Mariah Carey Performs Greatest Hits At 2025 VMAs — Watch And Grade It
Beyond simply being one of pop culture's highest honors, receiving the Video Vanguard Award at Sunday's VMAs was especially meaningful for Mariah Carey, as it marked a full-circle moment for the singer and the ceremony.
Carey presented this very award to LL Cool J back in 1997, and who should happen to be hosting the 2025 MTV Video Music Awards? Why, none other than Mr. NCIS: Los Angeles himself. That has to mean something, right? Maybe just really good scheduling? Well done, producers.
With all respect to LL, however, the VMAs managed to wrangle someone even bigger to present Carey with her big award — fellow whistle tone queen Ariana Grande! She introduced Carey as "one of the reasons so many of us sing."
After performing a snippet of her new single "Sugar Sweet," Carey gave the people what they came for, a medley of the songs that paved her road to stardom. She kicked things off with "Fantasy," followed by "Heartbreaker," then "Obsessed," "It's Like That" and "We Belong Together." She even brought back her iconic alter ego Bianca for a well-deserved rematch. (She was no match, of course.)
Watch Carey's full VMAs performance below:
Carey joins a long line of music icons to receive the Video Vanguard Award. Recent recipients include Katy Perry (2024), Shakira (2023), Nicki Minaj (2022), Missy Elliott (2019), Jennifer Lopez (2018), Pink (2017), Rihanna (2016), Kanye West (2015), Beyoncé (2014), Justin Timberlake (2013) and Britney Spears (2011).
In addition to receiving this year's Video Vanguard Award, Carey also entered the ceremony as a Best R&B nominee for "Type Dangerous." Historically speaking, however, Carey hasn't had the best luck when it comes to the VMAs. Despite receiving eight nominations throughout her career — for songs like "Honey" (Remix) in 1998, "We Belong Together" in 2005 and "Touch My Body" in 2008 — Carey has never actually taken home a Moon Person.
In addition to Carey, other high-profile performers at Sunday's VMAs include Alex Warren, Busta Rhymes, Conan Gray, Doja Cat, J Balvin, DJ Snake, Jelly Roll, Lady Gaga, Post Malone, Ricky Martin, Sabrina Carpenter, Sombr and Tate McRae. There's also a special tribute to the late Ozzy Osbourne, featuring performances by Steven Tyler, Joe Perry, Yungblud and Nuno Bettencourt.
Hit PLAY on the video above to watch Carey's 2025 VMAs performance, then grade it in our poll below and drop a comment with your full review. Was this one sweet day to be part of the Lambily, or was this a TV moment you'd rather shake off?