The 2026 MTV Video Music Awards took place Sunday, Sept. 27, at Los Angeles’ Peacock Theater, with Snoop Dogg hosting the ceremony. Madonna led the night with seven Moon Person wins, while Taylor Swift took Video of the Year and received the inaugural Artist Director Honors. BTS also had a major night, collecting three awards, while LISA, Sienna Spiro, Ella Langley and other artists picked up individual honors.
Taylor Swift won Video of the Year for “The Fate of Ophelia,” defeating Ariana Grande’s “hate that i made you love me,” Bruno Mars’ “I Just Might,” GENER8ION’s “STORM starring Yung Lean,” Madonna’s “Confessions II – The Film” and Sabrina Carpenter’s “Tears.” Swift also won Best Direction for “Opalite” and received the inaugural MTV VMA Artist Director Honors.
Madonna was named Artist of the Year and also won Best Collaboration with Sabrina Carpenter for “Bring Your Love.” Her “Confessions II – The Film” won Best Dance, Best Cinematography, Best Choreography and Best Long Form Video, while her Confessions II album won Best Album.
BTS won Song of the Year for “SWIM,” Best K-Pop for the same song and Best Group. LISA, meanwhile, won Best Pop for “Dream” featuring Kentaro Sakaguchi. Sienna Spiro received Best New Artist, marking one of the ceremony’s notable breakthrough-artist wins.
In the genre categories, Cardi B featuring Kehlani won Best Hip-Hop for “Safe,” Bruno Mars won Best R&B for “I Just Might,” Olivia Rodrigo won Best Alternative for “the cure,” Bad Bunny won Best Latin for “NUEVAYoL,” BTS won Best K-Pop for “SWIM,” and Ella Langley won Best Country for “Choosin’ Texas.”
The Best Collaboration award went to Madonna and Sabrina Carpenter for “Bring Your Love.” The song competed against Clipse, Kendrick Lamar, Pusha T and Malice’s “Chains & Whips,” French Montana and Max B’s “Ever Since U Left Me,” PinkPantheress and Zara Larsson’s “Stateside,” Shakira and Burna Boy’s “Dai Dai,” and Teyana Taylor and Lucky Daye’s “Hard Part.”
The creative categories produced several additional winners. Taylor Swift won Best Direction for “Opalite,” PinkPantheress and Zara Larsson won Best Art Direction for “Stateside,” Madonna won Best Cinematography for “Confessions II – The Film,” Sabrina Carpenter won Best Editing for “House Tour,” Madonna won Best Choreography for “Confessions II – The Film,” and Ariana Grande won Best Visual Effects for “hate that i made you love me.”
In the remaining categories, BTS won Best Group, Madonna won Best Long Form Video for “Confessions II – The Film” and Best Album for Confessions II, while Ariana Grande won Song of Summer for “hate that i made you love me.”
Nirvana received the Video Vanguard Award, with surviving members Dave Grohl, Krist Novoselic and Pat Smear accepting the honor during the ceremony. Taylor Swift’s Artist Director Honors represented a newly introduced award recognizing artists whose work behind the camera has expanded music-video storytelling.
The 2026 ceremony also featured performances and tributes from Madonna, LISA, RAYE, Sombr, Teddy Swims, Adam Lambert, Kacey Musgraves, Sienna Spiro, Shaboozey, Gunna, GENER8ION and Yung Lean. RAYE, Sombr, Teddy Swims and Lambert participated in the George Michael tribute, while Musgraves performed in tribute to Dolly Parton.
With the final awards handed out, the complete 2026 MTV VMAs winners included Taylor Swift, Madonna, BTS, LISA, Sienna Spiro, Cardi B and Kehlani, Bruno Mars, Olivia Rodrigo, Bad Bunny, Ella Langley, Ariana Grande, PinkPantheress and Zara Larsson, Sabrina Carpenter, and Nirvana among the night’s honorees.
