The 2026 MTV Video Music Awards were handed out Sunday night, and the show was full of big moments. Read on to find out more.
Madonna Opens 2026 VMAs With Sabrina Carpenter and Charli XCX
Pop ruled the opening of the 2026 VMAs, as Madonna kicked off the show with a medley of “Bring Your Love” and “Danceteria Afterhours” alongside Sabrina Carpenter and Charli XCX minutes before K-pop star Lisa won the award for best pop for “Dream” ft. Kentaro Sakaguchi. Madonna began her performance of “Bring Your Love” spread-eagle atop a black grand piano as Carpenter played the keys below. The two soon abandoned the instrument in favor of hitting their choreographed steps. Madonna’s dancers then carried her onto a moving platform which soared across the stage as a choir dressed in veiled white nun habits sang the chorus of the hit song. The camera then gave way to a second megastar reveal as Charli XCX appeared onstage performing her and Madonna’s smash track, “Danceteria Afterhours,” in a set crafted after the restrooms in the legendary New York City nightclub after which the song is named. The scene was reminiscent of Madonna’s infamous 2003 MTV VMA performance in which she shared an onstage kiss with the two biggest pop stars of the time: Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera. Sunday’s performance marked Madonna’s first return to the VMAs since the iconic moment. Read more. — Brande Victorian
Raye Delivers Red-Hot Rendition of Hit “Where Is My Husband!”
Raye delivered a red-hot rendition of her hit song “Where is My Husband!” at the VMAs. The singer, dressed in all red, much like in the track’s music video, was surrounded by her backup singers for a lively performance of the song, which has taken over social media this past year. Sunday’s appearance marked her VMAs performance debut. Read more. — Nicole Fell
Kacey Musgraves Honors Dolly Parton
Kacey Musgraves paid tribute to Dolly Parton at the 2026 MTV Video Music Awards. Musgraves, who was nominated this year for best country for “Dry Spell,” performed one of Parton’s biggest hits, “I Will Always Love You.” Though the tribute aired onscreen at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles, Musgraves wasn’t at the ceremony in person.Written and originally recorded by Parton in 1973, “I Will Always Love You” reached the top spot on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart twice, once in 1974 and again in 1982. Musgraves previously paid tribute to Parton, who died Aug. 25 at age 80, during her Aug. 28 concert in Boston, where she performed her own song, “Rainbow” and a cover of Parton’s “Here You Come Again” in honor of the singer. Read more. — Mariel Turner
Nirvana Pays Homage to Kurt Cobain as Dave Grohl, Krist Novoselic and Pat Smear Accept Video Vanguard Award
Public Enemy frontman Chuck D celebrated Nirvana‘s musical legacy as he presented the ’90s grunge rock band with the Video Vanguard Award. “Nirvana never bent to the will of the mainstream; they always stayed true to their vision,” Chuck D stated onstage. “Their sound was loud, beautiful, daringly open. The lyrics were raw and deeply human. Their music videos defined an era. They were completely original and always fearless at a time when the status quo got to the point of being formulaic. Today, their influence can be heard in virtually every generation of artists who follow.” After a pretaped segment showing the group in its early days, reflecting on memorable music videos, Krist Novoselic and Dave Grohl accepted the award alongside Pat Smear, who smoked a cigarette onstage. “The ideas for those videos all grew out of the vision of one of the greatest artists of all time, Kurt Cobain,” Novoselic stated of the band’s lead singer and guitarist who died by suicide in 1994 at the age of 27. Read more. — Brande Victorian
Taylor Swift Debuts Music Video for New Single “Patient Zero”
Taylor Swift dropped the music video for her latest single “Patient Zero” during the VMAs. Swift premiered the video after accepting the inaugural artist director honor. It stars Swift, alongside Dakota Johnson and Colin Farrell — Johnson introduced Swift with the honor onstage. The music video features Johnson as Farrell’s current lover. It’s clear from the video it’s not a healthy relationship. Throughout the video Swift mirrors Johnson, as she sings about knowing what what the actress is going through because she was man’s “patient zero.” After an incident at an event, Farrell makes a comment to Johnson that he thought “she was different,” which leads the actress to ask who she’s different from. The video cuts to Swift living out exactly what Johnson’s been living through, revealing that Farrell poisoned Swift, leading to her death. The music video ends where it began, Johnson looking at a grave, only it’s now revealed that it’s Swift’s grave. The actress leaves a rose atop the gravestone for the woman. Read more. — Nicole Fell
Snoop Dogg Pokes Fun at Madonna in VMAs Monologue
