Madonna is heading into the 2026 MTV Video Music Awards with the most nominations of any artist, collecting 11 nods to Taylor Swift’s nine.
The distinction is important: Madonna leads this year’s nomination count, while Swift remains ahead in total career victories. Swift enters the ceremony tied with Beyoncé at 30 VMA wins and needs one victory to move into sole possession of the all-time record.
Ariana Grande and Sabrina Carpenter follow the two leaders with seven nominations each. Bruno Mars, PinkPantheress and Zara Larsson received five apiece, according to the Associated Press.
The ceremony will take place in Los Angeles on Sunday, September 27, with Snoop Dogg hosting. Madonna will open the show in what MTV is promoting as her first VMA performance in 23 years.
Video of the Year Puts Madonna Directly Against Swift
The most closely watched competitive award remains Video of the Year, where Madonna and Swift are among six nominees:
- Ariana Grande — “hate that i made you love me”
- Bruno Mars — “Risk It All”
- GENER8ION featuring Yung Lean — “STORM II”
- Madonna — “Confessions II – The Film”
- Sabrina Carpenter — “Tears”
- Taylor Swift — “The Fate of Ophelia”
Madonna’s entry is the most unconventional of the group. Confessions II – The Film is a 14-minute project accompanying her latest album rather than a standard-length music video. Its nomination continues the VMAs’ willingness to place ambitious long-form releases in the ceremony’s top category.
Swift, meanwhile, is competing with “The Fate of Ophelia,” the lead single from The Life of a Showgirl. She already holds the record for the most Video of the Year wins, having collected the award five times.
A win for Swift would therefore extend an existing category record while also potentially making her the most-awarded artist in VMA history. A Madonna victory would give the award to an artist who helped establish MTV’s visual language during the network’s earliest years.
Artist of the Year Brings Together Pop and Country
Madonna and Swift are also competing in Artist of the Year, alongside:
- Ariana Grande
- Bruno Mars
- Morgan Wallen
- Sabrina Carpenter
Unlike Video of the Year, this category is not attached to one specific release. It recognizes an artist’s wider impact during the eligibility period, giving performers with albums, tours, singles and major cultural moments several routes into the race.
Grande’s nomination extends her record as the category’s most frequently nominated artist. Carpenter’s place reflects her continuing run as one of pop’s dominant performers, while Wallen gives the field a major country representative.
Madonna’s inclusion represents a significant return to the current awards conversation. According to Reuters, this is the third year in her career in which she has led the VMA nominations, following similar success in 1990 and 1998.
Song of the Year Features Madonna’s Sabrina Carpenter Collaboration
Madonna also appears in Song of the Year with “Bring Your Love,” her collaboration with Carpenter.
The complete category includes:
- BTS — “Swim”
- Ella Langley — “Choosin’ Texas”
- HUNTR/X — “Golden”
- Madonna and Sabrina Carpenter — “Bring Your Love”
- Olivia Dean — “Man I Need”
- PinkPantheress and Zara Larsson — “Stateside”
- RAYE — “WHERE IS MY HUSBAND!”
The field demonstrates how widely the VMAs now define mainstream music. It includes established global acts, country, K-pop, dance-pop and breakout British performers.
Carpenter benefits twice from the Madonna collaboration: the nomination contributes to her own seven-nod total while strengthening Madonna’s category-leading count.
Swift is not nominated in Song of the Year, despite “The Fate of Ophelia” appearing in Video of the Year and several additional categories. That is one reason the overall 11-to-nine nomination comparison does not represent a direct Madonna-versus-Swift contest in every major race.
Best New Artist Has Seven Contenders
Seven acts are nominated for Best New Artist:
- Bella Kay
- CORTIS
- Magnus Ferrell
- Malcolm Todd
- Myles Smith
- Sienna Spiro
- Stella Lefty
They are part of a larger group of 26 first-time VMA nominees recognized in 2026. The expanded newcomer presence gives the ceremony a counterweight to its unusually strong emphasis on established stars.
Best New Artist voting will remain open during the live show, while voting in most other fan-decided categories closes earlier. The setup traditionally makes the newcomer contest one of the ceremony’s most unpredictable awards.
The 2026 nominations also restore Best Dance, reflecting the category’s renewed prominence following a year dominated by electronic, house and dance-pop releases.
Madonna and Swift Have Different Records at Stake
Madonna’s lead is particularly notable because her relationship with the VMAs dates back to the inaugural 1984 ceremony. Her performance of “Like a Virgin” in a wedding dress became one of the defining moments in MTV history.
She received the Video Vanguard Award in 1986 and has accumulated 20 VMA trophies when that honorary award is included. Her 2026 opening performance will be her first appearance on the VMA stage since the 2003 medley with Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera and Missy Elliott.
Swift represents the ceremony’s modern record-holder. She and Beyoncé currently share the most career VMA victories with 30 each. Because Swift has nine opportunities this year, almost any successful night would place her alone at the top.
That creates two separate storylines: Madonna leads the current nominations and could add another chapter to a four-decade VMA career, while Swift has the clearest opportunity to establish a new lifetime wins record.
How to Watch and Vote
Fan voting is available in 13 categories through MTV’s official voting site. Most voting closes September 25, while Best New Artist remains open during the ceremony.
The 2026 MTV VMAs will air live Sunday, September 27, beginning at 7:30 p.m. ET and 4:30 p.m. PT. The show will be carried by CBS and MTV and streamed through Paramount+.
With Madonna opening, Snoop Dogg hosting and Swift approaching an all-time record, the ceremony has placed two different generations of VMA history at the center of the same night.
