It was a big night for Madonna and Taylor Swift at the 2026 MTV Video Music Awards, where both superstars came into the night as the year’s top nominees — and they were also the evening’s biggest winners.
Madonna not only opened the show with a medley of songs from her Confessions II album (joined by Sabrina Carpenter and Charli xcx), she also walked away with seven trophies, including three wins onstage (artist of the year, best dance and best collaboration). As for Swift, she won a trio of Moon Persons: the first-ever Artist Director Honors, video of the year (both presented onstage) and best direction.
Inside the Peacock Theater in downtown Los Angeles, there were moments viewers at home never saw — including an encounter between Madonna and Swift (more on that in a second). The venue felt at once intimate and immense, its expansive stage anchored by a towering Moon Person. Early arrivals watched the production crew make last-minute preparations and deliver instructions to the enthusiastic fans recruited to surround the stage.
Once the show got underway, the mixture of veteran acts (Madonna, host Snoop Dogg) and newer faces (LISA, Sienna Spiro) kept the audience engaged. Seemingly the biggest in-venue response went to the Michael tribute, where the audience was on its feet the entire time — no doubt thanks to the fact that Michael’s sterling catalog of hits was well-known by the crowd.
Here’s a rundown of some of the moments viewers did not see at home on TV during the MTV Video Music Awards.
A lot of the awards at the 2026 MTV VMAs on Sunday (Sept. 27) went pretty much as expected. We all knew Madonna was going to win best long-form video for Confessions II — The Film. Madonna had been the first winner in the category in 1991 for The Immaculate Collection, and a repeat win would make a nice bookend for her unparalleled VMAs career. Sure enough, she did win that award.
BTS’ three wins, capping a big comeback year, were also expected.
But that doesn’t mean there were no snubs and surprises in the show, which ran a little over two hours.
Madonna opened the show in what was her first performance at the VMAs in 23 years. It was her fifth time opening the show, which set a new VMAs record.
There were two tributes to late, great artists. Kacey Musgraves performed a tribute to Dolly Parton. RAYE, SOMBR, Teddy Swims and Adam Lambert honored George Michael. In addition, Nirvana, which disbanded upon the suicide of lead singer and guitarist Kurt Cobain, received the video vanguard award.
Taylor Swift received the inaugural VMA Artist Director honors. In addition, the music video for Swift’s new single, “Patient Zero,” premiered at the awards.
Hosted by Snoop Dogg, the VMAs aired live from Los Angeles on Sunday, Sept. 27 (7:30-9:30 p.m. ET/4:30-6:30 p.m. PT) on CBS, simulcast on MTV and streaming on Paramount+ (Premium) in the U.S. The show will also be available globally the next day on Paramount+ and MTV. The VMAs were produced by Gunpowder & Sky. Van Toffler served as producer.
Here are some of the biggest snubs and surprises from the 2026 VMAs.
The 2026 MTV Video Music Awards got off to a rough start – at least for those of us watching at home. While those in attendance at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles (the show was held in L.A. thanks to host Snoop Dogg’s request/demand) witnessed a show that started on time, everyone elsewhere who tuned into CBS/MTV or Paramount+ at 7:30 p.m. ET saw either a Donnie Wahlberg-hosted trip down VMAs memory lane or the end of the NFL game between the Dallas Cowboys and the Baltimore Ravens, respectively. Due to the football game, the 2026 VMAs hit screens 22 minutes late, which was irritating and seemingly something that a little preplanning could have prevented before it became an issue.
Thankfully, the show started off strong with one of the most iconic MTV artists of all time (more on that below) bringing out a coterie of cameos for a one-two dancefloor punch. By the time the night was over, Madonna was the night’s big winner, taking home seven Moon Person trophies (three of them on the telecast). Taylor Swift was awarded the inaugural artist director honors, after which she premiered her self-directed “Patient Zero” music video (which is now on Spotify) and won the coveted video of the year trophy for “The Fate of Ophelia” video (which she also wrote and directed). Plus, the surviving members of Nirvana (Dave Grohl, Krist Novoselic and a cig-smoking Pat Smear) showed up for Nirvana to receive the MTV video vanguard award three decades after the death of frontman Kurt Cobain.
But which performances stood out? Who soared and who bored? Below is our ranking of the 2026 VMAs performances from least mode to beast mode.
Gener8ion and Yung Lean made their MTV Video Music Awards debut on Sunday (Sept. 27), bringing their chaotic “Storm” visual to the 2026 VMAs stage at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles as the final performance of the night.
