2026 MTV Video Music Awards Audiences were captivated Sunday night as Madonna performed her high-energy dance routines and Taylor Swift made history.
Here are the highlights from the 2026 VMAs.
Madonna performs with Sabrina Carpenter and Charli XCX
Madonna took the VMA stage at the Peacock Theater in downtown Los Angeles and performed at the awards show for the first time in more than 20 years, announcing: “She’s the mother.”
He opened the show with new iconic images from his latest album, “Confessions II,” including green lasers and armies of cameras following him and Sabrina Carpenter.
The duo performed “Bring Your Love” together, which later won Best Collaboration, before Madonna moved on to another dance-heavy club number, “Danceteria” with Charli XCX. The performance featured many stars who starred in “Confessions II – The Movie”, including Debi Mazar and Julia Garner.
Madonna later took home the Artist of the Year award.
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Kacey Musgraves pays tribute to Dolly Parton
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Kacey Musgraves paid tribute Dolly Parton after the VMAs on Sunday played a short video of the late country music superstar. Musgraves sang Parton’s song “I Will Always Love You,” which she released in 1974 and later gained a second life when it was recorded by the late Whitney Houston.
Parton, one of the most groundbreaking and successful musicians in country music history, died last month after a brief battle with cancer.
LISA performs “SaWaDiKa”
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K-Pop star LISA performed her new single “SaWaDiKa” during the song’s TV debut. Part of the performance also featured the singer riding in front of Thailand’s iconic tuk-tuk taxi.
Earlier in the night, he received the Best Pop award for “Dream feat. Kentaro Sakaguchi”.
Nirvana receives Video Pioneer award
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The surviving members of genre-defining grunge band Nirvana have been presented with the Video Vanguard award for their contribution to the form.
The tribute also included archival footage of late frontman Kurt Cobain discussing the process behind the making of several of the band’s videos, including “Smells Like Teen Spirit,” “Come As You Are” and “Heart-Shaped Box.”
Taylor Swift makes history at VMAs and releases “Patient Zero” music video
The VMAs also brought a milestone Taylor SwiftHe is the first recipient of the VMAs’ Artist Director’s Honor, which organizers say recognizes artists whose “behind-the-scenes work expands the possibilities of music videos and advances the art of visual storytelling.”
Swift thanked her fans and everyone she has worked with on her music videos. He then premiered the music video for his new single, “Patient Zero,” starring Dakota Johnson and Colin Farrell.
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The new award and the other accolades she won Sunday night made Swift the show’s most-awarded artist ever, with 33 VMAs. She was previously tied with Beyoncé, a 30 Moon Person.
Swift also won Video of the Year and Best Directing, and was nominated in nine other categories, and paid tribute to “best showgirl” Dolly Parton in her acceptance speech for the night’s final award.
“I think we’re all very lucky to share this planet with Dolly Parton for a while,” he said.
Madonna won a big victory
In addition to her opening performance, Madonna also drew a large number of Moon Persons on Sunday.
The Queen of Pop was nominated in 13 categories, the most of any artist, and took home seven awards: Artist of the Year, Best Collaboration, Best Dance, Best Feature Video, Best Album, Best Cinematography and Best Choreography.
She now has 27 VMAs in her career.
“It’s been a long time since I’ve done one of these,” Madonna said as she accepted her first award of the night. “So I didn’t prepare anything.”
Later, accepting the Artist of the Year award, he joked: “First of all, I want to thank my fingers because I can always count on them.”
Swift’s three awards, including the Artist Director Honor, tied her with K-Pop star BTS for the second-most wins of the night.