Madonna grabbed more 2026 MTV Video Music Awards nominations than any other artist, 11 in all, returning to the top of a ceremony that once made her famous, while country star Morgan Wallen landed just one nod despite owning the year's best-selling album.
MTV announced the full slate of nominees Tuesday morning across 19 categories, with the September 27 ceremony set to air live from the Peacock Theatre in Los Angeles on CBS, MTV, and Paramount+. The two-hour broadcast, scheduled for 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. Eastern, marks the first time the VMAs have landed on the West Coast in nine years, the last Los Angeles edition was the 2017 show hosted by Katy Perry at the venue then known as the Forum.
Madonna's haul spans nearly every corner of the ballot. Her video "Confessions II, The Film" earned nominations for Video of the Year, Best Dance, Best Direction, Best Art Direction, Best Cinematography, Best Editing, Best Choreography, and Best Visual Effects. Her collaboration with Sabrina Carpenter, "Bring Your Love," picked up Best Collaboration and Song of the Year nods, and she rounds out the count with an Artist of the Year nomination. Variety first reported the full nominee list Tuesday.
Taylor Swift followed with nine nominations. Her video "The Fate of Ophelia" earned Video of the Year, Best Pop, Best Direction, Best Art Direction, Best Cinematography, Best Editing, Best Choreography, and Best Visual Effects recognition, while a separate video, "Opalite," also landed in Best Direction. Swift earned an Artist of the Year nod as well.
Ariana Grande and Sabrina Carpenter each collected seven nominations. Grande's "Hate That I Made You Love Me" appeared in Video of the Year, Best Pop, Best Direction, Best Cinematography, Best Editing, and Best Visual Effects, plus Artist of the Year. Carpenter matched that total through her solo entries, "Tears" for Video of the Year and "House Tour" for Best Pop, Best Direction, and Best Editing, along with the Madonna collaboration and Artist of the Year.
Bruno Mars, Zara Larsson, and PinkPantheress each earned five nominations. Blackpink's Lisa picked up four. Tate McRae and Shakira grabbed three apiece.
Then there is Morgan Wallen. The country artist's sole nomination, Artist of the Year, stands out for what it says about the VMAs' priorities. Wallen moved the most albums of any artist this year. MTV gave him one slot on the ballot. Artists with a fraction of his commercial reach walked away with nomination counts that dwarf his. The VMAs have always leaned pop and hip-hop, but a single nod for the biggest-selling album in the country tells its own story about whose audience MTV values and whose it does not.
Fans can cast ballots at vote.mtv.com through September 25 in 13 of the 19 categories. The Best New Artist category stays open for fan votes through the live telecast itself, giving that race a longer runway than any other.
The remaining six categories, presumably the craft awards like Best Direction, Best Cinematography, Best Art Direction, Best Editing, Best Choreography, and Best Visual Effects, appear to fall outside the fan-voting window, though MTV has not publicly detailed the selection process for those slots.
Several big names landed with just two nominations each: Olivia Rodrigo, BTS, Ella Langley, Harry Styles, Katseye, and Charli xcx. Rodrigo's "Drop Dead" earned a Best Pop nod and "The Cure" picked up Best Alternative. BTS scored Song of the Year and Best K-Pop for "Swim." Ella Langley's "Choosin' Texas" earned Song of the Year and Best Country recognition.
MTV has not revealed a host for the September 27 broadcast. The return to Los Angeles after nine years gives the network a chance to recapture some of the spectacle that defined earlier West Coast editions, though the Peacock Theatre is a smaller, more controlled venue than the Forum.
Production company Gunpowder & Sky is handling the show, led by MTV veteran Van Toffler. Executive producers include Jesse Ignjatovic of Den of Thieves, Barbara Bialkowski, Bruce Gillmer, Barry Barclay, and Floris Bauer, with Melanie Block and Gary Lanvy serving as co-executive producer and co-producer.
The nomination list tilts overwhelmingly toward pop, dance, and international acts. Country music earned a handful of entries, Wallen's lone Artist of the Year nod and Langley's two nominations, but the genre remains an afterthought on a ballot dominated by the same coastal-friendly acts MTV has always preferred. Millions of Americans who buy country records, fill stadiums, and stream albums at historic rates get a pat on the head and a single line on the card.
Awards shows can nominate whoever they like. But when the year's top-selling artist barely registers on the ballot, the ceremony is telling you who it is for, and, more importantly, who it is not.
