Madonna Leads 2026 MTV VMAs Nominations With 11 Nods

The nominations for the 2026 MTV Video Music Awards are officially out, and the leaderboard looks like a legacy run. As reported by Music – Variety on Tuesday morning, Madonna is leading the pack with 11 nominations. Let that sink in. In 2026, a pioneer of the music video format is still out-pacing the modern pop machine. Taylor Swift follows closely behind with nine nominations, while Ariana Grande and Sabrina Carpenter have secured seven nods each. Frankly, MTV positioning Madonna at the top of the ticket feels less like a celebration of current innovation and more like a desperate bid for legacy validation. It is a safe play for a network that needs her institutional weight to keep the broadcast relevant. Still, the numbers do not lie, and her enduring grip on the visual medium remains undeniable. The top nominees include: Madonna (11 nominations) Taylor Swift (9 nominations) Ariana Grande (7 nominations) Sabrina Carpenter (7 nominations) Fans can stay tuned for the full category breakdowns as MTV rolls out more details.