ICYMI: The 2026 VMAS aired last night—and there is *so much* we need to talk about. Between performances, premieres, award show history and more, our fave celebs gave us content for days.
Winners
And the Moon Person goes to…some of our absolute faves. Taylor Swift took home the biggest honor, Video of the Year, for “The Fate of Ophelia” (and added Best Direction for “Opalite” to her haul). Ariana Grande officially owned summer with “Hate that I Made You Love Me,” while BTS scored both Song of the Year *and* Best K-Pop for “Swim.”
Olivia Rodrigo snagged Best Alternative for “The Cure,” and Sabrina Carpenter shared Best Collaboration with Madonna for “Bring Your Love.” And one name you’ll def want to remember? Sienna Spiro, who officially earned her breakout moment with the Best New Artist win.
(And, BTW, you can click here for the full list of the 2026 winners.)
Performances
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The VMAs are a celebration of music, so it’s no surprise there were some amazing live performances throughout the ceremony.
For the first time in 23 years, Madonna hit the VMA stage as the opener. She even brought out Sabrina Carpenter when they performed their hit collab “Bring Your Love,” plus there were cameos from Charli XCX, Seth Rogan, Julia Garner and Sombr.
Other main performers included Gener8ion and Yung Lean debuting “Storm ll,” Gunna, LISA, RAYE (who made her official VMA debut), Shaboozey and Sienna Spiro.
The special tributes for the musicians who blazed trails had us all in our feels, too. RAYE, Sombr and Teddy Swims performed a tribute to George Michael with renditions of “Faith,” “Father Figure,” “Careless Whisper” and “Freedom! ’90.” Kacey Musgraves performed “I Will Always Love You” as a tribute to the late Dolly Parton. (Pass the tissues, pls.)
For the Record Books
The ceremony kept on surprising viewers with some firsts for the history books.
LISA, from K-Pop group BLACKPINK, became the first K-pop artist to win a VMA for Best Pop. She also performed her single “Sawadika” for the first time on live TV.
Taylor Swift also received the first-ever VMAs Artist Director Honors for her music video work. At the ceremony, she debuted her MV for “Patient Zero” starring Dakota Johnson and Colin Farrell. With the new awards, Taylor became the most-awarded artist in VMAs history with 32 (just surpassing Beyoncé).
Did your fave artists win big on Sunday night? Either way, we’re already counting down the days until next year’s show.
For more entertainment, check out:
🎵A Swiftie’s Track-By-Track Guide To The Encore
🎹 Here’s Everything You Missed On Week Two of Dancing With The Stars
🎧 QUIZ! Assemble Your Dream Unraveled Tour Day And We’ll Give You A Concert Outfit
