Madonna is officially making her way back to the VMAs.
The pop icon will open the 2026 MTV Video Music Awards on Sunday, Sept. 27, marking her first performance at the show in 23 years. The announcement brings one of the VMAs’ most familiar faces back to the stage — and it comes as Madonna enters this year’s ceremony as the most-nominated artist of the night.
Her last VMAs performance came in 2003, when she famously opened the show with Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera. The performance became an instant pop culture talking point, making Madonna’s 2026 return a pretty major full-circle moment.
And if there’s one thing Madonna knows how to do at the VMAs, it’s make an entrance. She has earned 19 competitive VMAs wins throughout her career and has made plenty of history at the show, from her groundbreaking “Like a Virgin” performance at the inaugural 1984 ceremony to becoming the first solo female artist to receive the Video Vanguard Award in 1986. She later delivered some of the ceremony’s most memorable performances with “Express Yourself” in 1989, “Vogue” in 1990 and “Bye Bye Baby” in 1993.
Now, she’s returning to the stage as the most-nominated artist of the 2026 ceremony, with a career-high 11 nominations following the release of her No. 1 album Confessions II. She’s up for some of the night’s biggest awards, including Video of the Year, Artist of the Year, Song of the Year and Best Collaboration, giving her another shot at adding to her already impressive VMA collection.
That makes Madonna’s return just one of the many things fans have to look forward to when the VMAs take over Los Angeles later this month. She joins the growing list of celebrities, artists and nominees that are set to make appearances at the big show, which recently added Snoop Dogg as host last week and Nirvana as Video Vanguard Recipients the week prior.
Last month, MTV revealed the nominees across 19-gender-neutral categories, and Taylor Swift is not too far from Madonna behind with nine nominations, looking to add to her 30 Moon Person awards; followed by Ariana Grande and Sabrina Carpenter with seven each; Bruno Mars and PinkPantheress and Zara Larsson with five each; LISA with four; and Shakira and Tate McRae with three each. In addition, GENER8IONand Yung Lean (3 each), and CORTIS and Stella Lefty (2 each), Don Toliver, Kali Uchis, Noah Kahan, Olivia Dean, Sienna Spiro and Tucker Wetmore are among the many earning their first-ever VMA nominations. This year, MTV has brought back the Best Dance category for the first time in seven years, which is presented by BACARDÍ Rum. To view a full list of nominees, click here.
Fans can vote for their favorites by visiting vote.mtv.com thru Sept. 25 at 6:00 PM, ET, except Best New Artist, presented by The General Insurance®, which remains active into show. Additionally, fans can get double the votes per category every day during Power Hour presented by BACARDÍ® Rum, running daily 1-2PM ET from August 20 through September 24.
Hosted by Snoop Dogg, the 2026 MTV VMAs air LIVE from Los Angeles for the first time since 2017 on Sunday, September 27th @ 8PM ET/5PM PT on the CBS Television Network, simulcast on MTV and streaming on Paramount+ (Premium) in the U.S.
