Mariah Carey accepts the Video Vanguard Award at the 2025 VMAs. Image: AFP via Getty Images.
(The Post News) – After more than three decades in the music industry, five-time Grammy Award winner Mariah Carey has finally received her first MTV Video Music Award: the prestigious Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award.
According to Page Six, Carey becomes the eighth woman to claim the honor since Rihanna in 2016 and the 37th recipient overall.
The prestigious award recognizes artists for their “outstanding contributions” and “profound impact” on music and pop culture. Carey’s career is marked by 18 No. 1 hits on the Billboard Hot 100 and millions of records sold worldwide, cementing her as one of the most influential performers of all time. She now joins a decorated line of recipients like Beyoncé, Madonna, Missy Elliott, and Michael Jackson himself.
Presented by Ariana Grande, Carey accepted the award wearing a shimmering gold sequin bodysuit. “I can’t believe I’m getting my first VMA tonight,” she said, before playfully adding, “What in the Sam Hill were you waiting for?” Her acceptance was followed by a medley of career-defining hits: Dreamlover, Heartbreaker, Obsessed, Like That, and We Belong Together.
Carey also reflected on her history with the VMAs, recalling her playful “faux standoff” with Whitney Houston during the 1998 ceremony. The singer has not appeared at the VMAs since 2005, when she performed the timeless We Belong Together.
Carey says through all this she has learned “music evolves, videos evolve, but the fun—that is eternal.” The singer’s sixteenth album, Here for It All, is due for release on September 26.
Please share your thoughts, contact Lukhona via email: journalist-lukhona@thepostnews.net
About the Author
