MTV VMAs 2026: The Nominations Are Finally Here

MTV VMAs 2026: The Nominations Are Finally HereIt’s time to learn the fate of Ophelia the 2026 MTV Video Music Awards. Ahead of music’s most iconic night, airing live Sept. 27 on CBS, Madonna and Taylor Swift are taking center stage as the leaders of this year’s nominees, which were announced Aug. 18. The “Like A Virgin” singer leads the pack with 11 nominations for her Confessions II album, including for Video of the Year and Artist of the Year. For her part, Swift—who earned nine total nominations—will face off against Madonna in those same categories. Ariana Grande and Madonna’s “Bring Your Love” collaborator Sabrina Carpenter will also be part of the house tour, as they trail closely behind their fellow pop legends with seven nominations each, including for Best Pop. Meanwhile, Bruno Mars, PinkPantheress and Zara Larsson are stateside with five nominations each, while Blackpink’s LISA earned four and Shakira tied with Tate McRae with three total nominations. This year’s VMAs could prove to be a historic night if Swift wins another Moon Person, as she’s currently tied with Beyoncé for most wins ever at 30. However, a crop of artists are vying for their first-ever Moon Person, with first-time nominees including Sienna Spiro, GENER8ION, CORTIS and Stella Lefty, who are all also nominated for Best New Artist. Kali Uchis, Noah Kahan and Olivia Dean are also competing for their first award. Mike Coppola/Getty Images for MTVThe VMAs are already breaking records, though, with the return of the Best Dance category for the first time in seven years, which will see Madonna, McRae, PinkPantheress and Larsson battle it out against Harry Styles, Bebe Rexha and Slayyyter, as well as Lady Gaga and Doechii for their collab “RUNWAY” for The Devil Wears Prada 2. The MTV VMAs will air live on CBS and MTV on Sept. 27 at 7:30 p.m. ET. Fans can vote for 13 of the categories at vote.mtv.com through Sept. 25 at 6:00 p.m. ET. The Best New Artist category, presented by The General Insurance ®, will remain active into the live broadcast. Read on to check out all of the nominees for the 2026 MTV VMAs. Kevin Mazur/MTV VMAs 2021/Getty Images for MTV/ViacomCBSVIDEO OF THE YEAR Ariana Grande - “hate that i made you love me” - Republic Records Bruno Mars - “I Just Might” - Atlantic Records GENER8ION - “STORM starring Yung Lean” - Iconoclast Music Madonna - “Confessions II - The Film” - Warner Records Sabrina Carpenter - “Tears”- Island Taylor Swift - “The Fate of Ophelia” - Republic Records ARTIST OF THE YEAR Ariana Grande - Republic Records Bruno Mars - Atlantic Records Madonna - Warner Records Morgan Wallen - Big Loud/Mercury Records Sabrina Carpenter - Island Taylor Swift - Republic Records SONG OF THE YEAR BTS - “Swim” - BIGHIT MUSIC Ella Langley - “Choosin’ Texas” - Columbia Records HUNTR/X: EJAE, Audrey Nuna, REI AMI - “Golden” - Republic Records/Visva Records Madonna & Sabrina Carpenter - “Bring Your Love” - Warner Records Olivia Dean - “Man I Need” - Island PinkPantheress - “Stateside + Zara Larsson” - Warner Records UK/Atlantic Records RAYE - “WHERE IS MY HUSBAND!” - Human Re Sources BEST NEW ARTIST, presented by The General Insurance® Bella Kay - Atlantic Records CORTIS - BIGHIT MUSIC Magnus Ferrell -Visva Records/Republic Records Malcolm Todd - Columbia Records Myles Smith - RCA Records Sienna Spiro - Capitol Records Stella Lefty - Sandlot/Atlantic OutpostDia Dipasupil/FilmMagicBEST COLLABORATION Clipse, Kendrick Lamar, Pusha T, Malice - “Chains & Whips” - Roc Nation Distribution French Montana x Max B - “Ever Since U Left Me” - Coke Boys Records Madonna & Sabrina Carpenter - “Bring Your Love” - Warner Records PinkPantheress - “Stateside + Zara Larsson” - Warner Records UK/Atlantic Records Shakira & Burna Boy - “Dai Dai” - Sony Music US Latin Teyana Taylor & Lucky Daye - “Hard Part” - Def Jam Recordings BEST POP Ariana Grande - “hate that i made you love me” - Republic Records Charli xcx - “SS26” - Atlantic Records LISA - “Dream feat. Kentaro Sakaguchi” - Lloud Co./RCA Records Olivia Rodrigo - “drop dead” - Geffen Records Sabrina Carpenter - “House Tour” - Island Tate McRae - “Nobody’s Girl” - RCA Records Taylor Swift - “The Fate of Ophelia” - Republic Records BEST HIP-HOP Cardi B ft. Kehlani - “Safe” - Atlantic Records Don Toliver - “E85” - Cactus Jack/ Atlantic Records Drake - “Janice STFU” - OVO/Republic Records Megan Thee Stallion - “LOVER GIRL” - Hot Girl Productions Travis Scott - “DUMBO” - Cactus Jack/Epic Records Tyler, The Creator - “SUGAR ON MY TONGUE” - Columbia Records BEST R&B Bruno Mars - “I