Madonna Leads 2026 MTV VMA Nominations

Madonna leads this year’s MTV Video Music Awards (VMAs) nominees with 11 nods, followed closely by Taylor Swift with nine nominations, CBS Entertainment announced Tuesday. The pop divas will compete for Video of the Year and Artist of the Year.

Madonna's short film "Confessions II – The Film" clocks in at 13 minutes and 54 seconds, and includes futuristic scenes of dancers seemingly shooting lasers from their orifices. It includes the first six tracks from her latest hit album, Confessions II, the sequel to her 2005 album Confessions on a Dance Floor.

Madonna's competition in the big category for Video of the Year includes Swift's "The Fate of Ophelia", Ariana Grande's “hate that i made you love me”, "I Just Might" by Bruno Mars, GENER8ION's "STORM starring Yung Lean", and Sabrina Carpenter's "Tears".

Madonna, a 19-time MTV VMA winner, was the breakout star of the first MTV Video Music Awards in 1984 with her floor-humping performance of "Like a Virgin" whilst wearing a wedding dress and her now iconic BOY TOY belt buckle.

The last time Madonna led the VMA pack was in 1998 when she was nominated for nine awards, winning Video of the Year for "Ray of Light". In 1990, she led with nine nominations, including one for Video of the Year for "Vogue".

Top award contenders this year include Ariana Grande and Sabrina Carpenter (7 nominations each), Bruno Mars, PinkPantheress and Zara Larsson (5 each), LISA (4), and Shakira and Tate McRae (3 each).

Fan voting is now open for 13 categories at vote.mtv.com through September 25th at 6:00 PM (EST).

Voting for Best New Artist will continue into the live broadcast.

The VMAs will be broadcast live from the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles on Sunday, September 27th at 7:30 PM (EST) on CBS, simulcast on MTV and streamed on Paramount+ in the US. It will also be available worldwide the next day on Paramount+ and MTV.

MTV Video Music Awards 2026