Madonna to Open 2026 VMAs in First Performance Since 2003

Madonna will open the 2026 MTV Video Music Awards on Sept. 27, her first performance at the ceremony in 23 years.

She last performed at the VMAs in 2003, when she also opened the show. Since appearing at the first edition in 1984, she has remained a constant reference point at the event — sometimes on stage, sometimes in the audience, often through the gestures of younger artists borrowing from her visual history.

The return arrives alongside Confessions II, the follow-up to 2005’s Confessions on a Dance Floor. The album was promoted through a series of Club Confessions parties, a format that could shape the performance, though Madonna rarely repeats a formula too directly.

She leads this year’s nominations with 11, including Artist of the Year, Video of the Year, and Song of the Year and Best Collaboration for “Bring Your Love” with Sabrina Carpenter. A win would be her first at the VMAs in 27 years. The remainder of the lineup will be announced next week. Nirvana has already been named this year’s Video Vanguard Award recipient, ending a decade-long streak of the honor going to women; Madonna was the first woman to receive it, in 1986.

The ceremony will broadcast live from Los Angeles on CBS, MTV, and Paramount+.