VMAs 2026: Madonna scores 7, Taylor Swift lands top honours, BTS sweep 3 awards

The 2026 MTV Video Music Awards saw some of the biggest names in music take home major honours, with BTS scoring three wins and Taylor Swift adding several more trophies to her record-breaking tally. Madonna emerged as the biggest winner of the night with seven awards at the ceremony, held at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles on Sunday, September 27.BTS won Song of the Year for SWIM, along with Best K-Pop and Best Group, completing a sweep of all three of their nominations. The group’s SWIM also earned them one of the night's major genre-neutral awards.Taylor Swift, meanwhile, received the inaugural Artist Director Honors and won Video of the Year for The Fate of Ophelia. She also picked up Best Direction for Opalite. With the wins, Swift added to her already record-breaking run at the VMAs.Madonna, who entered the ceremony as the most-nominated artist, with 13 nods, took home seven prizes. Her on-stage wins included Artist of the Year, Best Dance for Confessions II – The Film and Best Collaboration for Bring Your Love, her song with Sabrina Carpenter.BTS win three awards BTS had a strong night at the VMAs with SWIM. The song won Song of the Year and Best K-Pop, while the group also took home Best Group. BTS had entered the ceremony with three nominations and won in all three categories. BTS won 3 awards at VMAs 2026. Photo: AFP The group’s Song of the Year win came against nominees including Ella Langley’s Choosin’ Texas, HUNTR/X’s Golden, Madonna and Sabrina Carpenter’s Bring Your Love, Olivia Dean’s Man I Need, PinkPantheress and Zara Larsson’s Stateside and RAYE’s WHERE IS MY HUSBAND!.Taylor Swift adds to her VMA record Taylor Swift had another memorable night at the VMAs. She became the first recipient of the new Artist Director Honors, recognising her work behind the camera and her contribution to visual storytelling through music videos.She later won Best Direction for Opalite before taking the final award of the night, Video of the Year for The Fate of Ophelia.Swift had entered the ceremony with 11 nominations, including nods in Video of the Year, Artist of the Year and Best Direction.Madonna leads the winnersMadonna had the biggest haul of the night, winning seven awards. Three of her wins were presented during the televised ceremony: Artist of the Year, Best Dance for Confessions II – The Film and Best Collaboration for Bring Your Love with Sabrina Carpenter.She was also among the night's performers, opening the ceremony with her first live VMAs performance in 23 years.Other major winnersLISA won Best Pop for Dream, featuring Kentaro Sakaguchi, while Sienna Spiro was named Best New Artist after fans voted during the show.Cardi B and Kehlani won Best Hip-Hop for Safe. Bruno Mars took home Best R&B for I Just Might, while Olivia Rodrigo won Best Alternative for The Cure.Bad Bunny won Best Latin for NUEVAYoL, while Ella Langley took home Best Country for Choosin’ Texas.In the technical categories, PinkPantheress and Zara Larsson won Best Art Direction for Stateside. Sabrina Carpenter won Best Editing for ‘House Tour’, while Ariana Grande took home Best Visual Effects for ‘hate that i made you love me’.Nirvana were honoured with the Video Vanguard Award. Kacey Musgraves performed a tribute to Dolly Parton, while RAYE, SOMBR and Teddy Swims paid tribute to George Michael.Hosted by Snoop Dogg, the ceremony featured performances from Madonna, LISA, RAYE, Sienna Spiro, Shaboozey, Gunna, GENER8ION and Yung Lean.Full list of 2026 MTV VMAs winnersVideo of the Year: Taylor Swift – The Fate of OpheliaArtist of the Year: MadonnaSong of the Year: BTS – SWIMBest New Artist: Sienna SpiroBest Collaboration: Madonna & Sabrina Carpenter – Bring Your LoveBest Pop: LISA – ‘Dream’ feat. Kentaro SakaguchiBest Hip-Hop: Cardi B feat. Kehlani – SafeBest R&B: Bruno Mars – I Just MightBest Alternative: Olivia Rodrigo – the cureBest Dance: Madonna – Confessions II – The FilmBest Latin: Bad Bunny – NUEVAYoLBest K-Pop: BTS – SWIMBest Country: Ella Langley – Choosin’ TexasBest Direction: Taylor Swift – OpaliteBest Art Direction: PinkPantheress – Stateside + Zara LarssonBest Cinematography: Madonna – Confessions II – The FilmBest Editing: Sabrina Carpenter – House TourBest Choreography: Madonna – Confessions II – The FilmBest Visual Effects: Ariana Grande – hate that i made you love meBest Group: BTSArtist Director Honors: Taylor SwiftVideo Vanguard Award: Nirvana- Ends