Madonna, Taylor Swift, Ariana Grande and Sabrina Carpenter top VMA nominations
By Carla Feric, Press Association Entertainment Reporter
Madonna is the top contender at the 2026 MTV Video Music Awards (VMAs) with 11 nominations, followed by pop powerhouses including Taylor Swift, Ariana Grande and Sabrina Carpenter.
The US singer-songwriter, 68, has earned 19 competitive MTV VMA wins throughout her lengthy career, which has also seen her achieve 13 UK number one singles and albums, as well as seven Grammy Awards.
Madonna has dominated this year’s nominations – having been recognised in categories including video, artist and song of the year, along with best collaboration, dance, direction, art direction and cinematography.
The queen of pop, born Madonna Ciccone, is the only artist to receive a VMA nomination in each of the ceremony’s five decades – and has also received nods in the editing, choreography and visual effects sections.
It comes just weeks after she released her latest record Confessions II – which is a follow-up to her Grammy-winning 2005 album Confessions On A Dancefloor.
She has been recognised for tracks including Bring Your Love with Carpenter, which had its debut during the Espresso singer’s headline set at Coachella earlier this year, and has been nominated for song of the year and best collaboration.
Madonna is followed by chart-topper Swift, who is up for nine nominations in categories such as artist of the year – while her smash-hit The Fate Of Ophelia was recognised for video of the year and best pop among others.
The popstar has previously won 30 VMAs, sharing the record with Beyonce, meaning that receiving a prize this year would make her the most-awarded artist in the history of the ceremony.
Grande, who recently announced that she will step back from public life after her ongoing tour concludes, has received seven nods in categories such as best pop, cinematography, direction, editing and visual effects.
The singer and actress, who recently starred in the two-part film adaptation of Wicked, is tied for nominations with Carpenter and they will compete for titles such as artist and video of the year.
Joining the battle for artist of the year is Bruno Mars, who received five nods overall, as well as country star Morgan Wallen.
Mars is also up for prizes such as best R&B for his track I Just Might – where he will compete against artists including Chris Brown, Dave & Tems, Justin Bieber, Kehlani, Mariah The Scientist and Kali Uchis.
PinkPantheress and Zara Larsson also received five nominations each, whilst Blackpink star Lisa has four and Shakira, Tate McRae, GENER8ION and Yung Lean are tied for three.
The best dance category has returned after a seven-year absence, with former One Direction singer Harry Styles up against stars including Lady Gaga, Doechii, Bebe Rexha and Slayyyter.
Styles has also received a nod for best choreography for Dance No More where he will battle it out against pop sensations including Swift, whom he briefly dated in 2013.
Other British artists hoping to win a Moon Person statuette include Brat star Charli XCX, Where Is My Husband! singer Raye and Olivia Dean – who is among the 26 first-time nominees, joined by stars such as Noah Kahan and Sienna Spiro.
Fan voting opens on Tuesday across 13 categories at vote.mtv.com, and are open until September 25 at 6pm ET for each section except best new artist, which remains active into the show.
The VMAs will be broadcast live on CBS and MTV, and streamed on Paramount Plus on September 27th, from 7.30pm ET.