Madonna dominated the 2026 MTV Video Music Awards on Sunday night, collecting seven trophies — the biggest haul of the evening — after opening the show with her first VMAs performance in 23 years.
The Queen of Pop entered the night as the most-nominated artist with 13 nominations and walked out with 27 VMA awards to her name overall. Read our Madonna biography for her full story.
Image: Official music video still — Madonna (Warner Records)
The wins
Event: 2026 MTV Video Music Awards
Date: Sunday, September 27, 2026
Venue: Peacock Theater, Los Angeles
Host: Snoop Dogg
Aired: CBS, simulcast on MTV and streamed on Paramount+
Nominations: 13 — the most of any artist on the night
Awards won: 7 — Artist of the Year; Best Collaboration (“Bring Your Love” with Sabrina Carpenter); Best Dance (the Confessions II short film); Best Cinematography; Best Choreography; Best Long Form Video; and Best Album (Confessions II).
Artist of the Year context: Madonna beat Taylor Swift, Ariana Grande, Sabrina Carpenter, Bruno Mars and Morgan Wallen to the top prize.
The haul caps a huge year powered by “Confessions II,” her 15th studio album, released July 3, 2026 on Warner Records and produced with longtime collaborator Stuart Price. Lead single “Bring Your Love” reached No. 1 on the UK Club Chart, while “I Feel So Free” topped Billboard Dance Airplay — find the words on our Bring Your Love lyrics page.
Elsewhere on the night, reports noted Taylor Swift winning Video of the Year for “The Fate of Ophelia,” receiving the inaugural Artist Director Honors presented by Dakota Johnson, and premiering the “Patient Zero” music video; BTS taking Song of the Year for “Swim”; and Sienna Spiro being named Best New Artist.
The performance
Madonna opened the show with “Bring Your Love” alongside Sabrina Carpenter, then performed “Danceteria,” the Charli XCX remix, with Charli XCX joining her. It was her record fifth VMAs performance — and her first in 23 years, since 2003, when she shared the stage with Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera. Read the Danceteria Afterhours lyrics.
Guest appearances across the night included Julia Garner, Sombr, Seth Rogen, Debi Mazar, Andrew Watt, Gabbriette, Fab 5 Freddy and Tony Ward.
The viral DM moment
Accepting Best Collaboration for “Bring Your Love,” Madonna revealed she had messaged Sabrina Carpenter directly after Carpenter’s team went quiet for five days — “within weeks we were in the studio together,” she said, as reported by freep.com. The confession instantly became the most-shared moment of the night.
Watch the official "Bring Your Love" music video below. Please note: this is the official music video — not footage of the VMAs performance, which has no official upload on Madonna's channel.
FAQs
When and where were the 2026 VMAs?
The 2026 MTV VMAs took place on Sunday, September 27, 2026, at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles. Snoop Dogg hosted, and the show aired on CBS, simulcast on MTV and streamed on Paramount+.
How many awards did Madonna win and which?
Seven — the biggest haul of the night: Artist of the Year, Best Collaboration (“Bring Your Love” with Sabrina Carpenter), Best Dance (the Confessions II short film), Best Cinematography, Best Choreography, Best Long Form Video and Best Album (Confessions II). She now holds 27 VMAs overall.
What did she perform?
She opened the show with “Bring Your Love” alongside Sabrina Carpenter and performed “Danceteria” (the Charli XCX remix) with Charli XCX — her first VMAs performance in 23 years.
What was the viral DM moment with Sabrina Carpenter?
In her Best Collaboration acceptance speech, Madonna said she DM’d Carpenter herself after Carpenter’s team didn’t reply for five days, and that “within weeks we were in the studio together,” as reported by freep.com.
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