Mariah Carey Returns to the VMAs in a Big Way: Video Vanguard Award
Mariah Carey will take center stage at the 2025 MTV Video Music Awards, where she will receive the Video Vanguard Award and perform a medley of her most celebrated hits….
Mariah Carey will take center stage at the 2025 MTV Video Music Awards, where she will receive the Video Vanguard Award and perform a medley of her most celebrated hits. The ceremony will air live nationwide on Sunday, Sept. 7, on CBS, simulcast on MTV, and streamed on Paramount+.
Carey becomes the oldest recipient of the award, surpassing Richard Lester, director of The Beatles’ films A Hard Day’s Night and Help!, who was 52 when he received the honor in 1984. “It’s more impressive that Carey is receiving the award 35 years into her career than if she had gotten it when she was in her first flush of stardom,” the announcement noted, as reported by Billboard. “It’s a real achievement for Carey to have sustained her star power for so many years.”
A Career of Enduring Impact
Recent years have seen the Video Vanguard Award go to artists with decades-long careers, including Jennifer Lopez, Missy Elliott, and Shakira, each of whom received the honor after turning 45. Carey continues that trend and becomes the eighth consecutive woman to earn the distinction, following Rihanna, Pink, Lopez, Elliott, Nicki Minaj, Shakira, and Katy Perry.
This will mark Carey’s first VMAs performance in two decades. In 2005, she performed “We Belong Together” and “Shake It Off” to critical acclaim. Earlier, she made her VMAs debut in 1991 with “Emotions” and in 1998 shared an iconic moment with Whitney Houston when the two took the stage in matching gowns to present Best Male Video to Will Smith.
A Significant Return
This year’s event also brings Carey’s VMAs story full circle. In 1997, she presented the Vanguard Award to LL COOL J — who is hosting this year’s ceremony from UBS Arena in New York.
MTV’s announcement refers to the honor as both the Video Vanguard Award and the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award, a nod to the legacy of influential artists like Carey herself.
With her induction into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2022 and repeated nominations for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, Carey’s influence on popular music continues to resonate. Her upcoming appearance at the VMAs serves as another milestone in a career defined by longevity and cultural impact.
On Sept. 7, she returns to the VMAs stage not just to perform, but to solidify her place in music history.
