Madonna leads VMA with 11

Madonna leads the 2026 MTV Video Music Awards with 11 nominations, while Taylor Swift has nine, according to MTV’s official voting site and multiple nomination roundups published after the field was announced on August 18. MTV’s 2026 ballot also lists Lisa with four nominations, placing her among the more heavily nominated artists outside the top tier led by Madonna and Swift. The awards show is scheduled for Sunday, September 27, at 7:30 p.m. ET on CBS and Paramount+, MTV says. The nominations set up another VMA cycle in which legacy pop stars and current chart leaders are competing across both marquee and craft categories. ### Which categories are driving Madonna’s lead? Madonna appears across top-field categories including Video of the Year on MTV’s official ballot, where “Confessions II - The Film” is listed alongside Taylor Swift’s “The Fate of Ophelia,” Ariana Grande’s “hate that i made you love me,” Bruno Mars’ “I Just Might,” Sabrina Carpenter’s “Tears,” and GENER8ION’s “STORM” starring Yung Lean. Billboard’s nominations roundup said Madonna’s total reached 11, the largest number in this year’s field, with Swift second on nine. (vote.mtv.com) Taylor Swift’s nine nominations include Video of the Year and Artist of the Year, according to nomination roundups cited by ABC News and Billboard. Billboard also reported Ariana Grande and Sabrina Carpenter received seven nominations each, while Bruno Mars, PinkPantheress and Zara Larsson collected five apiece. ### Where does the K-pop field stand? (vote.mtv.com) MTV’s ballot includes a Best K-Pop category, confirming that the genre remains one of the show’s fan-voted fields in 2026. A Korea Portal roundup published September 1 said the category includes BLACKPINK’s “JUMP,” BTS’s “SWIM,” CORTIS’s “REDRED” and KATSEYE’s “PINKY …,” while Lisa drew four nominations across categories. Billboard’s broader nominations report also listed Lisa with four total nods. (billboard.com) Lisa’s four nominations make her one of the most visible K-pop-linked acts in this year’s lineup. The Korea Portal report singled her out as the top individual K-pop nominee in the 2026 field, while MTV’s site confirms the awards are open for fan voting. ### What does MTV’s official site confirm? MTV’s official voting page confirms that voting is open for the 2026 nominees and says fans can vote up to 10 times per day in eligible categories. (vote.mtv.com) The same page says the ceremony will air live on Sunday, September 27, at 7:30 p.m. ET and 4:30 p.m. PT on CBS and Paramount+. MTV’s voting rules page separately identifies the 2026 VMA voting process as the official contest framework. MTV’s homepage also promotes the September 27 telecast and directs viewers to the VMA voting hub. That provides the clearest official confirmation, beyond third-party nomination roundups, that the nominee list is now live and tied to a fan-voting window ahead of the broadcast. ### How unusual is this year’s leaderboard? Billboard reported Madonna is the most-nominated artist in the 2026 field and said seven of the eight most-nominated artists this year are women. (vote.mtv.com) ABC News and other nomination roundups also framed the field around a Madonna-Swift contest at the top of the ballot, with Madonna leading on 11 and Swift on nine. (mtv.com) The official MTV ballot shows both artists competing directly in Video of the Year, which gives the nominations race a head-to-head element before winners are announced. The same ballot places major pop releases and long-form visual projects in the same top category. ### When are the winners announced? September 27 is the next key date in the VMA calendar. MTV says the 2026 Video Music Awards will air live that Sunday at 7:30 p.m. (billboard.com) ET on CBS and Paramount+, and the network’s voting pages say fans can keep submitting ballots before the show. Madonna, Taylor Swift, Lisa and the Best K-Pop nominees are all part of the field now posted on MTV’s voting platform and in nomination roundups published since August 18. (vote.mtv.com)