Madonna Leads 2026 MTV VMA Nominations as Taylor Swift Eyes All-Time Wins Record

The 2026 MTV VMA nominations put Madonna back at the front of one of pop music’s most recognizable awards races. MTV unveiled this year’s nominees Tuesday, August 18, with Madonna leading the field with 11 nominations and Taylor Swift following with nine ahead of the September 27 ceremony in Los Angeles.

Ariana Grande and Sabrina Carpenter are next with seven nominations apiece, while Bruno Mars, PinkPantheress and Zara Larsson each received five. MTV’s official 2026 VMA voting portal is now live with the nominee list and fan voting across participating categories.

2026 MTV VMA nominations put Madonna at the top

Madonna’s 11 nominations span both the night’s marquee awards and several craft categories. She is nominated for Video of the Year for “Confessions II – The Film” and is also competing for Artist of the Year and Song of the Year.

Her nominations extend into Best Collaboration, Best Dance and technical categories including direction, art direction, cinematography, editing, choreography and visual effects. The Associated Press reported that Madonna has now received VMA nominations in every decade of her recording career.

The 2026 showing gives Madonna another notable chapter in a relationship with the VMAs that stretches back to the awards’ earliest years. She performed “Like a Virgin” at the inaugural ceremony in 1984 and later became the first solo female performer to receive MTV’s Video Vanguard Award in 1986.

Taylor Swift enters the ceremony with a major record in reach

Swift’s nine nominations create a different kind of potential history. She is currently tied with Beyoncé at 30 competitive VMA victories, according to the Associated Press. A win on September 27 would therefore move Swift into sole possession of the record for the most competitive VMA wins by an artist.

Among Swift’s nominations is Video of the Year for “The Fate of Ophelia.” She also appears in Artist of the Year and several additional categories connected to her latest music and visuals.

Reuters independently confirmed the 11-to-nine nomination split between Madonna and Swift and the historical stakes surrounding Swift’s existing VMA total.

Ariana Grande and Sabrina Carpenter remain close behind

The nomination race extends well beyond its two leaders. Ariana Grande and Sabrina Carpenter each earned seven nominations, keeping both artists prominent across the ceremony’s major and genre-specific fields.

Bruno Mars, PinkPantheress and Zara Larsson follow with five nominations each, while LISA received four. Shakira and Tate McRae are also among this year’s multiple nominees.

Video of the Year brings together several of the year’s largest pop releases. The category includes Ariana Grande, Bruno Mars, GENER8ION featuring Yung Lean, Madonna, Sabrina Carpenter and Taylor Swift.

Artist of the Year includes Grande, Mars, Madonna, Morgan Wallen, Carpenter and Swift. That lineup places several commercially prominent artists from different corners of mainstream music into one of the ceremony’s most visible races.

The 2026 VMAs also introduce a large group of first-time nominees

MTV’s nominee field includes 26 first-time VMA nominees, according to reporting from The Associated Press. The group broadens the ceremony beyond established stars and includes artists breaking through across pop, alternative music and other genres.

The Best New Artist field includes Bella Kay, CORTIS, Magnus Ferrell, Malcolm Todd, Myles Smith, Sienna Spiro and Stella Lefty.

Other categories extend across pop, hip-hop, R&B, alternative, Latin, K-pop, country and dance, along with technical honors recognizing directing, cinematography, editing, choreography, art direction and visual effects.

Fan voting is open ahead of the September ceremony

MTV has opened fan voting for eligible categories through its official VMA website. The network’s voting pages list the ceremony for Sunday, September 27, beginning at 7:30 p.m. ET and 4:30 p.m. PT.

The awards are scheduled to take place in Los Angeles and air across CBS and MTV, with streaming availability through Paramount+. The 2026 ceremony continues the VMAs’ expanded broadcast presence while retaining MTV as the awards show’s original home.

The 2026 MTV VMA nominations have therefore created two potential historical storylines before a single award is handed out. Madonna returns to the top of the nominations field more than four decades after her first defining VMA appearance, while Swift arrives within one victory of owning the competitive wins record outright.