Madonna and Taylor Swift lead 2026 MTV VMA nominees

Madonna and Taylor Swift lead this year's nominees for the 2026 MTV Video Music Awards, with Madonna picking up 11 nods and Swift following with nine, Rolling Stone reported on August 18, 2026. Both are competing for Video of the Year and Artist of the Year.

Madonna's haul comes largely from the short film she made for her album Confessions II, which is nominated for Video of the Year along with several creative categories including Best Direction and Best Cinematography. The film also anchors the returning Best Dance category, given out regularly since 1989 but not awarded since 2019. Madonna and Sabrina Carpenter's "Bring Your Love," from the same album, is separately nominated for Song of the Year and Best Collaboration.

Swift's nominations center on her Life of a Showgirl single "The Fate of Ophelia," up for Video of the Year, Best Pop and several creative awards, while the video for her song "Opalite" earned a nod for Best Direction. SPIN noted that a clean sweep of Madonna's 11 nominations would bring her to 30 competitive VMA wins, tying Beyonce and Swift for the all-time record, while Swift already holds 30 competitive wins herself, meaning even a single win this year would make her the most-awarded artist in VMA history. Ariana Grande and Sabrina Carpenter follow with seven nominations each.

Pitchfork noted that several past categories, including Best Rock, Best Album and Best Group, were dropped from this year's ceremony, while Rolling Stone counted 26 first-time nominees overall, among them Gener8ion and Yung Lean, who scored three nods apiece, and K-pop newcomers Cortis.

The 2026 VMAs will broadcast live from Los Angeles on September 27, with a host and Video Vanguard honoree still to be announced. MusicSuey is tracking the rest of the pop field on award watch, including Ella Langley's country nomination and a closer look at Madonna's overall nomination haul.