Mariah Carey sang a medley of hits prior to receiving the prestigious Video Vanguard award at the MTV Video Music Awards on Sunday night (September 7th).
Following an introduction by Ariana Grande, Mariah kicked off her VMAs performance wearing a robe and singing her new single “Sugar Sweet” from her upcoming album, Here for It All, arriving September 26th.
After removing her robe to reveal a form-fitting glittery gold romper, Mariah proceeded to sing a medley of “Fantasy,” “Honey/Heartbreaker,” “Obsessed,” “It’s Like That,” and “We Belong Together.” Prior to “Obsessed” she confronted her villainous “Bianca” alter-ego from that song’s music video (played onstage by an actress).
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During her Video Vanguard acceptance speech, Mariah wondered aloud why she never won a VMA before: “I can’t believe I’m getting my first VMA tonight. I just have one question: What in the Sam Hell were you waiting for?”
Watch Mariah Carey’s VMAs performance and acceptance speech below.
Witnessing @MariahCarey accept the Video Vanguard Award at the 2025 #VMAs was a daydream! ☁️✨🐑 pic.twitter.com/PFg9EwIbGb
— Video Music Awards (@vmas) September 8, 2025