The 2026 VMA nominations are out and Madonna somehow leads the pack

Madonna just out nominated Taylor Swift at her own game, and the VMAs list is proof pop's old guard is not handing anything over without a fight.

The Queen of Pop leads 2026's MTV VMA nominations with 11 nods, ahead of Swift on nine, while Sabrina Carpenter and Ariana Grande are tied on seven each. Madonna's haul includes Video of the Year for Confessions II: The Film, plus Artist of the Year, Best Dance and a string of technical categories. She also shares a nomination with Carpenter for their collaboration Bring Your Love, so she is basically nominated against herself in places.

Video of the Year is stacked. Madonna's Confessions II: The Film goes up against Swift's The Fate of Ophelia, Grande's Hate That I Made You Love Me, Bruno Mars' I Just Might, Carpenter's Tear and Gener8ion's Storm featuring Yung Lean. Artist of the Year rounds out with Morgan Wallen joining Madonna, Swift, Grande, Mars and Carpenter.

The bigger story is who did not make the cut. Olivia Rodrigo picked up nominations for Best Pop and Best Alternative but her cinematic single the cure was left out of Video of the Year entirely, which a lot of people are calling the snub of the year. Rising Slovak pop artist Adéla also missed a Best New Artist nod despite a Capitol Records deal, a Demi Lovato support slot and becoming the first Slovak act to chart on the Hot 100, losing out to names like Malcolm Todd and Myles Smith instead.

What makes this year's list genuinely interesting is the vibe shift. A ceremony built to champion whoever is dominating the charts right now is currently being topped by a woman who has been doing this since the eighties. Madonna leading over Swift, Carpenter and Grande, three artists at completely different points in their pop dominance, says something about how the industry still cannot resist rewarding a legacy act putting on a show.

The VMAs air live from the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles on 27 September, on CBS, MTV and Paramount Plus. Place your bets now on whether Madonna's era defining comeback actually beats Swift on the night, or whether this is one of those nomination leads that quietly evaporates come award time.