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Mariah Carey returned to the MTV Video Music Awards for the first time in 20 years to cement her icon status with a career-spanning performance.
Carey hit the stage at the 2025 VMAs on Sunday (September 7) to perform some of her biggest hits from her decades-long career. Starting with newer track "Sugar Sweet," from her upcoming album Here for It All, the Queen of Christmas, wearing a feathered robe, serenaded male dancers in silk pajamas before ditching her feathered robe to reveal a sparkling golden romper as she moved into her 1995 hit "Fantasy."
After treating the crowd to even more popular tracks, including "Heartbreaker," "Obessed" and "It's Like That," Carey ended her set with her mega-hit "We Belong Together," from 2005's The Emancipation of Mimi.
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2 of 3 Photo: Getty Images
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In addition to her performance, Carey was presented the Video Vanguard Award by Ariana Grande, which honors artists for their contributes and impact on music videos and pop culture. During her acceptance speech, she recalled special memories from VMAs past, such as presenting the same award to LL Cool J in 1997 and having a "standoff" with fellow iconic diva Whitney Houston.
"I've learned that music evolves, videos evolve, but the fun? That is eternal," she said. "Thank you MTV for playing my videos, and to my fans, I love you so much."
Hosted by LL Cool J, the 2025 MTV VMAs featured performances from some of the day's biggest artists, such as Sabrina Carpenter, Doja Cat, Alex Warren, Tate McRae, Post Malone, Jelly Roll, and more. Don't miss out on all of the jaw-dropping red carpet looks and see which of your favorite artists were crowned winners and took home an iconic moonman trophy.
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2 of 2 Photo: Getty Images
Mariah Carey will be taking over the stage at the 2025 iHeartRadio Music Festival presented by Capital One on September 19 and 20 in Las Vegas. Fans can tune in to the music mega even all weekend as it will be broadcast live each night via iHeartMedia radio stations throughout the country across more than 150 markets. Hulu will be the Official Streaming Destination of the festival, with performances livestreamed each night exclusively to all Hulu subscribers.