The Queen of Pop swept Artist of the Year and six more prizes in Los Angeles, while Swift won Video of the Year and BTS took three Moon Persons.
Madonna owned the 2026 MTV Video Music Awards, leaving the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles on Sunday night with seven Moon Persons.
She opened the show and finished as its biggest winner, taking Artist of the Year, Best Dance for her short film Confessions II – The Film, and Best Collaboration for "Bring Your Love" with Sabrina Carpenter. The haul also included Best Album, Best Long Form Video, Best Cinematography and Best Choreography.
Accepting Artist of the Year, she said she had spent the past year and a half "finding myself, believing in myself, and making the music I want to make." That, she added, "is the definition of being an artist."
Taylor Swift was the other headline. She won Video of the Year for "The Fate of Ophelia" and Best Direction for "Opalite," and received the inaugural Artist Director Honors from Dakota Johnson before premiering her new self-directed video for "Patient Zero." She dedicated the top prize to "the ultimate showgirl," Dolly Parton.
BTS took three awards: Song of the Year and Best K-Pop for "Swim," plus Best Group.
The rest of the night spread wide. LISA won Best Pop for "Dream" featuring Kentaro Sakaguchi, Sienna Spiro was named Best New Artist, Cardi B and Kehlani took Best Hip-Hop for "Safe," and Bruno Mars won Best R&B for "I Just Might."
The show carried a Nigerian thread too. Burna Boy was nominated in two categories for "Dai Dai" with Shakira, and Tems earned a Best R&B nod for "Raindance" with Dave. Neither took home a Moon Person, but the recognition adds to a busy awards run for Afrobeats, with several of those names also up for iHeartRadio Music Awards.
Nirvana received the Video Vanguard Award, presented by Chuck D, while the show paid tribute to Dolly Parton and George Michael. Snoop Dogg hosted, and the ceremony aired live on CBS and MTV.
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