Madonna to Open VMAs in First Live Performance in 23 Years

Madonna will open the MTV Video Music Awards with her first live performance at the show in 23 years, Variety reported on 16 September.

She last performed on the VMA stage in 2003 with Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera. That was a four-way medley with Aguilera, Spears and Missy Elliott. Twenty-three years is a long time to wait for an encore.

This year’s ceremony takes place at the Peacock Theatre in Los Angeles on 27 September. It is the first time the show has been held on the West Coast in nine years. It was last broadcast from Los Angeles in 2017, when Katy Perry hosted.

Snoop Dogg is set to host. The show will air live at 4:30 p.m. PT in the United States on CBS, with a simulcast, meaning a simultaneous broadcast, on MTV. It will also stream on Paramount+ Premium.

Madonna heads into the night as the most nominated artist, with 11 nominations following her album “Confessions II”, according to Billboard. Taylor Swift follows with nine nominations. Ariana Grande and Sabrina Carpenter have seven nominations each.

Her nominations include Artist of the Year, Video of the Year and Best Dance. Fan voting is open in 13 categories at this year’s awards, People reported. That vote lets viewers decide more than a dozen winners directly.

Madonna already holds 19 career VMA wins. She has led the nominations race twice before, with nine nods for “Vogue” in 1990 and nine more for “Ray of Light” and “Frozen” in 1998. Few artists have stayed in the contest across four decades.

“Confessions II” is the engine behind this year’s run. It is a sequel to her 2005 album “Confessions on a Dance Floor”. It debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 with 134,000 equivalent album units, a total that blends pure sales with streaming. It also delivered Madonna’s best streaming week ever.

For viewers, this means an opener with history and current form in one slot. A firm fan favourite walks out first. Then she spends the rest of the night with 11 chances to win.