Madonna Leads 2026 MTV VMA Nominations: Full List
Madonna , who stole the show at the first MTV Video Music Awards in 1984 with a jaw-dropping performance of “Like a Virgin,” is the leading nominee for the 2026 VMAs with 11 nods.
It’s the first time Madonna has been the leading nominee since 1998, the year she won video of the year for the first time with “Ray of Light.” She was also the leading nominee in 1990, the year she was nominated for the top award with “Vogue.” In both of those years, she had nine nominations.
This year’s tally of 11 nods represents a personal best for the legendary star.
Madonna’s 14-minute “Confessions II – The Film” is nominated for video of the year.
Two recent winners in that category were likewise longer-form pieces: Taylor Swift ’s 15-minute “All Too Well: The Short Film,” which won in 2022, and Ariana Grande ’s 26-minute “Brighter Days Ahead,” which won last year.
Swift, who has won a record 30 Moon Persons, is second on the leaderboard with nine nominations.
Other top contenders include Grande and Sabrina Carpenter (seven nods each); Bruno Mars , PinkPantheress and Zara Larsson (five each); and LISA (four).
You’ll notice that seven of the eight artists with the most nominations this year are women.
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1 On Billboard 200: ‘I’m Still Pinching Myself’ Three past winners for video of the year are nominated in that marquee category again this year: Grande (“hate that i made you love me”), Madonna (“Confessions II – The Film”) and Swift (The Fate of Ophelia).” The three other nominees, vying for their first win in the category, are Mars (“I Just Might”), Carpenter (“Tears”) and GENER8ION (“Storm”), starring Yung Lean.
The latter video may be the least known of this year’s video of the year nominees and thus stands to gain the most by the nomination.
Gener8ion is an audiovisual collaboration between French DJ Surkin and director Romain Gavras.
“Storm” stars Swedish rapper Yung Lean, who plays a disruptive and aggressive student at an all-boys British boarding school.
Grande is nominated for artist of the year for a record-extending sixth time.
5News aggregated this summary from the outlet’s public feed. The full article, with all the context, is on www.billboard.com — the content belongs to Billboard.
