Why Did Pop's Oldest Star Win the Nomination Count?

Madonna leads the 2026 VMA nominations with 11 nods, the largest single-year haul of a career that began before MTV had finished its first year on air. Taylor Swift sits second with nine. Sabrina Carpenter and Ariana Grande are tied for third with seven each. The list dropped days after Madonna's 68th birthday.

Nearly all of that weight comes from one project. "Confessions II – The Film" is up for Video of the Year against Swift's "The Fate of Ophelia," Carpenter's "Tears," Grande's "Hate That I Made You Love Me," Bruno Mars' "I Just Might" and "Storm" by Gener8ion, starring Yung Lean. Madonna is also in the Artist of the Year field alongside Morgan Wallen, and shares a Song of the Year nomination with Carpenter.

Three Canadian acts made the cut. Tate McRae picked up three nominations for "Nobody's Girl," Drake got one for "Janice STFU," and Justin Bieber one for "Yukon." The ceremony goes out live from the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles on Sunday, Sept. 27, carried by CBS, MTV and Paramount+, with fan voting already open online.

Where Those 11 Nods Actually Come From

Read the categories and a pattern shows up fast. Six of Madonna's 11 are craft awards: direction, art direction, cinematography, editing, visual effects and choreography. The other five are the big-tent races — Video of the Year, Artist of the Year, Song of the Year, Best Collaboration and Best Dance. That split is what a long-form film release does at these awards. A three-minute clip competes in maybe four categories; a project built like a movie hoovers up the technical ballots too.

How the 2026 VMA Nominations Compare to Her Old Ones

Madonna has 19 competitive Moon Persons and the Video Vanguard Award, which she took in 1986 as the first woman to receive it. She was also the reason people talked about the first VMAs at all: in 1984 she performed "Like a Virgin" in a wedding dress with a "Boy Toy" belt buckle and rolled across the stage, which was roughly the outer limit of what cable would carry then. Forty-two years later she is the most-nominated artist in the room.

The Canadian Names on the Ballot

No Canadian is in the marquee categories this year, but the genre and craft races are a different story — and those are where fan voting swings hardest, because the fields are smaller and the fan bases are louder.

Tate McRae's three-category run

The Calgary singer is the strongest Canadian showing with three nods for "Nobody's Girl," in best choreography, best pop and best dance video. Best choreography is the interesting one: it puts her in a craft category judged on the work itself rather than on chart position, which is a harder thing to buy and a better signal about where her career is heading.

Drake and Bieber in the genre races

Drake is nominated once, for "Janice STFU" in best hip-hop. Bieber's single nod is for "Yukon" in best R&B — a category he has historically done well in. One nomination each is modest by their standards, but both landed in fields decided by voters rather than by a committee.

What Canadian fans can do before Sept. 27

Voting runs through MTV's official ballot and is open to fans anywhere, so a viewer in Winnipeg counts the same as one in Los Angeles. Ballots close before the broadcast. If you care about the McRae races, that window is the only real leverage you have — after Sept. 27 it is just a scoreboard.

Swift Is One Win From Breaking the Record

Here is the quieter storyline underneath the headline. Swift and Beyoncé are tied at 30 Moon Persons each, the most any artist has won. Swift needs a single win on Sept. 27 to stand alone at the top, and she has nine chances to get it. So the framing of Madonna versus Swift is a bit of a trick: Madonna leads on nominations, while Swift is the one with a record within reach.

What to Watch on the Night

Watch two things. First, whether Video of the Year goes to the long-form film or to a conventional single — that decision tells you which format MTV wants to reward for the next few years. Second, whether Swift converts even one of her nine. Canadian viewers should check listings with their provider closer to the date, since the CBS and MTV feeds reach Canada differently depending on the package. And if you want a say in McRae's three categories, vote before the ballots shut.