Madonna picked up 11 nominations for the 2026 MTV Video Music Awards, the most of any artist this year, according to CBS News. Taylor Swift followed with nine nominations, while Ariana Grande and Sabrina Carpenter each earned seven, and Bruno Mars, PinkPantheress and Zara Larsson picked up five apiece.
The nominations follow a big year for Madonna, who released the album Confessions II on Warner Records on July 3, 2026, Newsweek reported. Its lead single, "Bring Your Love," a duet with Carpenter, arrived as a music video on June 15, 2026, directed by TORSO and featuring an appearance by actress Julia Garner. Another song from the record, "I Feel So Free," reached No. 1 on Billboard's Dance Airplay chart.
A sweep of all 11 categories would tie Madonna with Beyonce and Taylor Swift for the most competitive Video Music Award wins in the show's history, at 30 each, CBS News reported. Madonna currently holds 19 competitive VMA wins. This year's ballot also revives the Best Dance category after a seven-year absence and includes 26 first-time nominees, among them BLACKPINK's Lisa with four nominations and Shakira, Tate McRae, GENER8ION and Yung Lean with three each.
Video of the Year, Artist of the Year and Song of the Year remain the ceremony's marquee prizes this year, alongside genre awards spanning pop, hip-hop, R&B, alternative, dance, Latin, K-pop and country, plus technical honors for direction, art direction, cinematography, editing, choreography and visual effects.
The ceremony airs live from the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles on Sunday, September 27, at 7:30 p.m. Eastern on CBS, simulcast on MTV and streaming on Paramount+, according to MTV's official VMA site. Fan voting opened August 19 and runs through September 25 at 6 p.m. Eastern, apart from Best New Artist, which stays open through the live show.