Madonna Leads the Nominations for the 2026 MTV VMAs

The music world is eagerly awaiting one of the biggest events of the year as the official nominees for the 2026 MTV Video Music Awards have been announced. The list of contenders for the coveted Moon Person trophies was unveiled on Tuesday, August 18, and has already delivered several major surprises.

Front-Runners: The Queen of Pop vs. Today’s Icons

The competition is set to be fierce, with legendary pop star Madonna leading the nominations. The singer already has 19 Moon Person trophies to her name, and this year she is up for another 11 awards.

She is followed by Taylor Swift, who has already collected 30 VMA trophies. This year, Swift has received nine nominations. Other leading contenders include:

• Ariana Grande and Sabrina Carpenter — 7 nominations each;
• Bruno Mars, PinkPantheress and Zara Larsson — 5 nominations each;
• LISA — 4 nominations;
• Shakira and Tate McRae — 3 nominations each.

The fate of most of the awards is in the hands of fans. Voting is now open in 13 categories at the official website, vote.mtv.com, and will remain open until September 25 at 6 p.m. ET.

The only exception is the Best New Artist category, where voting will remain open until the live broadcast.

When Are the 2026 MTV VMAs?

The 2026 MTV Video Music Awards will take place on September 27 in Los Angeles. The ceremony will be broadcast live in the United States on CBS and MTV, as well as streamed on Paramount+.

The following day, the show will become available to viewers around the world across Paramount+ and MTV’s global platforms.