Female artists lead the nominations race at the 2026 MTV Video Music Awards, proving that Beyoncé was right when she said girls run the world.
Madonna is leading the pack with 11 nominations, followed by Taylor Swift with nine, while Ariana Grande and Sabrina Carpenter each received seven.
Their nominations include major categories such as Video of the Year, Artist of the Year, Best Pop and Song of the Year.
Madonna earns the most nods
Madonna’s 11 nominations make her the most-nominated artist at this year’s awards, with “Confessions II – The Film” receiving recognition across several major and technical categories.
Aside from Video of the Year, the 14-minute music film is nominated for Best Dance, Best Direction, Best Art Direction, Best Cinematography, Best Editing, Best Choreography and Best Visual Effects.
This is not the first time Madonna has taken centre stage at the VMAs.
In 1984, the pop star stole the show at the inaugural ceremony when she performed “Like a Virgin” on top of a giant wedding cake.
MTV later included the performance among the nominees for its Most Iconic Performance honor in 2024.
Madonna also led the VMA nominations in 1990 and 1998, earning nine nods in each year.
In 1998, she won Video of the Year for “Ray of Light,” marking her first victory in the category, according to Billboard.
Other women leading the race
Swift follows Madonna with nine nominations, with her Shakespeare-inspired song “The Fate of Ophelia” earning recognition across several major and technical categories.
The song is up for Video of the Year and Best Pop, while its music video earned nominations for Best Direction, Best Art Direction, Best Cinematography, Best Editing, Best Choreography and Best Visual Effects.
Grande and Carpenter are tied with seven nominations each.
Grande’s ‘hate that i made you love me’ is nominated for Video of the Year and Best Pop, as well as Best Direction, Best Cinematography, Best Editing and Best Visual Effects. She is also competing for Artist of the Year.
Carpenter, meanwhile, is competing for Video of the Year with ‘Tears’, while ‘House Tour’ received nominations for Best Pop, Best Direction and Best Editing.
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Beyond the female leaders
While women occupy the top four spots among this year’s nomination leaders, several male artists are also vying for major awards.
Bruno Mars received five nominations, including Video of the Year for “I Just Might,” Artist of the Year and Best R&B. The video also earned nominations for Best Direction and Best Editing.
Morgan Wallen is competing for Artist of the Year, while K-pop boy band BTS received nods for Song of the Year with “Swim” and Best K-pop.
Other nominees include Bad Bunny for Best Latin, Drake and Travis Scott for Best Hip-Hop, Justin Bieber for Best R&B, and Harry Styles for Best Dance and Best Choreography.
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