Madonna claimed seven wins from 11 nominations at the 2026 MTV Video Music Awards on September 27 in Los Angeles, while Taylor Swift became the inaugural recipient of the VMA Artist Director Honors and Nirvana received the Video Vanguard Award during a ceremony hosted by Snoop Dogg.
Madonna Leads the Winners and Taylor Swift Claims Director Honors
More than four decades after her iconic “Like a Virgin” performance rocked the very first MTV Video Music Awards, the Queen of Pop dominated the winner’s circle taking seven awards from 11 nominations, which included artist of the year (three of these were given during the Sept. 27 broadcast). Another pop icon, Taylor Swift, followed closely as she was given the first-ever MTV VMA Artist Director Honors.
Madonna Leads the Winners and Taylor Swift Claims Director Honors
The scale of Madonna’s night was driven largely by the visual component of her new record. With 13 nominations—the most of any artist this year—largely due to the short film created for her acclaimed new album, Confessions II, the Queen of Pop won trophies in both performance and creative categories. Her collaboration with Sabrina Carpenter on Confessions II song, Bring Your Love,
scored nominations for Song of the Year and Best Collaboration, ultimately winning Best Collaboration. Sabrina Carpenter earned two trophies, while Ariana Grande won in one category out of her seven nominations. Bruno Mars, PinkPantheress, and Zara Larsson clocked in at five nominations each, and all of them got one win.
Right behind her in the nomination tally, Taylor Swift trailed closely behind, earning 11 nominations. The Life of a Showgirl
singer-songwriter took home three out of her nine nominations, anchored by her victory for Video of the Year with The Fate of Ophelia
– Republic Records. Ahead of the broadcast, Swift was also named the inaugural recipient of the MTV VMA Artist Director Honors.
Performances and Major Category Wins
On Sunday night, the 2026 MTV Video Music Awards were held once again in Los Angeles, gathering the most prominent figures in music to honor the artists, videos, and songs that generated the most buzz this year. Snoop Dogg hosted this year’s ceremony, which took place in his hometown of Los Angeles. Nirvana also received the Video Vanguard Award.
Genre categories saw wins distributed across a mix of established stars and newcomers. BTS picked up Song of the Year for “Swim” – BIGHIT MUSIC, while Bruno Mars took Best R&B for “I Just Might” – Atlantic Records. In pop, LISA feat. Cardi B feat. Kehlani won Best Hip-Hop for “Safe”, and Bruno Mars, Chris Brown, Dave & Tems, Justin Bieber, Kehlani, and Mariah the Scientist & Kali Uchis also featured in the broader race.
Category Victories and Nominee Standouts
The competition spanned global music markets, reviving historical categories alongside contemporary hits. Confessions II was nominated for the prestigious Video of the Year as well as several creative awards, including Choreography, Cinematography, and Best Direction; additionally, it was nominated for the returned Best Dance category, which was presented frequently from 1989 for several decades but had not been given out since 2019. Meanwhile, the Best New Artist race featured a crowded field of emerging acts.
Best New Artist Winner: Sienna Spiro – Capitol Records (competing against Bella Kay – Atlantic Records, CORTIS – BIGHIT MUSIC, Magnus Ferrell – Visva Records/Republic Records, Malcolm Todd – Columbia Records, Myles Smith – RCA Records, and Stella Lefty – Sandlot/Atlantic Outpost)
Lifetime Recognition and Craft Awards
Beyond the fan-voted categories, the evening honored long-term contributions to music video history. Nirvana received the Video Vanguard Award.
In the technical and craft categories, Taylor Swift’s visual for her other big Showgirl hit, “Opalite,” also scored a lone nod for Best Direction, while the Video of the Year category featured Ariana Grande’s hate that i made you love me
– Republic Records, Bruno Mars’ “I Just Might” – Atlantic Records, GENER8ION, STORM starring Yung Lean
– Iconoclast Music, Madonna, Confessions II – The Film
– Warner Records, and Sabrina Carpenter, “Tears”– Island.
