MTV VMAs drop Best Afrobeats category after Tyla’s back-to-back wins
The MTV Video Music Awards (VMAs) have dropped the Best Afrobeats category from their 2026 nominations, following two consecutive wins by South African superstar Tyla .
The category is absent from the nominations announced on Tuesday for the 2026 ceremony, just three years after it was introduced to recognise the growing global influence of Afrobeats and African music.
Tyla became the category’s most successful artist after winning Best Afrobeats in back-to-back years. She took home the Moon Person in 2024 for her global hit Water , before winning again in 2025 with Push 2 Start .
The Johannesburg-born singer does not appear among the nominees announced for this year’s awards.
MTV has not publicly explained the absence of Best Afrobeats from the 2026 line-up. Other genre categories, including Best R&B, Best Hip-Hop, Best Latin, Best K-Pop and Best Country remain, while Best Dance returns this year after a seven-year absence. Best Rock and Best Group are also among the categories absent from the 2026 nominations.
Despite the removal of Best Afrobeats, African artists are still represented in other categories.
Nigerian Grammy winner Burna Boy is nominated alongside Colombian superstar Shakira for their collaboration Dai Dai , which is up for Best Collaboration.
Fellow Nigerian star Tems is nominated in the Best R&B category alongside British rapper Dave for their collaboration Raindance .
The Best Afrobeats category made its debut at the VMAs in 2023, when Nigerian star Rema and Selena Gomez became the inaugural winners for their global hit Calm Down . Tyla then claimed the award in both subsequent years.
The 2026 MTV Video Music Awards will take place in Los Angeles on September 27 and will air live on CBS and MTV and stream on Paramount+.
Madonna leads the 2026 nominations with 11 nods, followed by Taylor Swift with nine. Ariana Grande and Sabrina Carpenter have seven nominations each, while Bruno Mars, PinkPantheress and Zara Larsson have five apiece.
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