best-selling female artist of all time, Carey first walked onto the VMAs stage in 1991 when she performed “Emotions,” marking her first awards show performance of the song. She also joined Whitney Houston onstage in 1998 during a bit where the two divas “accidentally” wore the same dress.
LL Cool J to Host 2025 MTV VMAs
Over the course of her career, Carey has won five Grammys and sold over 220 million albums worldwide. She’s also garnered 19 Billboard Hot 100 No.1 singles, 18 of which she wrote or co-wrote, which is more than any other solo artist in history. She is known for songs like “Honey,” “Heartbreaker,” “Obsessed,” “Touch My Body,” “Breakdown” and “#Beautiful,” each of which has its own iconic music video.
Carey’s appearance comes ahead of her latest album. “Here For It All” marks the artist’s 16th studio album and will be released on Sept. 26. It contains the single “Type Dangerous,” which is up for Best R&B record this year.
The Michael Jackson Vanguard Award has been bestowed on some of the most influential artists in the music industry including Katy Perry, Shakira, Beyoncé, Nicki Minaj, Madonna, Janet Jackson, Jennifer Lopez, Rihanna, Justin Timberlake and Missy Elliott. During the first-ever VMAs, the honor was given to David Bowie, The Beatles and director Richard Lester.