Just Might” - Atlantic Records Chris Brown - “It Depends/Obvious” - RCA Records Dave & Tems - “Raindance” - Neighbourhood Recordings/Capitol Records Justin Bieber - “YUKON” - Def Jam Recordings Kehlani - “Folded” - Atlantic Records Mariah the Scientist & Kali Uchis - “Is It a Crime” - Epic RecordsDia Dipasupil/FilmMagicBEST ALTERNATIVE Geese - “Taxes” - Partisan Records/Play It Again Sam mgk & Fred Durst - “FIX UR FACE” - EST 19XX LLC/Interscope Records Noah Kahan - “The Great Divide” - Mercury Records Olivia Rodrigo - “the cure” - Geffen Records SOMBR - “Homewrecker” - SMB Music/Warner Records Tame Impala - “Dracula” - Columbia Records twenty one pilots - “Drag Path” - Fueled By Ramen BEST DANCE, presented by BACARDÍ® Rum Bebe Rexha & Faithless - “New Religion” - Bebe Rexha Music LLC/EMPIRE Harry Styles - “Aperture” - Columbia Records Lady Gaga & Doechii - “RUNAWAY” - Lil Monsters/Top Dawg Entertainment/Interscope Records/Capitol Records Madonna - “Confessions II - The Film” - Warner Records PinkPantheress - “Stateside + Zara Larsson” - Warner Records UK/Atlantic Records Slayyyter - “DANCE…” - RECORDS/Columbia Records Tate McRae - “Nobody’s Girl” - RCA Records BEST LATIN Anitta with Shakira - “Choka Choka” - Republic Records/UMLE Bad Bunny - “NUEVAYoL” - Rimas Entertainment Fuerza Regida - “TU SANCHO” - Rancho Humilde/Street Mob Records/Sony Music US Latin KAROL G - “Papasito” - Bichota Records/Interscope Records Rosalía ft. Yahritza Y Su Esencia - “La Perla” - Columbia Records Ryan Castro, Kapo & GANGSTA - “LA VILLA” - AWOO Corp./ Sony Music US Latin Shakira & Burna Boy - “Dai Dai” - Sony Music US Latin BEST K-POP BLACKPINK - “JUMP” - YG Entertainment BTS - “SWIM” - BIGHIT MUSIC CORTIS - “REDRED” - BIGHIT MUSIC KATSEYE - “PINKY UP” - HYBE x Geffen Records LE SSERAFIM (feat. j-hope of BTS) - “SPAGHETTI” - SOURCE MUSIC LISA - “Dream feat. Kentaro Sakaguchi” - Lloud Co./ RCA RecordsDoug Peters/PA Images via Getty ImagesBEST COUNTRY Ella Langley - “Choosin’ Texas” - Columbia Records Kacey Musgraves - “Dry Spell” - Lost Highway/Interscope Records Lainey Wilson - “Somewhere Over Laredo” - Broken Bow Records Luke Combs - “Back in the Saddle” - Columbia Nashville Shaboozey - “Cowgirl” - American Dogwood/EMPIRE Stella Lefty - “Boston” - Sandlot/Atlantic Outpost Tucker Wetmore - “Brunette” - Back Blocks Music/Mercury Records BEST DIRECTION Ariana Grande - “hate that i made you love me” - Republic Records Bruno Mars - “I Just Might” - Atlantic Records GENER8ION - “STORM starring Yung Lean” - Iconoclast Music Madonna - “Confessions II - The Film” - Warner Records Sabrina Carpenter - “House Tour” - Island Taylor Swift - “Opalite” - Republic Records BEST ART DIRECTION Charli xcx - “SS26” - Atlantic Records Lady Gaga & Doechii - “RUNAWAY” - Lil Monsters/Top Dawg Entertainment/Interscope Records/Capitol Records Madonna - “Confessions II - The Film” - Warner Records PinkPantheress - “Stateside + Zara Larsson” - Warner Records UK/Atlantic Records SOMBR - “My Body Isn’t Ready” - SMB Music/Warner Records Taylor Swift - “The Fate of Ophelia” - Republic Records Jason Kempin/Getty ImagesBEST CINEMATOGRAPHY A$AP Rocky - “PUNK ROCKY” - A$AP Worldwide/RCA Records Ariana Grande - “hate that i made you love me” - Republic Records LISA - “Dream feat. Kentaro Sakaguchi” - Lloud Co./ RCA Records Madonna - “Confessions II - The Film” - Warner Records Shaboozey - “Cowgirl” - American Dogwood/EMPIRE Taylor Swift - “The Fate of Ophelia” - Republic Records BEST EDITING Ariana Grande - “hate that i made you love me” - Republic Records Bruno Mars - “I Just Might” - Atlantic Records LISA - “Dream feat. Kentaro Sakaguchi” - Lloud Co./ RCA Records Madonna - “Confessions II - The Film” - Warner Records Sabrina Carpenter - “House Tour” - Island Taylor Swift - “The Fate of Ophelia” - Republic Records BEST CHOREOGRAPHY GENER8ION - “STORM starring Yung Lean” - Iconoclast Music Harry Styles - “Dance No More” - Columbia Records KATSEYE - “PINKY UP” - HYBE x Geffen Records Madonna - “Confessions II - The Film” - Warner Records Tate McRae - “Nobody’s Girl” - RCA Records Taylor Swift - “The Fate of Ophelia” - Republic Records BEST VISUAL EFFECTS Ariana Grande - “hate that i made you love me” - Republic Records JISOO X ZAYN - “Eyes Closed” - Warner Records Madonna - “Confessions II - The Film” - Warner Records PinkPantheress - “Stateside + Zara Larsson” - Warner Records UK/Atlantic Records RAYE ft. Hans Zimmer - “Click Clack Symphony.” - Human Re Sources Taylor Swift - “The Fate of Ophelia” - Republic Records For the latest breaking news updates, click here to download the E! News App