Lyrical Muse

The 2026 MTV Video Music Awards are already shaping up to be a particularly star-studded affair.

Madonna leads this year’s nominations with a career-best 11 nods, marking the first time since 1998 that the pop icon has topped the VMAs leaderboard.

Hot on her heels is Taylor Swift with nine nominations, while Ariana Grande and Sabrina Carpenter follow with seven apiece. Bruno Mars, PinkPantheress and Zara Larsson round out the next tier with five each, with LISA earning four.

The numbers tell an interesting story, too: seven of the eight most-nominated artists this year are women, putting some of pop’s biggest female stars firmly at the centre of the 2026 VMAs conversation.

Madonna’s 14-minute Confessions II – The Film is also in the running for the coveted Video of the Year prize, alongside Swift’s The Fate of Ophelia, Grande’s hate that i made you love me, Mars’ I Just Might, Carpenter’s Tears and GENER8ION’s Storm featuring Yung Lean.

There is plenty of history in the mix. Swift, already the most decorated artist in VMA history with 30 Moon Persons, is chasing another major win, while Grande extends her record for most Artist of the Year nominations with a sixth nod.

Madonna, meanwhile, earns her first nomination in the category. The lineup also marks a notable shift: for the first time since the category was introduced in 2017, Artist of the Year has no hip-hop nominees, while no Latin artists appear in the category for the first time in five years.

Elsewhere, the VMAs are bringing back Best Dance for the first time in seven years, with Madonna, Harry Styles, Lady Gaga and Doechii, PinkPantheress and Zara Larsson, Tate McRae, Bebe Rexha and Faithless, and Slayyyter among the nominees.

The nominations also introduce several first-time contenders, including GENER8ION, Yung Lean, CORTIS and Stella Lefty, while a new generation of artists competes for Best New Artist.

With fan voting now open across 13 categories and the ceremony returning to the Los Angeles area for the first time since 2017, the countdown to the 2026 VMAs is officially underway.

Here’s the full list of nominees of the 2026 MTV VMAs:

Genre-Neutral Categories

Video of the Year

• Ariana Grande – “hate that i made you love me”
• Bruno Mars – “I Just Might”
• GENER8ION – “STORM” starring Yung Lean
• Madonna – “Confessions II – The Film”
• Sabrina Carpenter – “Tears”
• Taylor Swift – “The Fate of Ophelia”

Artist of the Year

• Ariana Grande
• Bruno Mars
• Madonna
• Morgan Wallen
• Sabrina Carpenter
• Taylor Swift

Song of the Year

• BTS – “Swim”
• Ella Langley – “Choosin’ Texas”
• HUNTR/X: EJAE, Audrey Nuna, REI AMI – “Golden”
• Madonna & Sabrina Carpenter – “Bring Your Love”
• Olivia Dean – “Man I Need”
• PinkPantheress + Zara Larsson – “Stateside”
• RAYE – “WHERE IS MY HUSBAND!”

Best New Artist

• Bella Kay
• CORTIS
• Magnus Ferrell
• Malcolm Todd
• Myles Smith
• Sienna Spiro
• Stella Lefty

Best Collaboration

• Clipse, Kendrick Lamar, Pusha T, Malice – “Chains & Whips”
• French Montana x Max B – “Ever Since U Left Me”
• Madonna & Sabrina Carpenter – “Bring Your Love”
• PinkPantheress + Zara Larsson – “Stateside”
• Shakira & Burna Boy – “Dai Dai”
• Teyana Taylor & Lucky Daye – “Hard Part”

Genre-Specific Categories

Best Pop

• Ariana Grande – “hate that i made you love me” – Republic Records
• Charli xcx – “SS26” – Atlantic Records
• LISA – “Dream” feat. Kentaro Sakaguchi
• Olivia Rodrigo – “drop dead”
• Sabrina Carpenter – “House Tour”
• Tate McRae – “Nobody’s Girl”
• Taylor Swift – “The Fate of Ophelia”

Best Hip-Hop

• Cardi B feat. Kehlani – “Safe”
• Don Toliver – “E85”
• Drake – “Janice STFU”
• Megan Thee Stallion – “LOVER GIRL”
• Travis Scott – “DUMBO”
• Tyler, The Creator- “SUGAR ON MY TONGUE”

