The MTV Video Music Awards unveiled its 2026 nominations, positioning pop veteran Madonna with 11 total nominations and singer-songwriter Taylor Swift with nine across a ballot stripped of nine legacy categories. Broadcast organizers purged Best Rock, Best Afrobeats, Best Pop Artist, Push Performance of the Year, Best Album, Video for Good, Best Long-form Video, Best Group, and Song of the Summer from the announcement. The elimination tightens channel airtime around mainstream pop headliners, discarding niche genre brackets and regional distinctions.

See the full Video Music Awards 2026 nominees list below.

Competition for Video of the Year pits Madonna's visual project Confessions II - The Film, directed by fashion filmmakers TORSO and produced by French studio DIVISION, against Swift's period piece "The Fate of Ophelia". Swift composed the track with Swedish pop producers Max Martin and Shellback for her twelfth studio album The Life of a Showgirl. Four additional works complete the category: vocalist Bruno Mars with "I Just Might," pop singer Ariana Grande with "Hate That I Made You Love Me," singer Sabrina Carpenter with "Tears," and electronic producer Gener8ion joined by Swedish rapper Yung Lean on "Storm". Director Romain Gavras framed the seven-minute "Storm" video as a uniform-clad student rebellion inside a fictional British boarding school. Grande and Carpenter each secured seven total nominations across the broader ballot, matching Mars with five citations.

Club collaborations secured major placements across the ballot. Producer PinkPantheress and Swedish vocalist Zara Larsson collected five nominations apiece, pushed by their transatlantic remix "Stateside" in the Song of the Year category. Traditional guitar groups fell to the margins, leaving Brooklyn rock outfit Geese with a lone entry in Best Alternative for the song "Taxes."

Ballot access shifts to television audiences as online voting across 13 categories closes September 25 at 6:00 PM Eastern Time. Screen production duties fall to independent media house Gunpowder & Sky alongside production group Den of Thieves.

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 - Golden
Madonna & Sabrina Carpenter - Bring Your Love
Olivia Dean - Man I Need
PinkPantheress & Zara Larsson - Stateside
Raye - Where Is My Husband!

Best New Artist, presented by The General Insurance®
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 & 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

Best Pop
Ariana Grande - Hate That I Made You Love Me
Charli xcx - SS26
Lisa & Kentara Sakaguchi - Dream
Olivia Rodrigo - Drop Dead
Sabrina Carpenter - House Tour
Tate McRae - Nobody’s Girl
Taylor Swift - The Fate of Ophelia

Best Hip-Hop
Cardi B & 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, presented by Bacardí® Rum
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 & Shakira - Choka Choka
Bad Bunny - Nuevayol
Fuerza Regida - Tu Sancho
Karol G - Papasito
Rosalía & Yahritza y Su Esencia - La Perla
Ryan Castro, Kapo & Gangsta - La Villa
Shakira & Burna Boy - Dai Dai