Concerts

Madonna Returns to VMAs After 23 Years with Sabrina Carpenter, Charli XCX, and Crotch Lasers

Madonna’s first VMAs performance in 23 years transformed the stage into surreal, sweat-soaked club theater, featuring Sabrina Carpenter, Charli XCX, and unexpected crotch lasers.

Consequence·Sep 28, 2026·via Consequence

Madonna Returns to VMAs After 23 Years with Sabrina Carpenter, Charli XCX, and Crotch Lasers

Madonna made her long-awaited return to the MTV Video Music Awards on Sunday night, opening the 2026 ceremony with her first performance at the show in 23 years.

Naturally, her return wasn’t understated. The performance opened on a surreal field populated by dancers contorting through acroyoga poses as lasers shot from their crotches. After the intro clip, Madonna was revealed perched atop a piano, while Sabrina Carpenter , wearing a black beret, sat at the keys with her back to the crowd. The two then broke into “Bring Your Love.”

As the performance transitioned into “Danceteria Afterhours,” Charli xcx made her entrance by casually walking out of a bathroom stall to join Madonna for their newly released collaboration. The stage crackled with the gritty, raw sensuality both artists have made central to their work, their chemistry amplifying the effect as dancers writhed around them and the performance tipped further into sweaty, clubby excess. Actress Julia Garner also appeared during the number — a particularly fitting cameo considering she was tapped to portray Madonna in the singer’s long-gestating biopic, which ultimately collapsed at Universal before going into production. Seth Rogen also made a brief cameo on stage, smoking a blunt (Madonna is set to cameo in season two of Rogen’s The Studio .)

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