Madonna Is Turning the 2026 VMAs Into Danceteria

There’s a whole new crop of pop girlies to smooch, so it makes perfect sense that Madonna will be performing at MTV’s Video Music Awards for the first time in 23 years. Just kidding — it’s because she leads the pack this year for nominations. Confessions II earned Mads 11 nods, ahead of other stars like Taylor Swift (nine), Sabrina Carpenter, and Ariana Grande (seven each). Here’s everything we know about the 2026 VMAs.

Who is performing at the VMAs?

So far only Madonna has been announced, but it seems likely many of the nominated acts will be plugging their projects. Tate McRae has so many more substances to dunk herself in, after all.

It’s also likely someone will be doing a tribute to Nirvana, as they will be this year’s Video Vanguard recipients. Maybe Violet Grohl? Maybe Yungblud? He’s always tributing rock stars of yore. Presumably Dave Grohl and Krist Novoselic (and Pat Smear?) will be accepting the award on behalf of the band. But if Courtney Love does it instead, we have a chance to re-create the best VMAs red-carpet moment of all time: when Love crashed Madonna’s interview with Kurt Loder.

Who is hosting?

Snoop Dogg was announced as this year’s host on September 10. Expect at least one Martha Stewart pretaped segment. “Some of the biggest moments of my career happened on that stage, and on MTV, they gave hip hop a place to be loud, fearless and seen by the whole world,” Snoop said in a statement to press. “So to come back now and host the VMAs, all these years later, that’s a full-circle moment for me.” Fittingly, this will be the first West Coast VMAs in ten years.

How do I watch the 2026 VMAs?

The MTV Video Music Awards are on September 27. The show will broadcast live on CBS and MTV and will stream live on Paramount+.