Madonna to Open the 2026 VMAs, Her First Performance There in 23 Years

Madonna will open the 2026 MTV Video Music Awards on Sunday, September 27, at 8pm ET, according to NME. It marks her first VMA performance since 2003 — a 23-year gap. She also enters the night as the most-nominated artist, with 11 nods for her album Confessions II.

What was announced

NME reports Madonna's 11 nominations span major categories including Video of the Year, Artist of the Year, and Song of the Year.

Who else is nominated

Taylor Swift trails with 9 nominations, including Artist of the Year and a Video of the Year nod for "The Fate Of Ophelia." The Artist of the Year race also includes Ariana Grande, Bruno Mars, and Sabrina Carpenter. Song of the Year nominees include BTS's "Swim," Olivia Dean's "Man I Need," and Raye's "Where Is My Husband!"

Her VMA history

Madonna first performed at the VMAs at the inaugural 1984 ceremony, delivering a performance of "Like A Virgin" that became a pop-culture touchstone. In 1990, her staging of "Vogue," set against 18th-century French court imagery, became another defining VMA moment. Her most recent VMA performance, in 2003, drew global headlines for her onstage kiss with Britney Spears.

The album behind the nominations

Confessions II was released last July and received a four-star review from NME. The record opens with house-pop and psychedelic trance before turning inward roughly 40 minutes in: "Fragile" is a rave-tinged ballad written for her late brother Christopher, while "The Test" is a trip-hop-inflected duet with her daughter Lola Leon. NME's review called it her most vital album in over two decades, crediting the way she revisits her personal and musical past.