Nigerian Afrobeats stars Damini Ogulu, popularly known as Burna Boy, and Temilade Openiyi, known professionally as Tems, have secured nominations at the 2026 MTV Video Music Awards (VMAs).
The nominations were announced ahead of the ceremony scheduled to hold at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles on Sunday, September 27.
Burna Boy received two nominations for his collaboration with Colombian singer Shakira on the official 2026 FIFA World Cup song, “Dai Dai”.
He was nominated in the Best Collaboration category alongside Clipse, Kendrick Lamar, Pusha T and Malice for “Chains & Whips”; French Montana and Max B for “Ever Since U Left Me”; Madonna and Sabrina Carpenter for “Bring Your Love”; PinkPantheress and Zara Larsson for “Stateside”; and Teyana Taylor and Lucky Daye for “Hard Part”.
“Dai Dai” also earned Burna Boy a nomination in the Best Latin category, where he will compete against Anitta and Shakira; Bad Bunny; Fuerza Regida; Karol G; Rosalía featuring Yahritza y Su Esencia; and Ryan Castro, Kapo and Gangsta.
Tems received a Best R&B nomination for her collaboration with British rapper Dave on “Raindance”.
She will compete against Bruno Mars for “I Just Might”; Chris Brown for “It Depends/Obvious”; Justin Bieber for “Yukon”; Kehlani for “Folded”; and Mariah the Scientist featuring Kali Uchis for “Is It a Crime”.
Madonna leads the 2026 nominations with 11 nods, followed by Taylor Swift with nine.
The 2026 VMAs will be broadcast live on CBS, with a simulcast on MTV and streaming on Paramount+. Fans can vote in most categories daily until September 25 at 6 p.m. ET.
Notably, the Best Afrobeats category, which featured in previous editions, is not included in this year’s lineup.
