Lady Gaga, Ariana Grande and Sabrina Carpenter triumphed at the MTV Video Music awards, taking home two moonman trophies each in a relatively muted show that once again largely celebrated female pop artists and legacy acts.

Gaga, the most nominated artist of the evening with 12 nods, took home the first award at Long Island’s UBS arena, for artist of the year, winning over fellow superstars Taylor Swift, Bad Bunny and Beyoncé, all of whom were not in attendance.

The Disease singer dedicated the award to the audience and her partner, Michael Polansky, then dashed off to the final show on her Mayhem tour at Madison Square Garden.

“I cannot begin tell you what this means to me,” the singer said, dressed in a baroque black gown. “I hope as you navigate through the mayhem of daily life, you are reminded of the importance of the art of your life, that you can count on yourself and your simple skills to keep you whole.”

Gaga’s absence was one of many in a three-hour show that was relatively light on star power and awards. The ceremony was emceed by a largely off-screen LL Cool J and handed out only seven awards during the telecast, all of them to female artists and Bruno Mars for his collaborations with two female artists: his duet with Lady Gaga, Die With A Smile, won best collaboration, while Apt, his track with Blackpink member Rosé, was crowned song of the year.

“This is a really big moment for 16-year-old me and anyone else who has dreamed about being accepted equally for their hard work,” Rosé said in a lengthy and emotional speech.

Sabrina Carpenter won album of the year for Short n’ Sweet and best pop artist, while Grande won best pop video and the evening’s top award, video of year, for Brighter Days Ahead, which she accepted alongside director Christian Breslauer.

“This project is about the hard work that is healing all different kinds of trauma and coming home to our young selves and creating safety in our own lives, which is a lifelong process and a daily exercise,” Grande said, accepting the award. “If you’re on that journey, please continue onward, because I promise there are brighter days ahead.”

As is now typical, the VMAs nodded toward the globalization and genre blends in popular music – Colombian superstar J Balvin and French producer DJ Snake teamed up for their track Noventa; multinational girl group Katseye, with members from the Philippines, South Korea, Switzerland and the US, won for Push performance of the year; and Post Malone and Jelly Roll, beaming in from their tour stop in Munich, represented the ongoing country-ification of pop with their booze-soaked anthem Losers.

But the show skewed heavily toward the women in pop, with performances from Doja Cat, Canadian singer Tate McRae and Carpenter, who delivered a retro-themed performance of Tears accompanied by a who’s who of RuPaul’s Drag Race stars and ballroom icons as a statement on protecting trans rights.

In recent years, the show once known for delivering culture-defining moments has been more attuned to legacy than its potential to produce new ones, introducing two new lifetime achievement awards.

Inaugural Latin Icon honoree Ricky Martin performed a medley of hits including Livin’ La Vida Loca, Pégate, Maria and The Cup of Life, and attributed his 40-year career to his fans. “This is very simple: this is for you all,” he said. “I am addicted to your applause, that’s why I keep coming back.”

LL Cool J celebrated fellow hip-hop pioneer Busta Rhymes for the Rock the Bells Visionary Award, calling him a “sonic equivalent of a timebomb”. Busta Rhymes powered through a heavily bleeped medley of his rapid-fire bars alongside guests GloRilla, Spliff Star and Joyner Lucas, before accepting the award – named for a 1985 LL Cool J track – with a brief speech.

“The next time y’all take 35 years to give me one of these, then I’ll talk as long as I want,” he joked, thanking his family, God, DJ Scratch, and the late Ananda Lewis, a 1990s MTV host who “loved the culture and lifted us up” and died of cancer this year at the age of 52.

Mariah Carey was presented with the Video Vanguard Award by Ariana Grande, becoming the eighth consecutive woman to win the evening’s top lifetime achievement honor.

“I can’t believe I’m getting my first VMA tonight. I just have one question: what in the Sam Hill were you waiting for?” Carey joked, after performing a medley of her hits.

“Music videos are my way of life, of bringing music to my own life,” she continued. “Let’s be honest, sometimes they’re just an excuse to bring the drama and do things I wouldn’t do in real life … Music evolves, but fun? That is eternal.”

The show also celebrated Ozzy Osbourne, who died in July. English singer Yungblud paid tribute to the “prince of darkness” with a rendition of the Black Sabbath classics Crazy Train and Changes, and Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler and Joe Perry joining in for Mama, I’m Coming Home.

Additional performers on the night included Sombr, Conan Gray and TikTok star turned musician Alex Warren, who was awarded best new artist before the telecast and sang his improbable hit Ordinary, the longest-running No 1 of the year.