VMAs 2026 nominations: Madonna leads with 11, Taylor Swift gets 9, BTS score 2

Madonna leads the 2026 MTV Video Music Awards nominations with 11 nods, Taylor Swift follows with nine, and BTS have scored two nominations for their comeback track SWIM. The nominations bring together some of the biggest names in pop, hip-hop, K-pop, Latin, and country music, with Madonna once again at the center of the VMA conversation. Swift follows Madonna with nine nominations, while Ariana Grande and Sabrina Carpenter each have seven. Bruno Mars, PinkPantheress, and Zara Larsson each have five nominations. BLACKPINK’s LISA has four nominations, and Shakira and Tate McRae each have three. For BTS, SWIM has earned nominations for Song of the Year and Best K-Pop. The Song of the Year nod puts BTS in one of the ceremony’s major categories, alongside Madonna and Sabrina Carpenter’s Bring Your Love, HUNTR/X’s Golden, Olivia Dean’s Man I Need, PinkPantheress’ Stateside + Zara Larsson, and RAYE’s WHERE IS MY HUSBAND!. BTS’ second nomination comes in Best K-Pop, where SWIM will compete against BLACKPINK’s JUMP, CORTIS’ REDRED, KATSEYE’s PINKY UP, LE SSERAFIM’s SPAGHETTI featuring BTS’ j-hope, and LISA’s Dream feat. Kentaro Sakaguchi. The nominations also highlight Madonna’s long-running VMA legacy, with her recognized across major and technical categories for Confessions II - The Film, including Video of the Year, Artist of the Year, Song of the Year, Best Dance, Best Direction, Best Art Direction, Best Cinematography, Best Editing, Best Choreography, and Best Visual Effects. Taylor Swift, with 30 VMA wins, is tied with Beyoncé for the most Moon Person trophies and would secure the record with a win this year. The 2026 ceremony will reintroduce the Best Dance category after seven years. Fan voting is open across 13 categories, while Best New Artist voting remains open through the ceremony. The 2026 MTV VMAs will take place in Los Angeles on September 27.