The 29th Annual Webby Awards will take place on Monday, May 12, 2025, at Cipriani Wall Street in New York City. Winners will be revealed earlier, on Tuesday, April 22. Comedy Ilana Glazer will host the event. Viewers can catch the best moments, including the famous five-word speeches, on Instagram, TikTok, X, LinkedIn, and Facebook.
This year, the awards received nearly 13,000 entries from more than 70 countries. Of those entries, fewer than 1,600 received nominations—less than 12%. The awards are judged by the International Academy of Digital Arts & Sciences (IADAS), which includes creators and leaders like Quinta Brunson, Anjali Sud (Tubi), Jen Sargent (Wondery), Shannon Sharpe, and others.
Every nominee is up for two awards: the official Webby Award, chosen by IADAS, and the People’s Voice Award, which is decided by the public. Fans can vote at vote.webbyawards.com until April 17 at 11:59 p.m. PT.
Key Takeaways
- Music icons Kendrick Lamar, Charli XCX, Lady Gaga, and Dua Lipa are up for awards in major music and video categories.
- A new category celebrating individual creators recognizes the rise of digital stars like Laufey and Trixie Mattel.
- Public voting for the Webby People’s Voice Award is live until April 17, 2025, when fans can support their favorites.
Top Music Nominees
The Music Video, General Video & Film category includes Kendrick Lamar’s Not Like Us, Dua Lipa’s Illusion, Megan Thee Stallion’s Mamushi, Charli XCX’s Von Dutch, and Lady Gaga’s Abracadabra.
The Music, General Video & Film nominees include Spotify’s 25th Anniversary of Christina Aguilera, Vevo’s The Secret of Us by Gracie Abrams, AMP Cypher 2024, Jorts with Nick Jonas and Will Ferrell, and Variety’s behind-the-scenes feature with Ludwig Göransson on Oppenheimer.
Rising Creators
For the first time, the Webbys added full categories to spotlight online creators. Laufey is nominated for Art, Culture & Music, Individual Creator alongside Lachi, CZsWorld, Maris Jones, and Heidi Wong—creators who have gained loyal audiences through original digital storytelling.
Other creator nominees include Kai Cenat, Jake Shane, Remi Bader, Zach King, Mark Rober, Trixie Mattel, Drew Afualo, Chris Klemens, and Abi Marquez.
The nominees in the Comedy, Individual Creator category are Jake Shane, Boman Martinez-Reid, Sock Puppet Master, Boy Room, and Chris Klemens.
Variety’s Five Nods
Variety earned five nominations this year. These include:
- Best overall social presence
- Actors on Actors in the entertainment series category
- Ludwig Göransson’s Can You Hear the Music? feature for Oppenheimer
- A viral Wicked interview with Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo
- An editorial piece about The Blair Witch Project actors by Adam B. Vary
In 2024, Variety won two Webby Awards. Their return this year with five nominations confirms their role as a top media outlet in digital entertainment.
Standout Videos and Interviews
In Comedy, General Video & Film, nominees include Jim Gaffigan: The Skinny, Kai Cenat x Kevin Hart x Druski – Thanksgiving, Onion News Network, Very Important People by Dropout, and a Deadpool & Wolverine musical sketch by Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman.
The Interview or Talk Show nominees include RuPaul’s Drag Race: The Pit Stop with Trixie Mattel, Donald Duck on Hot Ones, Countdown to Beautifully Broken with Jelly Roll and mgk, 32 Questions with Virgin Galactic Pilot Jameel Janjua, and Quest for Craft.
Branded long-form entries include Cynthia Erivo Teaches Storytelling (Amazon), Shot on iPhone: Midnight, Rising Voices (Indeed), and Late Checkout by Marriott International.
Podcast Leaders
In the Co-Hosts category, nominees include SmartLess, Armchair Expert, The Pivot Podcast, We Can Do Hard Things, and The Lonely Island and Seth Meyers Podcast.
Popular shows nominated under Comedy include Office Ladies, Lovett or Leave It, Las Culturistas, SmartLess, and Office Hours Live with Tim Heidecker.
Serious topics appear in News & Politics shows like Pod Save America, Next Question with Katie Couric, Apple News Today, The Lincoln Project Podcast, and Post Reports.
Individual episodes worth noting include Obama’s 15-Year Anniversary Special (CNN), Skip Intro with Zoe Saldaña (Netflix), On the Ground in Gaza with Arwa Damon, and The Bert Show Interviews Usher.
In total, Audible leads with 14 podcast nominations, followed by SiriusXM with 10, Wondery with 9, and iHeartMedia with 8.
AI Makes Its Mark
Artificial intelligence is part of many nominated projects this year. Some major AI tools include Notion AI Assistant, Google’s ShiffBot, Ebb by Headspace, Adobe Premiere Pro Generative Extend, Typeface.ai, and ChatJuneteenth: AI With Soul.
In video and film, nominees like Reid Hoffman Meets His AI Twin, Unfinished Legacies, La Fenêtre, Michael Jackson Smooth Criminal Lego Edition, and Shrimpdaddy AI show how AI is changing video production.
AI also appears on websites and mobile platforms. Projects like Surveillance Watch, No Escape Room, Animal Alerts, and The Inconvenience Store use technology to explore real-world problems in new ways.
Top Brands and Media
For the first time, the Webby Awards will name a Brand of the Year. The six companies nominated are:
- Google, with 38 nominations
- Apple, also with 38
- Samsung with 12
- YouTube with 9
- Nike with 9
- McDonald’s with 7
This new award shows how important brand identity and digital presence have become.
The Webby Media Company of the Year will go to the media company with the strongest overall performance. Leading contenders are:
- NBCUniversal, with 30 nominations
- MTV Entertainment Studios with 18
- CNN and National Geographic, with 16 each
- PBS, The Walt Disney Company, and The Washington Post with 14 each
Time to Vote
Fans can vote for their favorites in the People’s Voice Awards until April 17, 2025, at 11:59 p.m. PT. The winners will be announced on April 22, and the official ceremony will be held on May 12 in New York City.
With nominees like Kendrick Lamar, Lady Gaga, and Charli XCX, along with top creators and companies using new digital tools, this year’s Webby Awards represent the best of what the internet offered in 2024.
