Grace Vaccaro, Staff Writer
On Sunday, September 27th, the annual MTV Video Music Awards took place, hosted by Snoop Dogg. The MTV Video Music Awards have been called the “Super Bowl for youth” because of how coveted a VMA award is. Winners are chosen by fan voting, unlike other popular award ceremonies such as the Grammys, which use an academy.
Taylor Swift entered the ceremony as one of the most nominated artists and had quite a successful and busy night. With her three wins, Swift is now the artist with the most awards won, surpassing Beyoncé. She won Video of the Year for “The Fate of Ophelia.” She has also broken the record for the most Video of the Year awards (six total). In her acceptance speech, she honored the late Dolly Parton, saying that she was the “ultimate showgirl.” Swift also took home the inaugural Artist Director Honors and Best Direction for “Opalite.”
At the award show, Swift debuted her song “Patient Zero” and its accompanying music video. The track is featured on The Life of a Showgirl: The Encore. It starred Dakota Johnson and Colin Farrell.
During the night, there were other performances in honor of late artists. Kacey Musgraves paid tribute to Dolly Parton by performing “I Will Always Love You.” Sombr, Raye, Teddy Swims, and Adam Lambert all performed George Michael songs in honor of his death ten years ago.
Viewers have agreed that Madonna dominated the award show. First, she performed “Bring Your Love” with Sabrina Carpenter and “Danceteria” with Charli XCX. Both songs are off her most recent album. Out of her thirteen nominations, she took home seven. Some of the most notable categories she won were Artist of the Year, Best Dance, and Best Album.
In her speech for Artist of the Year, Madonna reflected on how long she has been in the industry, noting that most of the audience was “probably not born when I performed at the very first VMAs 43 years ago.”Madonna performed at the first-ever VMA award show back in 1984, where she performed her hit “Like A Virgin.”
Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award is a merit award given to artists who demonstrate an impact on culture and music videos. This trophy is gold instead of the usual silver for other VMA awards. This year, Nirvana took home the award for the band’s influence in rock and grunge music. Krist Novoselic, the band’s bassist, accepted the award, recognizing the greatness of Kurt Cobain and his concept for the music videos of “Smells Like Teen Spirit”, “Come As You Are,” and “Heart-Shaped Box.”
Siena Spiro took the best new artist award. Spiro became viral on TikTok in 2025 for her single “Die On This Hill.” Her first number one single “Great Expectations” was performed at the ceremony before her win. Artists such as Olivia Rodrigo, Justin Bieber and Lady Gaga have won this award previously, showing great promise to the prospects of Spiro’s career.
The MTV Video Music Awards were a celebration of music and the artistry behind it. The 2026 VMAs delivered another unforgettable night of music history.
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