Madonna to Return to MTV Video Music Awards After 23-Year Absence

Madonna is scheduled to appear at the 2026 MTV Video Music Awards, her first performance at the ceremony since 2003. The announcement was made by MTV and CBS on Wednesday. The singer’s appearance follows the release of her latest album, Confessions II. Her last VMA performance was a joint act with Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera that opened the 2003 show. Madonna leads this year’s nomination tally with 11 nods, a count she has previously matched in 1990 and 1998. She is followed by Taylor Swift with nine nominations, and Sabrina Carpenter and Ariana Grande, each with seven. Over her career, Madonna has accumulated 19 VMA wins, including categories such as Video of the Year, Artist of the Year and Song of the Year. The ceremony, hosted by Snoop Dogg, will be broadcast live from Los Angeles on September 27 and will air on CBS and MTV. It will be the first VMA event held in Los Angeles since 2017. Production credits include Gunpowder & Sky, with Van Toffler as producer. Executive producers are Jesse Ignjatovic, Barb Bialkowski, Bruce Gillmer, Barry Barclay, Floris Bauer, and Snoop Dogg, who also serves as host. Additional producers are Melanie Block (co-executive), Gary Lanvy (co-producer), Sara Ramaker, Jasmin Ratansi, and Jen Proctor (executive talent producer).