Madonna, Swift Lead 2026 MTV VMA Nominations; LISA Wins Best Pop

The 2026 MTV Video Music Awards unfolded Sunday night at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles, with Madonna leading the pack of nominees and LISA securing a win for Best Pop.

Madonna garnered a total of 13 nominations, closely followed by Taylor Swift with 11. Sabrina Carpenter received 9 nominations, and Ariana Grande earned 8.

Among the night's awards, LISA's song "Dream," featuring Kentaro Sakaguchi, was recognized as Best Pop. Other major categories included Video of the Year, Artist of the Year, Song of the Year, and Best New Artist. Competitors for Video of the Year included Ariana Grande for "hate that i made you love me," Bruno Mars for "I Just Might," GENER8ION for "STORM" starring Yung Lean, Madonna for "Confessions II – The Film," Sabrina Carpenter for "Tears," and Taylor Swift for "The Fate of Ophelia."

Artist of the Year nominees were Ariana Grande, Bruno Mars, Madonna, Morgan Wallen, Sabrina Carpenter, and Taylor Swift. The Song of the Year category featured BTS for "Swim," Ella Langley for "Choosin’ Texas," HUNTR/X: EJAE, Audrey Nuna, REI AMI for "Golden," Madonna & Sabrina Carpenter for "Bring Your Love," Olivia Dean for "Man I Need," PinkPantheress & Zara Larsson for "Stateside," and RAYE for "WHERE IS MY HUSBAND!"

Best New Artist nominees included Bella Kay, CORTIS, Magnus Ferrell, Malcolm Todd, Myles Smith, Sienna Spiro, and Stella Lefty. The Best Collaboration award saw nominations for Clipse, Kendrick Lamar, Pusha T, Malice for "Chains & Whips," French Montana x Max B for "Ever Since U Left Me," Madonna & Sabrina Carpenter for "Bring Your Love," PinkPantheress & Zara Larsson for "Stateside," Shakira & Burna Boy for "Dai Dai," and Teyana Taylor & Lucky Daye for "Hard Part."

Genre categories recognized achievements in Hip-Hop, R&B, Alternative, Dance, Latin, K-Pop, and Country music. Technical awards were presented for Best Direction, Art Direction, Cinematography, Editing, Choreography, Visual Effects, and Best Long Form Video.

Social categories included Best Album, Best Group, and Song of Summer. Drake's "Iceman," Madonna's "Confessions II," Olivia Dean's "The Art of Loving," Olivia Rodrigo's "You Seem Pretty Sad for a Girl So in Love," Sabrina Carpenter's "Man’s Best Friend," and Taylor Swift's "The Life of Showgirl" were nominated for Best Album.

The awards show, hosted by Snoop Dogg, also featured tribute performances and special acknowledgments, including Nirvana receiving the Video Vanguard Award. Taylor Swift debuted the music video for her new song “Patient Zero” during the ceremony.