MTV VMAs 2026 Nominees: Complete list of artists, songs and videos nominated this year
Madonna leads with 13 nominations, while Swift has 11 and Sabrina Carpenter nine ahead of the September 27 show
The 2026 MTV Video Music Awards will bring together some of music ’s biggest names in Los Angeles on September 27, with Madonna, Taylor Swift and Sabrina Carpenter leading a nominations list that stretches across pop, hip-hop, R&B, country, Latin, K-pop and several technical categories.
Madonna tops all artists with 13 nominations, followed by Swift with 11 and Carpenter with nine. Bruno Mars and Ariana Grande each have seven, while Ella Langley, PinkPantheress and Zara Larsson have five apiece.
Snoop Dogg will host the ceremony from the Peacock Theater, with the show airing on CBS and MTV and streaming on Paramount+.
“MTV and the VMAs have been part of my story since the beginning,” Snoop Dogg said. “Some of the biggest moments of my career happened on that stage and on MTV.”
Complete list of 2026 MTV VMA nominees
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”; Huntrix – “Golden”; Madonna and Sabrina Carpenter – “Bring Your Love”; Olivia Dean – “Man I Need”; PinkPantheress – “Stateside + Zara Larsson”; 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 and Malice – “Chains & Whips”; French Montana and Max B – “Ever Since U Left Me”; Madonna and Sabrina Carpenter – “Bring Your Love”; PinkPantheress – “Stateside + Zara Larsson”; Shakira and Burna Boy – “Dai Dai”; Teyana Taylor and Lucky Daye – “Hard Part.”
Best Pop: Ariana Grande – “Hate That I Made You Love Me”; Charli XCX – “SS26”; Lisa – “Dream” featuring 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 featuring 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 and Tems – “Raindance”; Justin Bieber – “Yukon”; Kehlani – “Folded”; Mariah the Scientist and Kali Uchis – “Is It a Crime.”
Best Alternative: Geese – “Taxes”; MGK and 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 Latin: Anitta and Shakira – “Choka Choka”; Bad Bunny – “Nuevayol”; Fuerza Regida – “Tu Sancho”; Karol G – “Papasito”; Rosalia featuring Yahritza y su Esencia – “La Perla”; Ryan Castro, Kapo and Gangsta – “La Villa”; Shakira and Burna Boy – “Dai Dai.”
Best K-Pop: Blackpink – “Jump”; BTS – “Swim”; Cortis – “RedRed”; Katseye – “Pinky Up”; Le Sserafim featuring J-Hope – “Spaghetti”; Lisa – “Dream” featuring Kentaro Sakaguchi.
Best Dance: Bebe Rexha and Faithless – “New Religion”; Harry Styles – “Aperture”; Lady Gaga and Doechii – “Runway”; Madonna – Confessions II – The Film; PinkPantheress – “Stateside + Zara Larsson”; Slayyyter – “Dance...”; Tate McRae – “Nobody’s Girl.”
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.”
Best Group: Blackpink; BTS; Cortis; Flo; Fuerza Regida; Geese; Katseye; Twenty One Pilots.
Best Long Form Video: Charli XCX – Music, Fashion, Film; Ella Langley – “Choosin’ Texas”; Gener8ion – “Storm” starring Yung Lean; Madonna – Confessions II – The Film.
Best Album: Bruno Mars – The Romantic; Drake – Iceman; Ella Langley – Dandelion; Harry Styles – Kiss All the Time. Disco, Occasionally; Madonna – Confessions II; Olivia Dean – The Art of Loving; Olivia Rodrigo – You Seem Pretty Sad for a Girl So in Love; Sabrina Carpenter – Man’s Best Friend; Taylor Swift – The Life of a Showgirl.
Song of Summer: Ariana Grande – “Hate That I Made You Love Me”; Bruno Mars – “Risk It All”; Charli XCX – “Camera”; Ella Langley – “Choosin’ Texas”; Katseye – “Hootie Frutti”; Latto featuring Doja Cat – “Okayyy”; Morgan Wallen – “Been By Now”; Olivia Dean – “So Easy (To Fall in Love)”; Olivia Rodrigo – “Stupid Song”; Sabrina Carpenter – “House Tour”; Slayyyter – “Brand New Chanel$”; Sombr – “Homewrecker”; Stella Lefty – “Boston”; Tame Impala and Jennie – “Dracula”; Taylor Swift – “I Knew It, I Knew You.”
Professional categories complete the ballot
Best Direction: Ariana Grande – Christian Breslauer; Bruno Mars – Bruno Mars and Daniel Ramos; Gener8ion – Romain Gavras; Madonna – TORSO; Sabrina Carpenter – Sabrina Carpenter and Margaret Qualley; Taylor Swift – Taylor Swift.
Best Art Direction: Charli XCX – Nicola Scarlino; Lady Gaga and Doechii – Freyja Bardell; Madonna – TORSO and Arthur de Borman; PinkPantheress – Isabella Furness; Sombr – Olivia McManus; Taylor Swift – Ethan Tobman.
Best Cinematography: A$AP Rocky – Jake Gabbay; Ariana Grande – Janusz Kaminski; Lisa – Eumko; Madonna – Daniel Landin; Shaboozey – Mitchell Maher Perrin; Taylor Swift – Rodrigo Prieto.
Best Editing: Ariana Grande – Luis Caraza Peimbert; Bruno Mars – Daniel Ramos; Lisa – Kwon O-jun; Madonna – Will Town, Lauren Friedman and Danny Tull; Sabrina Carpenter – Sofia Kerpan; Taylor Swift – Chancler Haynes.
Best Choreography: Gener8ion – Damien Jalet; Harry Styles – Ryan Heffington; Katseye – Grant Gilmore, Sohey Sugihara, Sergio Reis and Zacc Milne; Madonna – Damien Jalet, Megan Lawson, Young Boy Dancing Group and Nicolas Huchard; Tate McRae – (LA)HORDE, Arthur Harel, Marine Brutti and Jonathan Debrouwer; Taylor Swift – Mandy Moore and Amanda Balen.
Best Visual Effects: Ariana Grande – Mathematic Studio, Hadi Dahrouge and Jehan Bouazza; Jisoo and Zayn – Serhii Solodkyi; Madonna – Monumental; PinkPantheress – Copenhagen VFX; Raye featuring Hans Zimmer – Frame23 Studio; Taylor Swift – Parliament.
Two special honors will also be presented
Nirvana will receive the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award, while Taylor Swift has been selected as the inaugural recipient of the MTV VMA Artist Director Honors.
With Madonna, Swift and Carpenter appearing across many of the evening’s most prominent categories, the 2026 VMAs enter September 27 with several major storylines already in place.
