2026 VMAs Winners: Madonna Wins 7, Taylor Swift Takes Video of the Year, Cardi B and Kehlani Win Best Hip-Hop

The 2026 VMAs winners were crowned on September 27, 2026 at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles, where Madonna won seven Moon Persons including Artist of the Year and Taylor Swift took Video of the Year for “The Fate of Ophelia.” Snoop Dogg hosted the MTV Video Music Awards, which aired live on CBS and MTV and streamed on Paramount+.

Who were the biggest 2026 VMAs winners?

Madonna was the most-awarded artist of the night with seven wins. According to CBS News, her haul covered Artist of the Year, Best Collaboration, Best Dance, Best Long Form Video, Best Album, Best Cinematography and Best Choreography, most of them for her Confessions II era and its companion short film, Confessions II – The Film.

Seven wins is one more than the six she collected for Ray of Light in 1998, so Madonna broke her own single-night VMAs record at 68. She also opened the show, her first VMAs performance since 2003, performing “Bring Your Love” with Sabrina Carpenter and bringing out Charli XCX.

Taylor Swift finished with three honors: Video of the Year for “The Fate of Ophelia,” Best Direction for the self-directed “Opalite,” and the inaugural MTV VMA Artist Director Honors, presented by Dakota Johnson. CBS News reported the new total gives Swift 33 career VMAs, moving her past Beyoncé’s 30 as the most-awarded artist in the show’s history.

Who won Best Hip-Hop at the 2026 VMAs?

Cardi B and Kehlani won Best Hip-Hop for “Safe,” released through Atlantic Records. The duo beat a heavy field: Drake’s “Janice STFU,” Travis Scott’s “Dumbo,” Tyler, The Creator’s “Sugar on My Tongue,” Megan Thee Stallion’s “Lover Girl” and Don Toliver’s “E85.”

Kehlani was also nominated for Best R&B with “Folded,” a category Bruno Mars won with “I Just Might.” Hip-hop had a wider footprint across the ballot than the one genre category suggests. Clipse, Kendrick Lamar, Pusha T and Malice were up for Best Collaboration with “Chains & Whips,” French Montana and Max B were nominated for “Ever Since U Left Me,” and A$AP Rocky’s “Punk Rocky” competed in Best Cinematography. Lady Gaga and Doechii’s “Runway” earned nods in Best Dance and Best Art Direction.

On stage, Gunna joined Shaboozey for part of his set, and Snoop Dogg hosted the telecast while also serving as one of its executive producers.

2026 VMAs winners: the full list

Here is every competitive category and its winner, compiled from the official results reported by Billboard and CBS News.

Category	Winner
Video of the Year	Taylor Swift – “The Fate of Ophelia”
Artist of the Year	Madonna
Song of the Year	BTS – “Swim”
Best New Artist	Sienna Spiro
Best Collaboration	Madonna & Sabrina Carpenter – “Bring Your Love”
Best Pop	LISA feat. Kentaro Sakaguchi – “Dream”
Best Hip-Hop	Cardi B feat. Kehlani – “Safe”
Best R&B	Bruno Mars – “I Just Might”
Best Alternative	Olivia Rodrigo – “The Cure”
Best Latin	Bad Bunny – “NUEVAYoL”
Best K-Pop	BTS – “Swim”
Best Country	Ella Langley – “Choosin’ Texas”
Best Dance	Madonna – Confessions II – The Film
Best Album	Madonna – Confessions II
Best Long Form Video	Madonna – Confessions II – The Film
Best Direction	Taylor Swift – “Opalite”
Best Art Direction	PinkPantheress & Zara Larsson – “Stateside”
Best Cinematography	Madonna – Confessions II – The Film
Best Editing	Sabrina Carpenter – “House Tour”
Best Choreography	Madonna – Confessions II – The Film
Best Visual Effects	Ariana Grande – “Hate That I Made You Love Me”
Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award	Nirvana
MTV VMA Artist Director Honors (inaugural)	Taylor Swift

What were the biggest moments of the 2026 VMAs?

The most emotional segment was Kacey Musgraves’ tribute to Dolly Parton, who died on August 25, 2026 at age 80. After a video of Parton on screen, Musgraves took over “I Will Always Love You” in a hot pink gown styled after the country icon. Swift later dedicated her Video of the Year win to Parton.

RAYE, Sombr and Teddy Swims led a separate tribute to George Michael, and Nirvana were honored with the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award. Swift also used her Artist Director Honors moment to premiere the video for her new single “Patient Zero,” which stars Dakota Johnson and Colin Farrell.

Other performers included LISA, who debuted her new single “SaWaDiKa,” plus Sienna Spiro, Bruno Mars, Sombr, Shaboozey, and GENER8ION with Yung Lean. LISA also picked up the first award of the night, Best Pop for “Dream,” while Spiro won Best New Artist after fan voting that stayed open during the broadcast.

Which artists had a big night besides Madonna and Taylor Swift?

BTS won two awards with “Swim,” taking both Song of the Year and Best K-Pop. Sabrina Carpenter also left with two, sharing Best Collaboration with Madonna and winning Best Editing for “House Tour.”

Single-award winners included Bruno Mars (Best R&B), Bad Bunny (Best Latin), Olivia Rodrigo (Best Alternative), Ella Langley (Best Country), Ariana Grande (Best Visual Effects) and PinkPantheress with Zara Larsson (Best Art Direction). Ariana Grande was nominated in both Video of the Year and Artist of the Year but won neither.

What’s next after the 2026 VMAs?

The full ceremony is available to stream globally on Paramount+ and MTV the day after the broadcast. For Swift, the next focus is “Patient Zero,” whose video premiered during the show. Madonna, meanwhile, leaves Los Angeles with Artist of the Year and Best Album for Confessions II, the sequel to her 2005 album Confessions on a Dance Floor.