MTV's full nominations list, released Tuesday, puts Madonna back atop the leaderboard for the first time since 1998.
Madonna has emerged as the leading nominee for the 2026 MTV Video Music Awards, collecting 11 nominations to top a field that includes Taylor Swift with nine, MTV announced Tuesday, August 18, 2026. The full nominations list, published by Billboard and corroborated by ABC News, CBS News, Variety, the Associated Press and other outlets, spans the ceremony's top categories as well as a wide range of technical and genre-specific awards. Madonna's tally includes nods in Video of the Year, Artist of the Year and Song of the Year, alongside craft categories such as direction, art direction, cinematography, editing, choreography and visual effects.
The announcement marks a striking career milestone for the 68-year-old artist, who has now been nominated at the VMAs in every decade since the show's 1984 debut. It is the first time since 1998 that Madonna has led the nominations field outright, a distinction that places her ahead of a roster of contemporary pop stars in this year's competitive field.
Madonna's Nominated Works Drive Her Record Haul
Madonna's 11 nominations are anchored by two projects. Her short film "Confessions II – The Film" is nominated for Video of the Year and picks up additional nods across direction, art direction, cinematography, editing, choreography and visual effects categories, according to Billboard's breakdown. Her collaboration with Sabrina Carpenter, "Bring Your Love," is nominated for both Song of the Year and Best Collaboration, adding further weight to her overall count.
Those nominations also touch Best Dance and Best Pop, rounding out a field that spans nearly every major branch of the VMA ballot. CBS News noted that Madonna is competing for what it called the "top 3 prizes" — video, artist and song of the year — a rare feat that underscores the breadth of her 2026 campaign.
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Taylor Swift and the Chasing Pack
Taylor Swift trails Madonna with nine nominations, driven largely by "The Fate of Ophelia," which is nominated for Video of the Year, Artist of the Year, Best Pop and several craft categories including direction, art direction, cinematography, editing, choreography and visual effects. Swift's presence at the top of the nominations list continues an extended run of VMA recognition; she has already won a record 30 Moon Person trophies, and a single additional win in 2026 would extend that record further, according to Yahoo and Billboard's coverage.
Ariana Grande and Sabrina Carpenter each landed seven nominations. Grande's "Hate That I Made You Love Me" is nominated for Video of the Year, Best Pop and multiple craft categories. Carpenter is recognized for both "Tears," also up for Video of the Year, and "House Tour," nominated in Best Pop and direction, in addition to her Song of the Year and Best Collaboration nods for "Bring Your Love" with Madonna. Bruno Mars, PinkPantheress and Zara Larsson each earned five nominations, with Mars's "I Just Might" featured in Video of the Year and direction categories, and PinkPantheress and Larsson recognized jointly for "Stateside" in Song of the Year and related pop and visual categories.
Top Categories Reflect a Female-Led Ballot
The Video of the Year category features Ariana Grande's "Hate That I Made You Love Me," Bruno Mars's "I Just Might," GENER8ION's "STORM starring Yung Lean," Madonna's "Confessions II – The Film," Sabrina Carpenter's "Tears" and Taylor Swift's "The Fate of Ophelia." Artist of the Year nominees include Grande, Mars, Madonna, Morgan Wallen, Carpenter and Swift.
Song of the Year brings together a broader mix of acts, including BTS for "Swim," Ella Langley for "Choosin' Texas," Huntr/X for "Golden," Madonna and Carpenter for "Bring Your Love," Olivia Dean for "Man I Need," PinkPantheress and Larsson for "Stateside," and Raye for "WHERE IS MY HUSBAND!!." Billboard's coverage points out that all the lead nominees in Best Pop are women, a detail echoed across other outlets' reporting on the ballot's composition this year.
What a Sweep Would Mean for VMA History
Should Madonna sweep all 11 of her nominations, she would tie Beyoncé and Taylor Swift for the most VMA wins in history, according to CBS News' reporting on the stakes tied to this year's ceremony. That framing has positioned the 2026 VMAs as a notable chapter in the award show's history, pitting one of its founding icons against the artist who currently holds its all-time win record.
MTV's announcement did not include details on the ceremony's date, venue or hosting arrangements in the material reviewed, with coverage so far focused squarely on the nominations themselves. Outlets including Billboard, Variety, ABC News, CBS News and the Associated Press have independently confirmed the same core nomination counts and category breakdowns, with no substantive factual discrepancies reported among them.
