Are the MTV VMAs a bizarre celebration of a commercial art form that even MTV has turned its back on for over a decade? Yes. Do I watch it from beginning to end anyways? Oh yes. Religiously.

This year's VMAs were held yesterday, Sunday (9/7) at UBS Arena in Elmont, New York.

The relatively new arena, which opened in late 2021 as the home of the NHL’s New York Islanders, sits near the Queens–Nassau County border, holds about 17k for hockey and up to 18.5k for concerts, giving the same vibe as Madison Square Garden or Barclays Center.

To keep things even weirder, this year’s broadcast was not only carried on MTV but for the first time on CBS to try to reach more viewers -- because for some reason having performances by some of the biggest names in pop music does not guarantee a viewing audience.

That didn't stop some of your faves from giving their all. So here's some highlights.

Sabrina Carpenter live debuted "Tears"

Not to be cheeky, but did anyone else notice Sabrina made her entrance by coming out of a man-hole to perform her new Man's Best Friend single "Tears"? Double entendres are becoming her forte but that was next level.

Surrounded by drag and ballroom performers, she used her moment on national television to platform pro-trans and LGBTQ+ messages via the signs her dancers held, like ones that said “In Trans We Trust” and “Dolls, Dolls, Dolls.”

Later when she was awarded the moon man for Best Album for Short n’ Sweet she continued her positive message: "to my incredible cast and dancers and queens on stage with me tonight --This world, as we all know, can be so full of criticism and discrimination and negativity. So to get to be part of something (so, often more than not) that is something that can bring you light, make you smile, make you dance, and make you feel like the world is your fucking oyster, I am so grateful. So grateful to do that."

From October 23 to November 23 Sabrina will continue her Short 'N Sweet Tour, obviously now with new songs from her latest album. She'll be traveling all around including a five night residency at Madison Square Garden and concluding with a six night run in Los Angeles. Get your tix on her website.

Steven Tyler & Joe Perry with Yungblud honored Ozzy

MTV has always had a love/hate relationship with rock music, mostly hate. The station preferred pop, but when Aerosmith went all-in on videos especially ones that featured Steven Tyler's 16-year-old daughter along with 17-year-old Alicia Silverstone, magically the Boston rockers were accepted on the channel.

Now that the band are in their 70s, the channel felt they needed some younger blood on the stage to honor Ozzy Osbourne, so they literally got the overly confident Yungblud to take off his shirt and perform with the Toxic Twins - with guitar virtuoso Nuno Bettencourt in the background.

Ozzy's MTV show, The Osbournes, is allegedly the network's most-watched reality show, yet the station still hasn't seemed to learn that viewers want to see the real rockers, not the new kid on the block. Still it was fine and Tyler seemed to shed a tear at the end.

Until Aerosmith decides to play again, you still have a chance to see The Joe Perry Project which performs a ton of your favorite songs. JPP wraps up their 2025 tour with a pair of dates with The Who at the Hollywood Bowl. Grab your tix on Joe's website.

Tate McRae got to play in the sand

If Sabrina Carpenter didn't trigger your parents with her barely-there outfits, Tate McRae had some eyebrows to raise on her own and a posse of hairless, oiled-up male dancers in their underwear to make hers look modest in comparison.

What's interesting is if MTV was still a thing in 2025, this 22-year-old would be an even bigger star than she is now because, unlike Aerosmith, hers is precisely the type of music, style, and dancing they ate up regardless of quality.

From Tuesday through November, Tate has over 30 gigs remaining on her Miss Possessive Tour, including double dates in Inglewood, Orlando, Seattle, Phoenix, and even returns for a second night in Austin. It concludes at the Forum. Get your tix on her website.

Mariah Carey won her first VMA

Another weird trend with MTV is they seemed to hate Mariah Carey. During her long stretch of being a staple on their channel beginning with her debut single "Vision of Love" in 1990, she had been nominated 10 times and never won a competitive VMA.

Of those 10 nominated videos, 8 became #1 hits on Billboard, yet no moon man. We're talking “Vision of Love” (1990, #1), “Someday” (1991, #1), “I’ll Be There” (1992, #1), “Fantasy” (1996, #1), “Honey” (1998, #1), “Heartbreaker” (1999, #1), “We Belong Together” (2005, #1), “Touch My Body” (2008, #1), “#Beautiful” (2013, #15), and “Big Energy (Remix)” with Latto and DJ Khaled (2022, #3).

Clearly whoever the haters were at the network have cleared out because last night she was honored with the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award - their version of the lifetime achievement award. She performed a medley that included “Fantasy,” “Honey,” “Heartbreaker,” “Obsessed,” and “We Belong Together.”

But because she is a real New Yorker, she made sure in her acceptance speech to remind the network how it had wronged her.

“I can’t believe I’m getting my first VMA tonight," she said, "What in the Sam Hill were you waiting for?”

Do not wait to see Mariah live. She's got two dates in Vegas this month and a few more around the world. Hopefully she will have some Christmas shows she will announce soon because you know you want to hear that banger live.

Tickets available on Mariah's website.

Mariah Carey 2025 World Tour remaining dates

September 19 – Las Vegas, NV, iHeartRadio Music Festival
September 20 – Las Vegas, NV, iHeartRadio Music Festival
October 17 – Brisbane, Australia, Fridayz Live
October 18 – Sydney, Australia, Fridayz Live
October 24 – Perth, Australia, Fridayz Live
October 25 – Melbourne, Australia, Fridayz Live
November 1 – Yokohama, Japan
November 2 – Yokohama, Japan