Madonna wins Artist of the Year at 2026 VMAs after opening the show

Madonna took Artist of the Year at the 2026 MTV Video Music Awards on Sunday, 27 September in Los Angeles, closing a night she had also opened.

The award was confirmed by the show's coverage, which listed the other nominees as Ariana Grande, Bruno Mars, Morgan Wallen, Sabrina Carpenter and Taylor Swift Rolling Stone. The ceremony was held at the Peacock Theater and hosted by Snoop Dogg, airing on CBS and MTV with streaming on Paramount+ Premium.

Madonna started the evening on stage with two songs, "Bring Your Love" and "Danceteria". "Bring Your Love", her collaboration with Sabrina Carpenter, later won Best Collaboration at the same show.

Her acceptance speech for Artist of the Year was playful and personal. She joked that she wanted to thank her fingers because she can always count on them. She then said she had spent the last year-and-a-half finding herself, believing in herself and making the music she wanted to make.

She reached back a long way for context. Madonna said she had debuted at the first VMAs in 1984, had a problem with her shoe, dived onto the stage, and was told backstage that her career was over.

That story drew a loud response in the room. Forty-two years on, she was collecting one of the night's main prizes.

She used the moment to thank producer Stuart Price, calling him her "ride or die". She added: "Who knew that 20 years after Confessions [on a Dancefloor] we could pull it off again [with Confessions II]?"

The reference was to her recent project Confessions II, the follow-up to her 2005 album Confessions on a Dance Floor. The new film tied to the project, "Confessions II - The Film", was nominated for Video of the Year at this year's awards Reuters.

Madonna arrived as the night's most nominated artist, with 11 nominations Madonna.com. She had topped Taylor Swift in the nominations announcement in August, and organisers later confirmed she would open the show.

What makes this stand out is the gap. It was the first time she had been the leading VMA nominee since 1998 Billboard, the year she won Video of the Year with "Ray of Light".

The 2026 edition was scheduled for 7:30 ET on Sunday. For viewers on the United States west coast, that was 4:30 PT.