Snoop Dogg knows how to wow a crowd, and the 2026 MTV Video Music Awards was no exception. The rapper hosted the ceremony at Los Angeles’ Peacock Theater, where he kicked off the festivities by poking fun at Madonna, who opened the show and took home multiple awards, and shared a special shoutout to his hometown of L.A. The 2026 VMAs is the first time the show has taken place in L.A. since 2017’s ceremony, which was hosted by Katy Perry at The Forum. “Madonna just killed it. Now, that is an icon. One thing I wanna say is, she ain’t a virgin no more,” Snoop said during his opening monologue. “Now, when they first asked me to host this award show, I said, ‘Is it gonna be in LA? No? Well, I’m busy.’ Then, they called me back and said, ‘Hold on, Mr. Dogg. It’s in L.A now.’ So, having this show hosted by me in my city means two things. One, tonight is gonna be the biggest party the VMAs has ever seen. And two, it wouldn’t be a Snoop Dogg party if I didn’t provide some of that special, sticky, icky, icky … that’s for every winner here tonight. Just the winners, though.” Read more. — Mariel Turner
Taylor Swift Extends Her VMA Record
Taylor Swift won the top prize of video of the year for “The Fate if Ophelia” at the 2026 Video Music Awards. The singer extended her record for the most wins in the video of the year category, having previously won for “Bad Blood,” “You Need to Calm Down,” “All Too Well: The Short Film,” “Anti-Hero” and “Fortnight.” Swift took to the stage at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles to accept the award: “Thank you so much for giving this award to this video because I’m so proud of it. To the fans, thank you for voting on it. I just loved making this video because I wanted it to seem like one continuous shot, so I learned a lot about hiding cuts in places,” she said. “I want to thank everybody who helped me on this video shoot because — just the choreography, I love so much. Mandy Moore as my choreographer — set design, production design by Ethan Tobman. My editor, Chancler Haynes. My cinematographer on this video I’ve gotten to work with before, he’s one of the people who gave me the confidence to actually direct videos on my own. His name is Rodrigo Prieto. I want to thank him.” Read more. — Mariel Turner
Surprise Adam Lambert Performance Caps Hit-Filled George Michael Tribute
When Sombr, Raye and Teddy Swims were announced as paying tribute to George Michael timed to nearly 40 years since the release of his Faith album and ahead of a live Faith tour album and feature-length film being released later this year, it seemed like the VMAs segment honoring Michael, who died in 2016, would mostly consist of songs from Faith. But the musicians and surprise performer Adam Lambert, who hadn’t been announced as part of the performance before he walked out onstage Sunday night, went beyond the 1987 album, performing Michael’s Wham! hit “Careless Whisper” and even iconic later single “Freedom ’90,” also known for its supermodel-filled music video. Sombr took the stage, after an intro from Orville Peck, wearing Michael’s actual customized leather jacket from the Faith era, which Michael wore on the Faith tour and in a Diet Coke commercial, and performing “Faith” as he walked past video screens of Michael in that video. He later segued into another Faith hit, “Father Figure.” The performance moved over to Raye, who delivered a soulful rendition of Michael’s Aretha Franklin duet “I Knew You Were Waiting,” which wasn’t on Faith, complete with golden lighting, smoke and sepia-toned images of Michael. The camera then shifted to a saxophone player, performing the opening of “Careless Whisper,” which Teddy Swims performed from a platform surrounded by searchlights. Then Lambert strutted out from backstage to perform “Freedom,” for a triumphant finish. Read more. — Hilary Lewis
Lisa Debuts Thrilling First Televised Performance of “SaWaDiKa”
La Lalisa, la diva herself, graced the stage of the 2026 MTV Video Music Awards on Sunday night.
Tyla introduced the global pop star as she delivered the first performance of her new single “SaWaDiKa” during the award show. Lisa brought out a slew of dancers for a high-energy rendition of the song, which the singer released earlier this month. It’ll be on her upcoming EP, Press Play, set to be released in October. Lisa, whose real name is Lalisa Manobal, went into her performance with a win. The 29-year-old Blackpink member won the best pop category for her single “Dream” from her debut album Alter Ego. The song was also nominated in the best K-pop category, best editing and best cinematography. Lisa’s was also nominated again in the best K-pop category with Blackpink for their 2025 summer hit “Jump.” Read more. — Nicole Fell
Gener8ion and Yung Leon Wow the Crowd
Gener8ion and Yung Lean hit the stage to perform “Storm,” as the last performance of the night. For this, they re-created the viral video featuring choreography by Damien Jalet. The audience loved it, giving it one of the biggest rounds of applause of the night, with many rising to their feet. — Kimberly Nordyke
The 2026 VMAs, took place at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles, aired live on CBS and MTV and stream on Paramount+ (Premium) in the U.S. It also will be available globally the next day on Paramount+ and MTV.