Best R&B

• Bruno Mars – “I Just Might”
• Chris Brown – “It Depends/Obvious”
• Dave & Tems – “Raindance”
• Justin Bieber – “YUKON”
• Kehlani – “Folded”
• Mariah the Scientist & Kali Uchis – “Is It a Crime”

Best Alternative

• Geese – “Taxes”
• mgk & Fred Durst – “FIX UR FACE”
• Noah Kahan – “The Great Divide”
• Olivia Rodrigo – “the cure”
• SOMBR – “Homewrecker”
• Tame Impala – “Dracula”
• twenty one pilots – “Drag Path”

Best Dance

• Bebe Rexha & Faithless – “New Religion”
• Harry Styles – “Aperture”
• Lady Gaga & Doechii – “RUNWAY”
• Madonna – “Confessions II – The Film”
• PinkPantheress + Zara Larsson – “Stateside”
• Slayyyter – “DANCE…”
• Tate McRae – “Nobody’s Girl”

Best Latin

• Anitta with Shakira – “Choka Choka”
• Bad Bunny – “NUEVAYoL”
• Fuerza Regida – “TU SANCHO”
• KAROL G – “Papasito”
• Rosalía ft. Yahritza Y Su Esencia – “La Perla”
• Ryan Castro, Kapo & GANGSTA – “LA VILLA”
• Shakira & Burna Boy – “Dai Dai”

Best K-Pop

• BLACKPINK – “JUMP”
• BTS – “SWIM”
• CORTIS – “REDRED”
• KATSEYE – “PINKY UP”
• LE SSERAFIM (feat. j-hope of BTS) – “SPAGHETTI”
• LISA – “Dream feat. Kentaro Sakaguchi”

Best Country

• Ella Langley – “Choosin’ Texas”
• Kacey Musgraves – “Dry Spell”
• Lainey Wilson – “Somewhere Over Laredo”
• Luke Combs – “Back in the Saddle”
• Shaboozey – “Cowgirl”
• Stella Lefty – “Boston”
• Tucker Wetmore – “Brunette” 

Technical Categories

Best Direction

• Ariana Grande – “hate that i made you love me”
• Bruno Mars – “I Just Might”
• GENER8ION – “STORM starring Yung Lean”
• Madonna – “Confessions II – The Film”
• Sabrina Carpenter – “House Tour”
• Taylor Swift – “Opalite”

Best Art Direction

• Charli xcx – “SS26”
• Lady Gaga & Doechii – “RUNWAY”
• Madonna – “Confessions II – The Film”
• PinkPantheress – “Stateside + Zara Larsson”
• SOMBR – “My Body Isn’t Ready”
• Taylor Swift – “The Fate of Ophelia”

Best Cinematography

• A$AP Rocky – “PUNK ROCKY”
• Ariana Grande – “hate that i made you love me”
• LISA – “Dream feat. Kentaro Sakaguchi”
• Madonna – “Confessions II – The Film”
• Shaboozey – “Cowgirl”
• Taylor Swift – “The Fate of Ophelia”

Best Editing

• Ariana Grande – “hate that i made you love me”
• Bruno Mars – “I Just Might”
• LISA – “Dream feat. Kentaro Sakaguchi”
• Madonna – “Confessions II – The Film”
• Sabrina Carpenter – “House Tour”
• Taylor Swift – “The Fate of Ophelia”

Best Choreography

• GENER8ION – “STORM starring Yung Lean”
• Harry Styles – “Dance No More”
• KATSEYE – “PINKY UP”
• Madonna – “Confessions II – The Film”
• Tate McRae – “Nobody’s Girl”
• Taylor Swift – “The Fate of Ophelia”

Best Visual Effects

• Ariana Grande – “hate that i made you love me”
• JISOO X ZAYN – “Eyes Closed”
• Madonna – “Confessions II – The Film”
• PinkPantheress – “Stateside + Zara Larsson”
• RAYE ft. Hans Zimmer – “Click Clack Symphony.”
• Taylor Swift – “The Fate of Ophelia”

Who are you rooting for at this year’s 2026 MTV VMAs? Check out the full nominations and tell us your picks on X and Instagram. Visit Lyrical Muse for more music and pop culture updates.