Madonna Leads the 2026 MTV VMA Nominations as the Show Heads to Los Angeles on September 27

Madonna tops the 2026 MTV Video Music Awards nominations with 11 nods, Taylor Swift follows with nine, and the show heads to Los Angeles for a live Sunday, September 27 broadcast on CBS, MTV and Paramount+.

The 2026 MTV Video Music Awards have their nominees, and the top of the board is a familiar name. Madonna leads the field with 11 nominations, with Taylor Swift close behind at nine, ahead of a live broadcast from Los Angeles on Sunday, September 27. The nominations were revealed Wednesday morning on CBS Mornings.

Behind the top two, Ariana Grande and Sabrina Carpenter land seven nominations each, Bruno Mars, PinkPantheress and Zara Larsson collect five each, LISA takes four, and Shakira and Tate McRae hold three apiece.

Fan voting is open now in 13 categories at vote.mtv.com and runs through Friday, September 25 at 6 PM ET. Best New Artist, presented by The General Insurance, stays live into the show itself.

The Shape of the Race

Madonna's 11 nominations are heavily concentrated in one project. Eight of them ride on Confessions II - The Film, which is entered in Video of the Year, Best Dance and all six craft categories: direction, art direction, cinematography, editing, choreography and visual effects. The remaining three come from Artist of the Year and Bring Your Love, her collaboration with Sabrina Carpenter, which is up for both Song of the Year and Best Collaboration. She already owns 19 competitive Moon Persons.

Swift's nine spread across two videos. The Fate of Ophelia accounts for seven, including Video of the Year, Best Pop and five craft races, while Opalite adds a Best Direction nod, plus her Artist of the Year entry. She holds 30 Moon Persons, the most in the show's history, so every additional win extends a record.

The first-time class is deep: 26 artists are nominated for the first time, led by GENER8ION and Yung Lean with three each, both for STORM, which is itself up for Video of the Year. CORTIS and Stella Lefty take two each, while Don Toliver, Kali Uchis, Noah Kahan, Olivia Dean, Sienna Spiro and Tucker Wetmore are among those chasing a first Moon Person.

Best Dance, presented by BACARDÍ Rum, returns for the first time in seven years with a field that includes Harry Styles, Lady Gaga and Doechii, Tate McRae, Slayyyter, Bebe Rexha and Faithless, PinkPantheress and Zara Larsson, and Madonna.

How to Watch and Vote

The show broadcasts live from Los Angeles on Sunday, September 27 from 7:30 to 9:30 PM ET, which is 4:30 to 6:30 PM locally, on the CBS Television Network, with a simulcast on MTV and streaming on Paramount+ in the U.S. Paramount+ Premium subscribers get the live feed; Essential subscribers get it on demand the next day, as does the rest of the world.

Voting runs at vote.mtv.com through Friday, September 25 at 6 PM ET in 13 categories. The exception is Best New Artist, presented by The General Insurance, which keeps voting into the show.

The daily Power Hour, presented by BACARDÍ Rum, doubles every vote in every category from 1 to 2 PM ET, running Thursday, August 20 through Thursday, September 24.

Eleven nominations is the headline, but eight of them ride on a single project: Confessions II - The Film is entered in every craft category, so the night becomes a referendum on one piece of work. Swift needs no help, but the daily Power Hour doubles every ballot from 1 to 2 PM Eastern, and Best New Artist stays open into the broadcast. Time your votes accordingly.

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