The 2026 MTV VMAs winners have been revealed after the annual music awards ceremony took place on September 27 at Los Angeles’ Peacock Theater.
Taylor Swift took home Video of the Year for “The Fate of Ophelia” and received the inaugural MTV VMA Artist Director Honors. Madonna also had a major night, collecting seven awards, including Artist of the Year.
Hosted by Snoop Dogg, the 2026 MTV Video Music Awards brought together major names from pop, hip-hop, R&B, K-pop, Latin music and country. Nirvana also received the prestigious Video Vanguard Award.
2026 MTV VMAs Winners at a Glance
The ceremony recognized artists across competitive, social and special award categories.
Among the biggest winners were Taylor Swift, Madonna, BTS, Ariana Grande, LISA, Sienna Spiro and Nirvana.
Here are the major results:
- 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, “Dream feat. Kentaro Sakaguchi”
- Best Hip-Hop: Cardi B ft. 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 Group: BTS
- Video Vanguard Award: Nirvana
- Artist Director Honors: Taylor Swift
Taylor Swift Wins Video of the Year
Taylor Swift won one of the night’s biggest awards with “The Fate of Ophelia,” taking home Video of the Year.
She also received the first-ever MTV VMA Artist Director Honors, an award created to recognize artists whose work behind the camera has expanded music-video storytelling.
The honor added another milestone to Swift’s VMA history. Before the ceremony, MTV listed her with 30 Moon Person wins.
Swift’s directing credits include music videos and visual projects such as “The Man,” “All Too Well: The Short Film,” “Anti-Hero” and “Fortnight.”
She also won Best Direction for “Opalite.”
Madonna Takes Home Seven VMAs
Madonna was another major name of the night.
She finished the ceremony with seven awards, the highest total of the evening, according to Paramount’s official results.
Her wins included Artist of the Year, Best Collaboration with Sabrina Carpenter, Best Dance, Best Cinematography, Best Choreography, Best Long Form Video and Best Album.
Madonna also returned to the VMA stage for her first performance at the ceremony in 23 years. Her appearance was one of the major moments surrounding the 2026 show.
Her winning project, Confessions II, featured prominently across several categories.
BTS Scores Major Wins
BTS also had a strong night at the 2026 MTV VMAs.
The group won Song of the Year for “Swim” and Best K-Pop for the same song. BTS also won Best Group in the social categories.
The results added multiple Moon Persons to the group’s VMA history while highlighting the continued presence of K-pop across the ceremony’s major categories.
Sienna Spiro Wins Best New Artist
Rising singer Sienna Spiro won Best New Artist, beating a field that included Bella Kay, CORTIS, Magnus Ferrell, Malcolm Todd, Myles Smith and Stella Lefty.
The category was among the awards decided through the VMAs’ fan-voting process.
Other Major 2026 MTV VMAs Winners
Several other artists collected important awards during the ceremony.
Pop and R&B
LISA won Best Pop for “Dream feat. Kentaro Sakaguchi.”
Bruno Mars took Best R&B for “I Just Might,” while Ariana Grande won Best Visual Effects for “hate that i made you love me.”
Hip-Hop and Latin
Cardi B featuring Kehlani won Best Hip-Hop for “Safe.”
Bad Bunny won Best Latin for “NUEVAYoL.”
Alternative and Country
Olivia Rodrigo won Best Alternative for “the cure.”
Ella Langley won Best Country for “Choosin’ Texas.”
Nirvana Receives the Video Vanguard Award
Nirvana was honored with the Video Vanguard Award at the 2026 MTV VMAs.
The award recognizes the band’s impact on music videos and its broader influence on visual music culture.
Nirvana’s recognition adds the band’s influential visual work to the long history of artists receiving MTV’s career-spanning honor.
Full 2026 MTV VMAs Winners List
Here is the complete list of competitive and special award winners announced by MTV and CBS.
| 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 — “Dream feat. Kentaro Sakaguchi” |
| Best Hip-Hop | Cardi B ft. Kehlani — “Safe” |
| Best R&B | Bruno Mars — “I Just Might” |
| Best Alternative | Olivia Rodrigo — “the cure” |
| Best Dance | Madonna — “Confessions II – The Film” |
| Best Latin | Bad Bunny — “NUEVAYoL” |
| Best K-Pop | BTS — “SWIM” |
| Best Country | Ella Langley — “Choosin’ Texas” |
| Best Direction | Taylor Swift — “Opalite” |
| Best Art Direction | PinkPantheress — “Stateside + Zara Larsson” |
| 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” |
| Best Group | BTS |
| Best Long Form Video | Madonna — “Confessions II – The Film” |
| Best Album | Madonna — Confessions II |
| Song of Summer | Ariana Grande — “hate that i made you love me” |
| Video Vanguard Award | Nirvana |
| Artist Director Honors | Taylor Swift |
The full results are based on the official Paramount/CBS announcement released after the ceremony.
What Made the 2026 VMAs Notable?
The 2026 ceremony combined major career milestones with recognition for some of the year’s biggest music videos.
Madonna’s seven awards made her the night’s biggest award recipient. Swift, meanwhile, added Video of the Year and the inaugural Artist Director Honors to her VMA record.
The ceremony also highlighted artists from several musical scenes, including BTS in K-pop, Bad Bunny in Latin music, Ella Langley in country and Olivia Rodrigo in alternative music.
With the VMAs continuing to recognize both musical performances and visual storytelling, the 2026 results reflected a broad mix of established stars, returning acts and newer artists.