2026 VMAs nominations: Madonna, Taylor Swift, Sabrina Carpenter are officially having their moment

The 2026 MTV Video Music Awards have officially entered the chat, and the nominations are already giving us plenty to talk about. Madonna is leading this year's list with a whopping 11 nominations for Confessions II - The Film, while Taylor Swift follows closely behind with nine. Ariana Grande and Sabrina Carpenter are next with seven nominations each, making this year's ceremony feel very much like a meeting of pop's biggest names, old and new.

And Madonna's lead is kind of a big deal. The singer has now received VMA nominations across every decade of her career, a pretty wild reminder of how long she's been shaping pop culture. Her 11 nominations this year include Video of the Year, Artist of the Year, Song of the Year, Best Collaboration, Best Dance, and several behind-the-scenes categories including direction, cinematography, editing, choreography and visual effects. Basically, she is not just in the room; she is everywhere in the room!

Swift, meanwhile, has nine chances to add another Moon Person to her collection. She is nominated for Video of the Year and Artist of the Year, among other categories, for The Fate of Ophelia. And there is an actual record on the line here. Swift currently shares the record for most VMAs wins with Beyoncé at 30, so even one win this year would make her the most awarded artist in VMA history.

Elsewhere, Ariana Grande and Sabrina Carpenter have seven nominations each, while Bruno Mars, PinkPantheress and Zara Larsson have five apiece. There is also plenty of love for K-pop, with BTS picking up two nominations for Swim, including Song of the Year and Best K-Pop. Lisa has four nominations for Dream, while Blackpink, Katseye, Le Sserafilm, and rookie group Cortis also appear across the categories. This year's list also includes 26 first-time nominees, so there are plenty of new names entering the VMA universe alongside the usual pop royalty.

The 2026 VMAs will take place on September 27 in Los Angeles, with the ceremony airing live on CBS, MTV and Paramount+. Fan voting is open in 13 categories until September 25, so yes, your group chat arguments can actually spill out of the group and be put to good use.

Here's the full list of nominations:

Video 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 + Zara Larsson – Stateside – Warner Records UK/Atlantic Records
Raye – Where Is My Husband! – Human Re Sources

Best New Artist

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 Outpost

Best 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 + Zara Larsson – Stateside – 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 – Nobodys Girl – RCA Records
Taylor Swift – The Fate of Ophelia – Republic Records

Best Hip-Hop

Cardi B feat. 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 Records

Best 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

Bebe Rexha & Faithless – New Religion – Bebe Rexha Music LLC/EMPIRE
Harry Styles – Aperture – Columbia Records
Lady Gaga & Doechii – Runway – Lil Monsters/Top Dawg Entertainment/Interscope Records/Capitol Records
Madonna – Confessions II – The Film – Warner Records
PinkPantheress + Zara Larsson – Stateside – 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 Records

Best 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 – Runway – 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

Best 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

Lead image: Getty Images

Also read: You don’t need to have your life figured out at 18—and ‘Sterling Point’ gets it

Also read: The rise of ambient TV: Why shows are getting easier to watch in the background