VMAs 2026 Nominations: Madonna Leads With 11, Taylor Swift Gets 9, BTS 2

The nominations for the 2026 MTV Video Music Awards have been announced, with Madonna leading the list with 11 nominations. Taylor Swift follows with nine, while Ariana Grande and Sabrina Carpenter have seven nominations each.

Bruno Mars, PinkPantheress and Zara Larsson have five nominations apiece, while BLACKPINK's LISA has four. Shakira and Tate McRae have received three nominations each.

BTS has earned two nominations for its comeback track SWIM, including Song of the Year and Best K-Pop. The Song of the Year category also features Madonna and Sabrina Carpenter's Bring Your Love, HUNTR/X's Golden, Olivia Dean's Man I Need, PinkPantheress and Zara Larsson's Stateside and RAYE's WHERE IS MY HUSBAND!.

In the Best K-Pop category, BTS' SWIM will compete against BLACKPINK's JUMP, CORTIS' REDRED, KATSEYE's PINKY UP, LE SSERAFIM's SPAGHETTI featuring BTS member j-hope, and LISA's Dream featuring Kentaro Sakaguchi.

Madonna has received nominations across several major and technical categories for Confessions II - The Film. Her nominations include Video of the Year, Artist of the Year, Song of the Year, Best Dance, Best Direction, Best Art Direction, Best Cinematography, Best Editing, Best Choreography and Best Visual Effects.

Taylor Swift is also competing for Video of the Year and Artist of the Year, among several other categories. She currently has 30 VMA wins, tying her with Beyoncé for the most Moon Person trophies in the ceremony's history. Another win could give Swift the record outright.

The 2026 MTV VMAs will also see the return of the Best Dance category after a seven-year gap. Fan voting is open in 13 categories, while voting for Best New Artist will continue until the ceremony.

The 2026 MTV Video Music Awards are scheduled to take place in Los Angeles on September 27.

MTV VMAs 2026: Full Nominations

Video of the Year

• Ariana Grande — hate that i made you love me
• Bruno Mars — I Just Might
• GENER8ION — STORM starring Yung Lean
• Madonna — Confessions II - The Film
• Sabrina Carpenter — Tears
• Taylor Swift — The Fate of Ophelia

Artist of the Year

• Ariana Grande
• Bruno Mars
• Madonna
• Morgan Wallen
• Sabrina Carpenter
• Taylor Swift

Song of the Year

• BTS — SWIM
• Ella Langley — Choosin' Texas
• HUNTR/X: EJAE, Audrey Nuna, REI AMI — Golden
• Madonna & Sabrina Carpenter — Bring Your Love
• Olivia Dean — Man I Need
• PinkPantheress — Stateside + Zara Larsson
• RAYE — WHERE IS MY HUSBAND!

Best New Artist

• Bella Kay
• CORTIS
• Magnus Ferrell
• Malcolm Todd
• Myles Smith
• Sienna Spiro
• Stella Lefty

Best Collaboration

• Clipse, Kendrick Lamar, Pusha T, Malice — Chains & Whips
• French Montana x Max B — Ever Since U Left Me
• Madonna & Sabrina Carpenter — Bring Your Love
• PinkPantheress — Stateside + Zara Larsson
• Shakira & Burna Boy — Dai Dai
• Teyana Taylor & Lucky Daye — Hard Part

Best Pop

• Ariana Grande — hate that i made you love me
• Charli xcx — SS26
• LISA — Dream feat. Kentaro Sakaguchi
• Olivia Rodrigo — drop dead
• Sabrina Carpenter — House Tour
• Tate McRae — Nobody's Girl
• Taylor Swift — The Fate of Ophelia

Best Hip-Hop

• Cardi B ft. Kehlani — Safe
• Don Toliver — E85
• Drake — Janice STFU
• Megan Thee Stallion — LOVER GIRL
• Travis Scott — DUMBO
• Tyler, The Creator — SUGAR ON MY TONGUE

Best R&B

• Bruno Mars — I Just Might
• Chris Brown — It Depends/Obvious
• Dave & Tems — Raindance
• Justin Bieber — YUKON
• Kehlani — Folded
• Mariah the Scientist & Kali Uchis — Is It a Crime

Best Alternative

• Geese — Taxes
• mgk & Fred Durst — FIX UR FACE
• Noah Kahan — The Great Divide
• Olivia Rodrigo — the cure
• SOMBR — Homewrecker
• Tame Impala — Dracula
• twenty one pilots — Drag Path

Best Dance

• Bebe Rexha & Faithless — New Religion
• Harry Styles — Aperture
• Lady Gaga & Doechii — RUNWAY
• Madonna — Confessions II - The Film
• PinkPantheress — Stateside + Zara Larsson
• Slayyyter — DANCE
• Tate McRae — Nobody's Girl

Best Latin

• Anitta with Shakira — Choka Choka
• Bad Bunny — NUEVAYoL
• Fuerza Regida — TU SANCHO
• KAROL G — Papasito
• Rosala ft. Yahritza Y Su Esencia — La Perla
• Ryan Castro, Kapo & GANGSTA — LA VILLA
• Shakira & Burna Boy — Dai Dai

Best K-Pop

• BLACKPINK — JUMP
• BTS — SWIM
• CORTIS — REDRED
• KATSEYE — PINKY UP
• LE SSERAFIM feat. j-hope of BTS — SPAGHETTI
• LISA — Dream feat. Kentaro Sakaguchi

Best Country

• Ella Langley — Choosin' Texas
• Kacey Musgraves — Dry Spell
• Lainey Wilson — Somewhere Over Laredo
• Luke Combs — Back in the Saddle
• Shaboozey — Cowgirl
• Stella Lefty — Boston
• Tucker Wetmore — Brunette

Best Direction

• Ariana Grande — hate that i made you love me
• Bruno Mars — I Just Might
• GENER8ION — STORM starring Yung Lean
• Madonna — Confessions II - The Film
• Sabrina Carpenter — House Tour
• Taylor Swift — Opalite

Best Cinematography

• A$AP Rocky — PUNK ROCKY
• Ariana Grande — hate that i made you love me
• LISA — Dream feat. Kentaro Sakaguchi
• Madonna — Confessions II - The Film
• Shaboozey — Cowgirl
• Taylor Swift — The Fate of Ophelia

Best Editing

• Ariana Grande — hate that i made you love me
• Bruno Mars — I Just Might
• LISA — Dream feat. Kentaro Sakaguchi
• Madonna — Confessions II - The Film
• Sabrina Carpenter — House Tour
• Taylor Swift — The Fate of Ophelia

Best Choreography

• GENER8ION — STORM starring Yung Lean
• Harry Styles — Dance No More
• KATSEYE — PINKY UP
• Madonna — Confessions II - The Film
• Tate McRae — Nobody's Girl
• Taylor Swift — The Fate of Ophelia

Best Visual Effects

• Ariana Grande — hate that i made you love me
• JISOO X ZAYN — Eyes Closed
• Madonna — Confessions II - The Film
• PinkPantheress — Stateside + Zara Larsson
• RAYE ft. Hans Zimmer — Click Clack Symphony.
• Taylor Swift — The Fate of Ophelia

The 2026 MTV VMAs will be held on September 27 in Los Angeles. The ceremony will air on CBS and MTV and stream on Paramount+ in the US, with international availability following the next day.