2026 MTV VMAs: Madonna Dominates as Taylor Swift, BTS, LISA and More Take Home Moon Persons

The 2026 MTV Video Music Awards delivered a night of major wins, career milestones and high profile performances Sunday, Sept. 27, at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles, with Snoop Dogg serving as host.

Leading the night was Madonna, who entered the ceremony with 13 nominations and walked away with seven awards, the most of any artist this year. Her victories included Artist of the Year and Best Album for Confessions II, while Confessions II: The Film earned honors for Best Dance, Best Long Form Video, Best Cinematography and Best Choreography. She also shared Best Collaboration with Sabrina Carpenter for “Bring Your Love.”

Taylor Swift claimed one of the ceremony’s biggest prizes, taking home Video of the Year for “The Fate of Ophelia.” She also won Best Direction for “Opalite” and received MTV’s inaugural Artist Director Honors, recognizing her work behind the camera.

It was also a major evening for BTS, who won Song of the Year and Best K-Pop for “Swim,” along with Best Group. The three victories added to the group’s long history at the VMAs.

Among the night’s other notable winners, SIENNA SPIRO was named Best New Artist, while LISA won Best Pop for “Dream,” featuring Kentaro Sakaguchi. Ariana Grande’s “Hate That I Made You Love Me” was named Song of Summer and also picked up Best Visual Effects.

Genre categories brought wins for several other major artists. Cardi B and Kehlani took Best Hip-Hop for “Safe,” Bruno Mars won Best R&B with “I Just Might,” and Olivia Rodrigo earned Best Alternative for “The Cure.” Bad Bunny claimed Best Latin for “NUEVAYoL,” while Ella Langley took Best Country with “Choosin’ Texas.”

Sabrina Carpenter added another trophy beyond her collaboration with Madonna, winning Best Editing for “House Tour.” PinkPantheress and Zara Larsson’s “Stateside” earned Best Art Direction.

The ceremony also featured performances from artists including Madonna, LISA, RAYE, Yung Lean and Gunna, while Kacey Musgraves took part in a tribute to the late Dolly Parton.

Here is the complete list of winners from the 2026 MTV VMAs:

• Video of the Year: Taylor Swift, “The Fate of Ophelia”
• Artist of the Year: Madonna
• Song of the Year: BTS, “Swim”
• Best New Artist: SIENNA SPIRO
• Best Collaboration: Madonna & Sabrina Carpenter, “Bring Your Love”
• Best Pop: LISA feat. Kentaro Sakaguchi, “Dream”
• Best Hip-Hop: Cardi B feat. Kehlani, “Safe”
• Best R&B: Bruno Mars, “I Just Might”
• Best Alternative: Olivia Rodrigo, “The Cure”
• Best Dance: Madonna, Confessions II: The Film
• Best Latin: Bad Bunny, “NUEVAYoL”
• Best K-Pop: BTS, “Swim”
• Best Country: Ella Langley, “Choosin’ Texas”
• Best Group: BTS
• Best Long Form Video: Madonna, Confessions II: The Film
• Best Album: Madonna, Confessions II
• Song of Summer: Ariana Grande, “Hate That I Made You Love Me”
• Best Direction: Taylor Swift, “Opalite”
• Best Art Direction: PinkPantheress & Zara Larsson, “Stateside”
• Best Cinematography: Madonna, Confessions II: The Film
• Best Editing: Sabrina Carpenter, “House Tour”
• Best Choreography: Madonna, Confessions II: The Film
• Best Visual Effects: Ariana Grande, “Hate That I Made You Love Me”

With seven trophies, Madonna emerged as the most awarded artist of the 2026 ceremony, while Swift, BTS, Grande and Carpenter were among the other multiple winners. The results capped another year in which the VMAs reflected a wide mix of pop, K-pop, hip-hop, R&B, country and alternative music across its biggest categories.