The numbers make the pair the clearest headline names in a slate that also includes several of the artists who have dominated mainstream pop over the past few years.
The Video of the Year contest is particularly crowded. Bruno Mars, Ariana Grande and Sabrina Carpenter join Madonna and Swift in the category, while the Gener8ion and Yung Lean collaboration “Storm” gives the field a less predictable entry.
For Madonna, the nomination for Confessions II - The Film places a larger-format visual project alongside conventional music videos in the show's marquee race. Swift, meanwhile, enters with “The Fate of Ophelia,” one of the tracks associated with Life of a Showgirl.
Whatever happens when the awards are decided, Madonna has already won the arithmetic portion of the evening. Eleven nominations is difficult to overlook.
PinkPantheress and Zara Larsson score five nominations each
Beyond the two nomination leaders, PinkPantheress and Zara Larsson are among the most prominent names in the 2026 field with five nods apiece.
The pair are both represented in Song of the Year through their remix collaboration “Stateside,” giving the track a place in one of the ceremony's major categories.
The nominations underline a field that stretches beyond the biggest established pop acts. Geese, the New York rock band, received one nomination, with “Taxes” appearing in Best Alternative.
That nod is notable partly because of what is not on the list this year. While Best Alternative remains part of the announced categories, several other genre and artist awards familiar from previous VMAs are absent.
Several familiar VMA categories are missing this year
According to Billboard, nine categories that appeared in previous years were not included in the 2026 nominations announcement.
They are Best Rock, Best Afrobeats, Best Pop Artist, Push Performance of the Year, Best Album, Video for Good, Best Long-form Video, Best Group and Song of the Summer.
The absence of Best Rock is particularly striking given that Best Alternative remains, while the disappearance of Best Afrobeats removes a category that had given the globally dominant genre a dedicated place within the ceremony.
There is also no Best Album in the announced slate, meaning one of the industry's most traditional measures of an artist's year will not be part of the nominations as currently presented.
Song of the Summer is missing too — an unusually literal award for a show historically staged near the end of the season it is supposed to judge.
No explanation for the omissions was included in the supplied nomination information, so it would be premature to treat every missing category as permanently eliminated rather than simply absent from this year's announcement.
Video of the Year sets up the night's biggest contest
For now, the clearest competition is at the top of the ballot.
Madonna has the largest overall nomination count, but Video of the Year places her directly against Swift, Mars, Grande, Carpenter, Gener8ion and Yung Lean. That makes the category a collision between long-established stars, current pop heavyweights and one of the more unexpected collaborations in the nominations.
The 2026 VMAs field therefore arrives with two stories running at once: Madonna and Swift once again occupy the centre of pop's awards conversation, while the awards themselves appear to have been pared back in several areas.
For an event built around reinvention, the changes are not entirely out of character. The more immediate question is simpler: with 11 nominations to Swift's nine, Madonna enters this year's VMAs with the numerical advantage — and a Video of the Year race that could make that difference matter considerably less.
MTV VMAs 2026: the full list of nominees
Video of the Year
- Ariana Grande - Hate That I Made You Love Me
- Bruno Mars - I Just Might
- Gener8ion - Storm starring Yung Lean
- Madonna - Confessions II - The Film
- Sabrina Carpenter - Tears
- Taylor Swift - The Fate of Ophelia
Artist of the Year
- Ariana Grande
- Bruno Mars
- Madonna
- Morgan Wallen
- Sabrina Carpenter
- Taylor Swift
Song of the Year
- BTS - Swim
- Ella Langley - Choosin’ Texas
- Huntr/x - Golden
- Madonna & Sabrina Carpenter - Bring Your Love
- Olivia Dean - Man I Need
- PinkPantheress & Zara Larsson - Stateside
- Raye - Where Is My Husband!
