Sienna Spiro Wins Best New Artist and Earns Ovation on VMAs Debut
Sienna Spiro won best new artist at the 2026 MTV Video Music Awards on Sunday, Sept. 27, and earned a standing ovation for her first performance on the show.
She sang her single "Great Expectation" at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles. It was her VMAs debut. The audience stood during the song, according to Billboard.
The win put her ahead of six other nominees. They were Magnus Ferrell, Malcolm Todd, Myles Smith, Stella Lefty, Bella Kay and CORTIS. The best new artist category is reserved for breakthrough acts, and it is often one of the most closely watched prizes of the night.
The awards arrived during a busy chart run in Britain. "Great Expectation" spent a third consecutive week at No. 1 on the U.K. Official Singles Chart, Britain's weekly ranking of the most popular songs. That ranking combines streams and sales to measure what the country is listening to each week.
Spiro held three songs in the U.K. top 40 in the same week. "Great Expectation" held the top spot. "Die on This Hill" sat at No. 11. "Pure" sat at No. 28. Holding three places at once gives an act a wide presence across playlists, shops and radio.
Madonna led the nominations for this year's VMAs, according to Billboard. The Video Music Awards, organised by MTV, honour music videos and live performances from the past year. The nominations had set the field that Spiro then won from on the night.
Spiro had also been discussed as a leading candidate for best new artist at the Grammy Awards. That prize is presented each year by the U.S. Recording Academy and recognises a breakthrough act. The mention placed her VMAs result inside a longer awards season that continues into next year.
What makes this stand out is the overlap. A three-week run at No. 1, a debut VMAs performance and a best new artist win all landed within days of each other. For fans, this means the same songs heard on the charts are now the ones being played back from the awards night.
