The video for Ariana Grande's Brighter Days Ahead, directed by Christian Breslauer, took the top music video honour at the MTV Video Music Awards on Sunday night, winning Video Of The Year.

The Brighter Days Ahead video also won Best Pop Video at a ceremony that largely celebrated women in pop, with performances by Sabrina Carpenter, Doja Cat and Tate McCrea.

There was a special award for veteran rapper Busta Rhymes, honoured with the inaugural Rock the Bells Visionary Award, while Mariah Carey won the Video Vanguard Award. There was also a tribute to the late Ozzy Osbourne featuring Steven Tyler and Joe Perry from Aerosmith and UK artist Yungblud.

Among the technical categories, Lady Gaga's Abracadabra won Best Direction and Best Art Direction. Full list of technical category winners and nominees are as follows:

Best Direction

Ariana Grande, “Brighter Days Ahead”
Charli xcx, “Guess featuring Billie Eilish”
Kendrick Lamar, “Not Like Us”
Lady Gaga, “Abracadabra” (WINNER)
Rosé & Bruno Mars, “APT.”
Sabrina Carpenter, “Manchild”

Best Art Direction

Charli xcx, “Guess featuring Billie Eilish”
Kendrick Lamar, “Not Like Us”
Lady Gaga, “Abracadabra” (WINNER)
Lorde, “Man of the Year”
Miley Cyrus, “End of the World”
Rosé & Bruno Mars, “APT.”

Best Cinematography

Ariana Grande, “Brighter Days Ahead”
Ed Sheeran, “Sapphire”
Kendrick Lamar, “Not Like Us” (WINNER)
Lady Gaga, “Abracadabra”
Miley Cyrus, “Easy Lover”
Sabrina Carpenter, “Manchild”

Best Editing

Charli xcx, “Guess featuring Billie Eilish”
Ed Sheeran, “Sapphire”
Kendrick Lamar, “Not Like Us”
Lady Gaga, “Abracadabra”
Sabrina Carpenter, “Manchild”
Tate McRae, “Just Keep Watching (From F1: The Movie)” (WINNER)

Best Choreography

Doechii, “Anxiety” (WINNER)
FKA Twigs, “Eusexua”
Kendrick Lamar, “Not Like Us”
Lady Gaga, “Abracadabra”
Tyla – “Push 2 Start”
Zara Larsson, “Pretty Ugly”

Best Visual Effects

Ariana Grande, “Brighter Days Ahead”
Lady Gaga, “Abracadabra”
Rosé & Bruno Mars, “APT.”
Sabrina Carpenter, “Manchild” (WINNER)
Tate McRae, “Just Keep Watching (From F1: The Movie)“
The Weeknd, “Hurry Up Tomorrow”

• Full list of winners at MTV Video Music Awards 2025 here