Singer Madonna has secured 11 nominations for the 2026 MTV Video Music Awards, leading all artists after the full shortlist was unveiled on Tuesday morning ahead of the September live broadcast in Los Angeles.
Madonna, 68, narrowly beat out Taylor Swift, 36, who earned nine nominations for the annual music ceremony.
The two pop stars will compete against each other for the evening's top honor, video of the year, with Swift nominated for The Fate of Ophelia and Madonna for Confessions II (The Film).
Rounding out the category are Ariana Grande for Hate That I Made You Love Me, Sabrina Carpenter for Tears, Bruno Mars for I Just Might, and GENER8ION starring Yung Lean for Storm.
Swift and Beyoncé, 44, are currently tied as the most decorated artists in VMA history, with each holding 30 awards. According to the Associated Press, Beyoncé received no nominations this year, meaning Swift needs to win a single prize to become the reigning record-holder.
Madonna has earned 19 VMAs across her career of more than four decades. To equal the current record of 30 held by Swift and Beyoncé, Madonna would need to win every single category in which she is nominated this year.
Artist of the Year and Song of the Year
The artist of the year category is a six-way contest between Madonna, Swift, Grande, Carpenter, Mars, and country music heartthrob Morgan Wallen.
Madonna and Carpenter earned a joint song of the year nomination for their duet Bring Your Love, which serves as the lead single from Madonna's album Confessions II.
Their rivals in the category are Ella Langley for Choosin' Texas, BTS for Swim, Raye for Where Is My Husband, Olivia Dean for Man I Need, and HUNTR/X for their Oscar-winning number Golden from the streaming sensation KPop Demon Hunters.
Top Nominees and Collaborations
Trailing Madonna and Swift, Ariana Grande and Sabrina Carpenter are tied for third place with seven nominations apiece.
Bruno Mars, PinkPantheress, and Zara Larsson each secured five nominations across the roster.
In the best collaboration category, Madonna and Carpenter face competition from Clipse, Kendrick Lamar, Pusha T, and Malice for Chains & Whips, as well as Shakira and Burna Boy for Dai Dai. Also nominated are Teyana Taylor and Lucky Daye for Hard Part, PinkPantheress and Zara Larsson for Stateside, and French Montana and Max B for Ever Since U Left Me.
The best new artist category features seven contenders: Bella Kay, Cortis, Magnus Ferrell, Malcolm Todd, Myles Smith, Sienna Spiro, and Stella Lefty.
Genre and Technical Categories
Madonna's Confessions II (The Film) is in the running to win best direction, best cinematography, best visual effects, best editing, best choreography, best art direction, and dance video of the year.
Best pop video has emerged as a contest between Grande's Hate That I Made You Love Me, Swift's The Fate of Ophelia, and Carpenter's House Tour, alongside Tate McRae's Nobody's Girl, Blackpink breakout Lisa's Dream, Charli XCX's SS26, and Olivia Rodrigo's Drop Dead.
Dance video of the year pits Madonna's Confessions II (The Film) against Harry Styles's Aperture, Lady Gaga and Doechii's Runway, Bebe Rexha and Faithless's New Religion, Slayyyter's Dance..., PinkPantheress and Zara Larsson's Stateside, and McRae's Nobody's Girl.
Best hip-hop video features Drake's Janice STFU, Cardi B featuring Kehlani's Safe, Megan Thee Stallion's Lover Girl, Travis Scott's Dumbo, Tyler, the Creator's Sugar on My Tongue, and Don Toliver's E85.
Best R&B video is a contest between Mars's I Just Might, Justin Bieber's Yukon, Chris Brown's It Depends/Obvious, Kehlani's Folded, Dave & Tems's Raindance, and Mariah the Scientist and Kali Uchis's Is It a Crime.
Best country video pits Langley's Choosin' Texas against Shaboozey's Cowgirl, Kacey Musgraves's Dry Spell, Lainey Wilson's Somewhere Over Laredo, Luke Combs's Back in the Saddle, Tucker Wetmore's Brunette, and Stella Lefty's Boston.
Shakira has landed two nominations for best Latin video: one for Choka Choka with Anitta and another for Dai Dai with Burna Boy. Bad Bunny earned a nod for NUEVAYoL, alongside Karol G for Papasito, Rosalía for La Perla, Fuerza Regida for Tu Sancho, and Ryan Castro, Kapo, and Gangsta for La Villa.
Best K-pop video features Blackpink for Jump, BTS for Swim, Katseye for Pinky Up, Cortis for Redred, Le Sserafim for Spaghetti, and Lisa for Dream.
Best alternative video places Olivia Rodrigo's The Cure in contention with Sombr's Homewrecker, Tame Impala's Dracula, Twenty One Pilots's Drag Path, Noah Kahan's The Great Divide, Geese's Taxes, and MGK (Machine Gun Kelly) and Fred Durst's Fix Ur Face.
In the technical craft categories, best direction nominees include Grande, Mars, Gener8ion, Madonna, Carpenter, and Swift for Opalite. Best cinematography features Grande, A$AP Rocky for Punk Rocky, Lisa, Madonna, Shaboozey, and Swift for The Fate of Ophelia. Best editing features Grande, Mars, Lisa, Madonna, Carpenter, and Swift.
Best choreography includes Gener8ion, Harry Styles for Dance No More, Katseye, Madonna, McRae, and Swift. Best visual effects features Grande, Jisoo and Zayn for Eyes Closed, Madonna, PinkPantheress and Zara Larsson, Raye for Click Clack Symphony, and Swift. Best art direction pits Charli XCX, Lady Gaga and Doechii, Madonna, PinkPantheress and Zara Larsson, Sombr for My Body Isn't Ready, and Swift for The Fate of Ophelia.
Ceremony Schedule and Artist Background
The VMAs will be held on September 27 at the Peacock Theater in downtown Los Angeles and will broadcast live on CBS at 7:30pm EST.
Madonna's nominations follow critical acclaim and fan adoration for her latest album Confessions II, released on July 3 as a sequel to her 2005 hit Confessions on a Dance Floor.
During promotions for the album, Madonna went viral after appearing in a video for the gay hookup app Grindr as part of a Pride month partnership. Asked to reveal her "best fuck", she insisted she would "only name dead people" before whispering "John Kennedy Jr." She engaged in a romance with Kennedy in the 1980s, reportedly to the dismay of his mother Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis.
Madonna has a long history of memorable VMA moments, having performed at the first-ever ceremony in 1984 by emerging from a giant wedding cake in a bridal gown for a rendition of Like a Virgin. In 2003, she ignited fan frenzy at the show by kissing Britney Spears on the lips.
Meanwhile, public attention surrounding Swift reached a high point this summer following her Madison Square Garden wedding to NFL star Travis Kelce on July 3.