Under his Gener8ion alias, French producer Surkin and Yung Lean teamed up with director Romain Gavras to helm the “Storm” visual in April, which caught fire online and boasts more than 26 million views.
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Yung Lean and Gener8ion brought the clip to life at the VMAs. It finds the Swedish rapper playing an intimidating bully at a British boarding school set in 2034.
In a disheveled schoolboy look, Lean smashes a Moon Person and heads to the center of a group of students. They remake the viral portion of their visual, which creates a mesmerizing hallucinatory effect around Lean, with his dancing classmates making a tidal wave with their synchronized choreography.
Lean casually munches on an ice cream and walks toward the camera, spitting on the lens and wiping it with his dessert to close out the unique performance.
“One of the best performances of the night at the #VMAs is, without a doubt, this one from GENER8ION and Yung Lean giving it their all in ‘STORM II,’” one fan gushed on X.
The seven-minute “Storm” short film picked up four nominations: video of the year, best choreography, best direction and best long-form video.
“Storm I” and “Storm II” landed on Gener8ion’s Love & Tears album in June. Yung Lean has been busy as well, contributing “That’s It” alongside Metro Boomin and Future to the GTA VI: The Album soundtrack earlier in September.
Watch the “Storm” performance below.
Madonna was the big winner at the 2026 MTV VMAs, which went down on Sunday (Sept. 27). Madonna won a total of seven awards, the most of any artist on the night. Madonna has now won 26 VMAs in competition, which puts her just behind Taylor Swift (32) and Beyoncé (29) on the all-time leaderboard.
BTS received three awards, which made them the night’s runners-up. Swift, Sabrina Carpenter and Ariana Grande each won two awards. BTS and Grande were not present at the Peacock Theater at L.A. Live in Los Angeles to receive their awards, though Madonna and Swift were very visible.
Madonna opened the show in what was her first performance at the VMAs in 23 years. It was her fifth time opening the show, which set a new VMAs record. (She had been tied with Rihanna with four show-openers each.)
In addition to her two wins in competitive categories, Swift received the inaugural VMA Artist Director honors. Also, the music video for Swift’s new single, “Patient Zero,” premiered at the awards. Swift directed the video, which stars Colin Farrell and Dakota Johnson.
There were two tributes to late, great artists. Kacey Musgraves performed a tribute to Dolly Parton. RAYE, SOMBR, Teddy Swims and Adam Lambert honored George Michael. In addition, Nirvana, which disbanded upon the suicide of lead singer and guitarist Kurt Cobain, received the video vanguard award.
Hosted by Snoop Dogg, the VMAs aired live from Los Angeles on Sunday on CBS, simulcast on MTV and streaming on Paramount+ (Premium) in the U.S. The show will also be available globally the next day on Paramount+ and MTV. The VMAs were produced by Gunpowder & Sky. Van Toffler served as producer.
Here are some of the records that were set at the 2026 MTV VMAs.
It was a rockin’ mix of iconic and up-and-coming when the stars began to arrive on the red carpet for the 2026 MTV Video Music Awards on Sunday (Sept. 17) at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles.
Among the musical acts showing off their looks were the surviving members of Nirvana (Dave Grohl, Krist Novoselic and Pat Smear), who struck a pose in rocker chic black, ready to accept the Video Vanguard Award; Public Enemy’s Chuck D and Flavor Flav showed up prepared to fight the power; BLACKPINK’s LISA — who is set to perform and is nominated for four Moon People — was spicy in a red ensemble; sombr, who will perform a tribute to the late George Michael, showed off his appeal with a belt buckle that declared “sex”; and performer RAYE, who will also honor George Michael, dazzled in a figure-hugging silver number.
Going into the evening, legendary artist Madonna leads in VMA nominations with a lucky 13, while Taylor Swift — who will be premiering the video for her new single, “Patient Zero” during the ceremony — is close on her heals with 11. Other top nominees include Sabrina Carpenter with nine; Ariana Grande with eight; Bruno Mars at seven; Ella Langley, PinkPantheress and Zara Larsson boasting five a piece; and Charli xcx, LISA, Olivia Rodrigo, Yung Lean and GENER8ION with four each.
Hip-hop icon Snoop Dogg hosts the 2026 ceremony, which airs live from coast to coast on MTV, CBS and streaming on Paramount+. In addition to the Moon People who will be handed out during the ceremony, there will also be special tributes, including the aforementioned nod to George Michael by sombr, RAYE as well as Teddy Swims. Late, great country icon Dolly Parton, who died Aug. 25 at age 80, will also be honored with a performance by Kacey Musgraves.
See some of the best photos from the 2026 VMAs red carpet below: