Madonna to Open 2026 VMAs After 23 Years

Madonna will open the MTV Video Music Awards for the first time in 23 years.

The awards will air on Sunday, September 27 on CBS at 7:30 PM EST, with Madonna taking the opening slot for the first time since 2003, according to Pitchfork. She is also the most-nominated artist at this year's show. It is the third time she has led the nominations.

Her leading position comes from her album Confessions II. Her nominations include Video of the Year, Artist of the Year and Song of the Year. In total, she has 11 nominations.

Her Video of the Year entry is "Confessions II - The Film", as reported by Reuters. The video runs for 14 minutes, according to Billboard. That length puts it well beyond a standard three-minute single and closer to a short film made for television.

Madonna's history with the VMAs stretches back to the very first show. In 1984, she headlined the first-ever VMAs with a performance of "Like a Virgin". Six years later, she returned with "Vogue" in a performance inspired by 18th-century France.

Those performances were also recognised in the voting. She earned nine VMA nods for "Vogue" in 1990. She earned another nine nods in 1998 for "Ray of Light" and "Frozen".

Her last opening performance came in 2003. On that night she performed "Like a Virgin" and "Hollywood" with Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera. That joint appearance remains one of the most replayed moments from the awards.

Behind Madonna in this year's nominations are Taylor Swift, Ariana Grande and Sabrina Carpenter, according to Variety. The 2026 show features 26 first-time nominees. GENER8ION and Yung Lean are among them.

What makes this stand out is the span. Few artists open the same awards show more than two decades apart. For viewers, this means the night starts with a performer who was there at the start and is still competing for its top prizes.