Madonna is set to open the 2026 MTV Video Music Awards with her first live performance at the ceremony in more than two decades.
CBSand MTVjointly announced Wednesday that the pop icon will kick off the show live from Los Angeles on Sunday, September 27, marking her first VMAs performance since 2003, when she famously kissed both Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera during an opening medley of Like a Virgin and Hollywood.
Madonna arrives at this year’s ceremony as its most-nominated artist, with a career-high 11 nominations, including Video of the Year for Confessions II — The Film, Artist of the Year and Song of the Year for Bring Your Love.
Her latest album, Confessions II, debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 in July.
She’s previously led VMAs nominations twice before, earning nine nods for Vogue in 1990 and another nine for Ray of Light and Frozen in 1998, she already holds 19 competitive VMA wins across her career and was the first artist ever honoured with the Video Vanguard Award, in 1986.
Madonna’s history with the VMAs stretches back to the show’s very first broadcast in 1984, when her performance of Like a Virgin became one of the ceremony’s most iconic moments.
Other standout VMAs appearances include her gender-bending Bye Bye Baby performance in 1993, an explosive rendition of Express Yourself in 1989, and her elaborate, 18th-century-inspired staging of Vogue in 1990, widely regarded as one of the greatest live television performances in history.
The rest of this year’s performer lineup has not yet been announced.
The 2026 VMAs, hosted by Snoop Dogg, will air live from Los Angeles on CBSat 7:30 p.m. ET, simulcast on MTVand streaming on Paramount+.
2026-09-17 06:05:00
