Madonna still knows how to bring the party to Hollywood’s biggest awards shows.
During the 2026 MTV Video Music Awards on Sunday, September 27, the music icon, 68, opened up the star-studded event with a must-see dance-off.
In her first VMAs performance in 23 years, Madonna brought out special guests Sabrina Carpenter for “Bring Your Love” and Charli XCX for “Danceteria (Afterhours Mix).” Celebrities including Sombr, Debi Mazar, Seth Rogen and Julia Garner also made cameos, recreating scenes from the Queen of Pop’s Confessions II film.
Days before showtime, MTV VMAs producer Van Toffler teased that Madonna was going to start the show off with a bang.
“It’s kind of amazing that Madonna is still relevant and received these accolades and nominations so many years after that memorable 1984 performance she did,” Toffler told TheWrap in an interview published on Thursday, September 24. “It was kind of undeniable to try to have her back on the show somehow and opening it. She never gives a performance that people don’t talk about.”
Toffler served as a producer in 2003 when Madonna had her iconic three-way kiss with Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera.
He also remembers her 1984 “Like a Virgin” performance in a wedding dress and her 1990 “Vogue” lip-synch.
When teasing Sunday’s show, Toffler simply said, “I am trying to create the mayhem all over again.”
In addition to performing at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles, Madonna could also walk away with several awards. The Grammy winner leads the way with 13 nominations thanks to her 15th studio album, Confessions II, a sequel to 2005’s Confessions on a Dance Floor.
Any award she wins will be added to her already impressive collection, which includes the MTV Video Vanguard Award. In 1986, Madonna became the first woman to receive the prestigious trophy.
“I don’t know where I am. Is this New York?” she said during her acceptance speech. “What can I say? Thanks a lot, you guys.”
After seeing Madonna’s latest performance, some fans may be hoping the “Like a Virgin” singer will hit the road and tour again.
While she previously teased that more concert announcements may be coming, a residency in Las Vegas is certainly not on her radar.
“The Sphere is cool, but I don’t want to wake up every morning and see Vegas,” Madonna told fans in June at the Tribeca Festival premiere of her Confessions II visual album. “I could go on tour. … I never want to repeat myself.”
The 2026 MTV VMAs air on CBS, MTV and Paramount+ Sunday, September 27, at 7:30 p.m. ET.
