Madonna is leading the nominations for the 2026 MTV Video Music Awards with 11 nods, including artist of the year, video of the year and song of the year, reports The Hollywood Reporter.
The pop icon earned nominations for her Sabrina Carpenter collaboration “Bring Your Love” and “Confessions II – The Film”.
The nominations come during a strong year for Madonna, whose album Confessions II debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 last month.
Taylor Swift follows Madonna with nine nominations.
The singer, who holds the record for the most VMAs wins, is nominated for artist of the year and video of the year for “The Fate of Ophelia”.
Ariana Grande and Sabrina Carpenter are tied with seven nominations each. Both are in the running for artist of the year and video of the year, with Grande nominated for “hate that i made you love me” and Carpenter for “Tears”.
Bruno Mars has five nominations, including artist of the year and video of the year for “I Just Might”. Morgan Wallen completes the artist of the year category.
Other major nominees include BTS, BLACKPINK, Lady Gaga, LISA, Olivia Rodrigo, Shakira, PinkPantheress and Tate McRae.
The best new artist category features Bella Kay, CORTIS, Magnus Ferrell, Malcolm Todd, Myles Smith, Sienna Spiro and Stella Lefty.
The 2026 VMAs will also bring back the best dance category after a seven-year absence.
The ceremony is scheduled to take place live from Los Angeles on 27 September, marking the first time the awards show has been held in the city since 2017.
Fans can vote for the nominees until 25 September.
Madonna is nominated across several major categories, including video of the year, artist of the year, song of the year, best collaboration, best dance, best direction, best art direction, best cinematography, best editing, best choreography and best visual effects.
Her 11 nominations place her two ahead of Swift, who has nine. Grande and Carpenter follow with seven each, while Mars has five.
The 2026 VMAs will air live on CBS and be simulcast on MTV.
