Nimah Alabi
The 2026 MTV Video Music Awards ended with Madonna, Taylor Swift and BTS among the biggest names recognised at the ceremony held at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles on September 27.
recorded seven wins, including Artist of the Year and Best Album for Confessions II.
She also won Best Collaboration alongside Sabrina Carpenter for “Bring Your Love.” Taylor Swift won Video of the Year for “The Fate of Ophelia” and also received the inaugural Artist Director Honors.
She additionally won Best Direction for “Opalite.” BTS took home three awards.
The group won Song of the Year and Best K-Pop for “SWIM” and also received Best Group.
Other winners included Sienna Spiro, who won Best New Artist, while LISA won Best Pop for “Dream” featuring Kentaro Sakaguchi.
In the genre categories, Olivia Rodrigo won Best Alternative for “the cure,” Bruno Mars won Best R&B for “I Just Might,” Ella Langley won Best Country for “Choosin’ Texas,” and Bad Bunny won Best Latin for “NUEVAYoL.” Cardi B featuring Kehlani won Best Hip-Hop for “Safe,” while Ariana Grande won Best Visual Effects for “Hate That I Made You Love Me.”
Grande also won the fan voted Song of Summer category for the same song.
The creative categories also recognised several major artists.
Sabrina Carpenter won Best Editing for “House Tour,” PinkPantheress and Zara Larsson won Best Art Direction for “Stateside,” and Madonna won Best Cinematography and Best Choreography for Confessions II – The Film.
Other winners included Madonna for Best Long Form Video and Best Dance, while Taylor Swift’s “The Fate of Ophelia” took the night’s top Video of the Year award.
The ceremony was hosted by Snoop Dogg, with performances from Madonna, LISA, RAYE, Sombr, Shaboozey, Gunna, Sienna Spiro and Yung Lean, among others. Nirvana was also honoured with the Video Vanguard Award.
