Madonna to Open 2026 VMAs, Marks First Performance in 23 Years

Madonna will return to the MTV VMAs stage as the opening performer of the 2026 ceremony on September 27th.

The appearance arrives in support of Confessions II , Madonna’s new album. She won’t just be there as a performer, either; Madonna has already earned a career-high 11 nominations for the 2026 VMAs, including Video of the Year, Artist of the Year, and Song of the Year.

Get Madonna's Confessions II on Vinyl

Madonna’s opening show at the VMAs will be her first live performance at the event in 23 years — her last turn at the award show in 2003 was a joint performance alongside Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera. As an artist who helped transform the music video into a vehicle for pop iconography, reinvention and high-concept storytelling, Madonna has quite the history with the VMAs. She became the first solo female artist to receive the Video Vanguard Award in 1986, has been nominated at the ceremony in every decade of her career, and has collected a total of 19 trophies.

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The 2026 MTV VMAs will air live from Los Angeles on CBS on September 27th beginning at 7:30 p.m. ET; it’ll be simulcast on MTV and streaming on Paramount+ (Premium) in the U.S. The show will also be available globally the next day on Paramount+ and MTV. Snoop Dogg is set to host, with additional performers, presenters and special guests to be revealed in the next week.

As for this year’s Video Vanguard Award, Nirvana will be receiving the honor — though it’s still unknown whether surviving members Dave Grohl and Krist Novoselic will be in attendance to accept.

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_Originally reported by [Consequence](https://consequence.net/2026/09/madonna-announced-as-opening-performer-for-2026-vmas/)._