Best New Artist, presented by The General Insurance®
- Bella Kay
- Cortis
- Magnus Ferrell
- Malcolm Todd
- Myles Smith
- Sienna Spiro
- Stella Lefty
Best Collaboration
- Clipse, Kendrick Lamar, Pusha T & Malice - Chains & Whips
- French Montana & Max B - Ever Since U Left Me
- Madonna & Sabrina Carpenter - Bring Your Love
- PinkPantheress & Zara Larsson - Stateside
- Shakira & Burna Boy - Dai Dai
- Teyana Taylor & Lucky Daye - Hard Part
Best Pop
- Ariana Grande - Hate That I Made You Love Me
- Charli xcx - SS26
- Lisa & Kentara Sakaguchi - Dream
- Olivia Rodrigo - Drop Dead
- Sabrina Carpenter - House Tour
- Tate McRae - Nobody’s Girl
- Taylor Swift - The Fate of Ophelia
Best Hip-Hop
- Cardi B & Kehlani - Safe
- Don Toliver - E85
- Drake - Janice STFU
- Megan Thee Stallion - Lover Girl
- Travis Scott - Dumbo
- Tyler, the Creator - Sugar on My Tongue
Best R&B
- Bruno Mars - I Just Might
- Chris Brown - It Depends/Obvious
- Dave & Tems - Raindance
- Justin Bieber - Yukon
- Kehlani - Folded
- Mariah the Scientist & Kali Uchis - Is It a Crime
Best Alternative
- Geese - Taxes
- MGK & Fred Durst - Fix Ur Face
- Noah Kahan - The Great Divide
- Olivia Rodrigo - The Cure
- Sombr - Homewrecker
- Tame Impala - Dracula
- Twenty One Pilots - Drag Path
Best Dance, presented by Bacardí® Rum
- Bebe Rexha & Faithless - New Religion
- Harry Styles - Aperture
- Lady Gaga & Doechii - Runway
- Madonna - Confessions II - The Film
- PinkPantheress & Zara Larsson - Stateside
- Slayyyter - Dance…
- Tate McRae - Nobody’s Girl
Best Latin
- Anitta & Shakira - Choka Choka
- Bad Bunny - Nuevayol
- Fuerza Regida - Tu Sancho
- Karol G - Papasito
- Rosalía & Yahritza y Su Esencia - La Perla
- Ryan Castro, Kapo & Gangsta - La Villa
- Shakira & Burna Boy - Dai Dai
Best K-Pop
- Blackpink - Jump
- BTS - Swim
- Cortis - RedRed
- Katseye - Pinky Up
- Le Sserafim & J-Hope of BTS - Spaghetti
- Lisa & Kentara Sakaguchi - Dream
Best Country
- Ella Langley - Choosin’ Texas
- Kacey Musgraves - Dry Spell
- Lainey Wilson - Somewhere Over Laredo
- Luke Combs - Back in the Saddle
- Shaboozey - Cowgirl
- Stella Lefty - Boston
- Tucker Wetmore - Brunette
Best Direction
- Ariana Grande - Hate That I Made You Love Me
- Bruno Mars - I Just Might
- Gener8ion - Storm starring Yung Lean
- Madonna - Confessions II - The Film
- Sabrina Carpenter - House Tour
- Taylor Swift - Opalite
Best Art Direction
- Charli xcx - SS26
- Lady Gaga & Doechii - Runway
- Madonna - Confessions II - The Film
- PinkPantheress & Zara Larsson - Stateside
- Sombr - My Body Isn’t Ready
- Taylor Swift - The Fate of Ophelia
Best Cinematography
- A$AP Rocky - Punk Rocky
- Ariana Grande - Hate That I Made You Love Me
- Lisa & Kentara Sakaguchi - Dream
- Madonna - Confessions II - The Film
- Shaboozey - Cowgirl
- Taylor Swift - The Fate of Ophelia
Best Editing
- Ariana Grande - Hate That I Made You Love Me
- Bruno Mars - I Just Might
- Lisa & Kentara Sakaguchi - Dream
- Madonna - Confessions II - The Film
- Sabrina Carpenter - House Tour
- Taylor Swift - The Fate of Ophelia
Best Choreography
- Gener8ion - Storm starring Yung Lean
- Harry Styles - Dance No More
- Katseye - Pinky Up
- Madonna - Confessions II - The Film
- Tate McRae - Nobody’s Girl
- Taylor Swift - The Fate of Ophelia
Best Visual Effects
- Ariana Grande - Hate That I Made You Love Me
- Jisoo & Zayn - Eyes Closed
- Madonna - Confessions II - The Film
- PinkPantheress & Zara Larsson - Stateside
- Raye & Hans Zimmer - Click Clack Symphony
- Taylor Swift - The Fate of Ophelia
