Madonna Tops 2026 MTV VMA Nominations With 13 Nods After Update

Forty-two years after she crawled across the stage in a wedding dress and rewired pop culture forever, Madonna is back at the top of the MTV VMA leaderboard — and she's not letting go. According to Billboard, the Queen of Pop now commands 13 nominations heading into the Sept. 27 ceremony at the Peacock Theatre in Los Angeles, the most of any artist in this year's race.

A Personal Best, Decades in the Making

The last time Madonna sat atop the VMA nominations chart was 1998, the year "Ray of Light" swept her to video of the year glory. Before that, 1990 — the era of "Vogue" — saw her leading the pack with nine nominations. This cycle shatters both of those benchmarks. Her 14-minute opus "Confessions II – The Film" anchors the nomination haul with a video of the year bid, placing her alongside two other past winners in that marquee slot: Ariana Grande ("hate that i made you love me") and Taylor Swift ("The Fate of Ophelia"). Bruno Mars, Sabrina Carpenter, and the audiovisual collective GENER8ION round out that fiercely competitive category.

The longer-form video trend that's reshaped the VMA conversation is clearly alive and well here. Swift's "All Too Well: The Short Film" clocked in at 15 minutes when it won in 2022; Grande's "Brighter Days Ahead" stretched to 26 minutes for last year's victory. Madonna's 14-minute "Confessions II" fits squarely in that cinematic lane — a format she helped pioneer long before it was fashionable.

The Full Nomination Picture

After CBS and MTV unveiled four additional social-vote categories on Sept. 18 — best long-form video, best group, best album, and song of summer — the updated leaderboard shook out like this: Madonna (13), Taylor Swift (11), Sabrina Carpenter (nine), Ariana Grande (eight), Bruno Mars (six, making him the year's top male nominee), PinkPantheress and Zara Larsson (five each), and a cluster including Charli XCX, Ella Langley, GENER8ION, KATSEYE, LISA, Olivia Rodrigo, and Yung Lean at four apiece.

Seven of the eight most-nominated artists this year are women — a striking statistic that reflects a broader power shift in mainstream pop. The best dance category also makes a welcome return after a seven-year absence, and Madonna is among the nominees; it's a category she has never won despite being eligible since its 1989 debut.

On the artist of the year front, Madonna earns her first-ever nomination in the category — a notable gap finally closed. Grande leads that race with a record-extending sixth nomination, while Swift trails with five. Morgan Wallen brings country credibility for the second consecutive year, alongside Mars, Carpenter, and Madonna.

What's at Stake on the Night

Beyond the trophies themselves, this VMA cycle signals something bigger for Madonna's ongoing renaissance. She arrives at this moment with real cultural wind behind her — a chart resurgence, a devoted fanbase fueled by the "Confessions II" project, and an industry that's clearly paying attention again.

The show airs live from the Peacock Theatre on Sunday, Sept. 27 (7:30–9:30 p.m. ET / 4:30–6:30 p.m. PT) on CBS, simulcasting on MTV and streaming on Paramount+. It marks the first VMA broadcast from the Los Angeles area since 2017, the first fall airdate in the show's history, and the second consecutive year on CBS.

Fan voting for 13 categories runs through Sept. 25 at 6 p.m. ET at vote.MTV.com, with a daily "Power Hour" doubling votes between 1–2 p.m. ET. Best new artist voting stays open through the live broadcast.

With 13 nominations and a cinematic legacy that refuses to sit still, Madonna isn't just competing at the 2026 VMAs — she's headlining the conversation.