All eyes were on Madonna after the performer was announced as Artist of the Year at the 2026 MTV Video Music Awards.
“First of all, I would like to thank my fingers, because I can always count on them,” Madonna, 68, joked as she began her acceptance speech on Sunday, September 27.
The Queen of Pop pointed out that “some of you were probably not born” when she performed at the first VMAs 43 years ago, recalling how a series of mishaps on stage that year resulted in her dress going up and revealing her butt cheek to the crowd.
“My manager told me that my career was over,” Madonna said of the fashion faux pas, telling the audience that she didn’t listen and now, decades later, she’s still doing things her way.
“I really want you to know that I spent the last year and a half finding myself and believing in myself and making the music that I wanted to make,” the icon added “To me that really is the definition of being an artist.”
Madonna beat out Ariana Grande, Bruno Mars, Morgan Wallen, Sabrina Carpenter and Taylor Swift to take home one of the night’s biggest awards. (She already won Best Collaboration with Carpenter earlier in the night for their collab “Bring Your Love.”)
Like the Video of the Year, the Artist of the Year category was stacked with talented stars.
Madonna, for her part, was the most-nominated artist of the night with 13 nods. Prior to the 2026 awards show, she was a 20-time VMA recipient.
One of her biggest wins to date includes the 1986 Video Vanguard Award, and Madonna has been nominated in every decade since she launched her career in 1982.
Swift, 36, was also a big contender for this year’s biggest categories after being nominated for 11 VMAs.
The “Life of a Showgirl” singer went into Sunday’s event with 30 career wins at the VMAs. She needed one more Moon Person trophy to become the most awarded artist in the show’s history.
Grande, 33, was up for eight awards, including Artist of the Year after releasing her eighth studio album, petal, in July.
Mars, 40, was nominated for six categories following the success of his 2026 album, The Romantic, while country star Wallen, 33, was up for two awards amid the hype surrounding his latest record, Been By Now.
Carpenter, 27, was the youngest musician in the Artist of the Year category but had an equally show-stopping year. The “Espresso” singer was nominated for nine VMAs this year following the release of her 2025 record, Man’s Best Friend. (The album was previously nominated for two Grammys and won two American Music Awards.)
A replay of the 2026 MTV VMAs will stream on Paramount+ and replay on MTV Monday, September 28.
