The MTV VMA's Have Missed a Golden Opportunity with Their New ‘Best Country’ Category

As country music continues to consolidate itself as the darling genre of the 2020's, the MTV Video Music Awards have added a ‘Best Country’ category for the first time ever.

It follows the Recording Academy's decision to add a ‘Best Traditional Country Album’ category to the 2026 instalment, after the Grammy's caught flak from various wings within the genre for giving Beyoncé the ‘Best Country Album’ gong in 2025.

Country music is still in the midst of its popularity boom, with Billboard revealing that the genre constituted 29% of the Top 10 songs on the Billboard Hot 100 in the first half of 2025. Admittedly, Morgan Wallen was responsible for the majority of those, but even putting the Sneedville megastar aside, there are a host of figures within country music that are quickly establishing themselves as household names, such as Megan Moroney, Ella Langley, Riley Green and Shaboozey. They join longstanding all-genre chart titans such as Luke Combs and Zach Bryan.

It's therefore a welcome move from the MTV VMA's to recognise country music's bloom with its own category. However, while the six nominated videos are inoffensive choices, you can't help but feel that MTV have missed a golden opportunity to set themselves apart from other much-maligned awards shows in country music.

As the genre has evolved and expanded, the two biggest country awards ceremonies, the CMAs and ACMs, have faced criticism for feeling frustratingly out-of-touch with listeners. It often feels as though these institutions prefer to play it safe, leaving fans to simply roll their eyes when Chris Stapleton is given his 100th Male Vocalist of the Year award, or Old Dominion are crowned Group of the Year yet again, while artists that are at the front of country's resurgence - such as Shaboozey and Dasha - left the 2024 CMAs and the 2025 ACMs empty-handed.

It makes this ever-changing genre appear stagnant when the same artists are nominated and awarded over and over again, and it reinforces the perception that these shows are not aligned with listeners’ streaming habits. With this new category, the MTV VMA's had the chance to put themselves forward as the current, on-the-pulse awards show for country music - but it feels like they sadly missed the mark.

The nominees for 2025 Best Country Video Music Award are as follows:

• Chris Stapleton - ‘Think I'm In Love With You’
• Cody Johnson with Carrie Underwood - ‘I’m Gonna Love You’
• Jelly Roll - ‘Liar’
• Lainey Wilson - ‘4x4xU’
• Megan Moroney - ‘Am I Okay?’
• Morgan Wallen - ‘Smile’

These are all solid videos, but when you consider the fact that ‘Think I'm In Love With You’ came out almost two years ago in September 2023, it feels jarringly outdated to see it nominated in 2025. Granted, the official music video - which is what the VMA's are all about - came out nearly a year later in August 2024, and therefore falls within the eligibility period of June 20th, 2024 to June 18th, 2025.

Even so, if they're going to cast their net that far back, why not honour something that feels a little different, like Shaboozey's cinematic, Wild West-inspired visuals for ‘Highway’, or perhaps even Post Malone and Blake Shelton's otherworldly, tongue-in-cheek video for ‘Pour Me a Drink’. The latter felt like a real moment in country music, with these two titans joining forces for a playful, jubilant video, whereas, in all honesty, this writer wasn't even aware Chris Stapleton had released a video for ‘Think I'm In Love With You’ until it was nominated for a VMA.

And what about other highly buzzed-about and viral videos, such as Ella Langley and Riley Green's ‘you look like you love me’ - arguably the most hyped video of 2024 - or even the latter's steamy ‘Worst Way’, another social media phenomenon.

Langley's is surely the most glaring omission from the Best Country roster, especially when considering she is nominated for the prestigious Best New Artist award.

While we should be wary of taking virality to be a marker-post of quality, at the same time, these awards institutions must be aware that country music's popularity is being driven by younger listeners. LiveNation's global survey, published earlier this year, showed that 63% of today’s country audience are Gen Z and Millennials. How will they feel, then, when music videos they've been seeing all over TikTok and Instagram are snubbed in favour of offerings from the old-guard?

Why not ruffle a few feathers by nominating a video from a fast-emerging up-and-comer, such as Ty Myers’ ‘Ends of the Earth’? Or even something by a more established act, but that still feels contemporary and on-trend, like Kelsea Ballerini's ‘First Rodeo’?

Or go in the opposite direction, and choose a deep-cut from a big-name act. Morgan Wallen's ‘Smile’ is arguably the most interesting choice on this list. It didn't make a major splash on the charts, but was an atmospheric, underrated gem that was given a set of brooding, talk-show-inspired visuals that brought the story to life.

Similarly, Megan Moroney's ‘Am I Okay?’ makes sense on this list, with Moroney pushing boundaries as she continues her ascent into one of modern country's biggest stars. The video itself is tongue-in-cheek and vibrant, and was a huge hit across social media.

Again, there's nothing obviously wrong with the MTV VMA's Best Country nominations. It just feels like they could have given us something a little more intriguing, something that makes it feel like the VMA's are cementing themselves as tastemakers for country music - especially for the category's first year - rather than giving us a relatively unsurprising and largely predictable list of nominations.

For more on Morgan Wallen, see below: