2026 VMAs: Madonna and Swift lead nominations as Snoop Dogg hosts
Madonna goes into the 2026 MTV Video Music Awards with 13 nominations, ahead of Taylor Swift on 11, as Snoop Dogg hosts the ceremony on Sunday, September 27.
The show airs at 7:30 p.m. ET / 4:30 p.m. PT on CBS and Paramount+, according to MTV. MTV says winners will be revealed live during that broadcast. Music artists gathered to present the night's top prizes, with Rolling Stone tracking winners live as they are announced.
Swift entered the night with two special storylines already confirmed. She was named the inaugural recipient of the MTV VMA Artist Director Honors ahead of the show, an award for direction of music videos. Nirvana will receive the Video Vanguard Award, MTV's honour for a career contribution to music video.
Video of the Year, often treated as the night's top video prize, pits Ariana Grande, Bruno Mars, Gener8ion starring Yung Lean, Madonna, Sabrina Carpenter and Taylor Swift against each other. Artist of the Year covers a similar field: Grande, Mars, Madonna, Morgan Wallen, Carpenter and Swift.
Song of the Year nominees include BTS, Ella Langley, HUNTR/X, Madonna and Sabrina Carpenter, Olivia Dean, PinkPantheress and RAYE. Best New Artist, the category for breakthrough acts, lists Bella Kay, CORTIS, Magnus Ferrell, Malcolm Todd, Myles Smith, Sienna Spiro and Stella Lefty.
Behind the two leaders, Carpenter and Grande each hold seven nominations, as reported last month by The Hollywood Reporter. Madonna and BTS also received nominations in the social categories, the fan-voted awards for online presence, according to Billboard.
Voting in one fan-decided section stayed open into show weekend. Voting for Song of Summer opened on September 26, MTV's voting site confirmed. Listings from the Associated Press hub later showed Swift taking the night's top prize.
There was separate attention on Swift as a director. A music video directed by her will feature Colin Farrell and Dakota Johnson, according to ABC News. The 2026 telecast is produced by Van Toffler, a longtime VMAs producer.
What makes this stand out for viewers is the spread. The same names appear across video, artist and song categories, while Best New Artist introduces seven newer acts to a broad television audience.
