Madonna Leads 2026 MTV VMA Nominations With 11, Ahead of Taylor Swift

Madonna tops this year’s VMA field with 11 nominations, while Taylor Swift has nine; both are competing for Video of the Year at the September 27 ceremony.

LOS ANGELES, UNITED STATES — Madonna leads the 2026 MTV Video Music Awards nominations with 11, placing the pop veteran ahead of Taylor Swift’s nine and setting up a multigenerational contest in several of the ceremony’s highest-profile categories.

 MTV announced the nominations Tuesday for the September 27 awards show in Los Angeles. Madonna is nominated for Video of the Year for “Confessions II - The Film” and also appears in Artist of the Year and other categories.

Swift is also in the Video of the Year field with “The Fate of Ophelia.” Ariana Grande and Sabrina Carpenter are among the other heavily nominated artists, while the official release lists 26 first-time nominees.

The nomination count gives Madonna the largest field of any artist this year. It also extends a VMA history that dates back to the award show’s first edition in 1984, when her performance of “Like a Virgin” became one of the program’s defining early television moments.

Madonna and Swift bring different VMA records

Official Paramount material says Madonna has 19 competitive VMA wins and received the Video Vanguard Award in 1986. Some broader career totals count that honorary award alongside competitive trophies, which is why different news reports may cite different lifetime numbers.

Keeping those categories separate avoids a misleading comparison.

Swift enters the 2026 ceremony with 30 Moon Person trophies according to the official release, putting her in position to add to one of the strongest VMA records of the modern era. Her nine nominations reflect continued recognition for work from her most recent album cycle.

The contrast is part of the appeal of this year’s nominations: Madonna’s VMA relationship spans more than four decades, while Swift’s recent run has made her one of the ceremony’s most successful contemporary artists.

September ceremony returns to Los Angeles

The VMAs will air live on CBS and MTV and stream on Paramount+ on September 27. Fan voting is available in multiple categories, while some technical awards are decided through other processes.

The Video of the Year field also includes work from other major pop and crossover performers. The full ballot reflects MTV’s current mix of established global acts, newer artists and genre-based categories.

Awards nominations are an entertainment-industry event rather than a measure of objective artistic quality, but they can influence visibility, streaming attention and promotional campaigns during a crowded release calendar. For MTV, the nominations also establish the competitive narrative that will shape the weeks leading into the broadcast.

The next major developments will be performance announcements, any special-honor recipients and the winners themselves. Until then, the clearest headline is the nomination race: Madonna leads with 11, Swift follows with nine, and the 2026 ceremony will bring both into direct competition for Video of the Year.

By Alexander Hayes | Entertainment | CRN Times
Published: 18 August 2026, 3:00 p.m.