Taylor Swift Makes MTV VMAs History as Madonna Wins Artist of the Year
Taylor Swift has become the most successful artist in the history of the MTV Video Music Awards after winning Video of the Year for her music video The Fate of Ophelia at Sunday’s ceremony in Los Angeles.
The singer entered the awards tied with Beyoncé at 30 wins but moved ahead after securing the night’s top prize for the visuals accompanying the song from her 2025 album, The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift also received the inaugural Artist Director award for writing and directing the theatrical music video herself. During her acceptance speech, she dedicated the honour to Dolly Parton, describing the country music legend as the “ultimate showgirl.”
The 36-year-old singer also premiered the music video for her new song Patient Zero, featuring actors Colin Farrell and Dakota Johnson. The dark, gothic thriller is her first music video since marrying NFL player Travis Kelce. The track is one of four new songs on The Life of a Showgirl: The Encore, released last week.
Madonna was another major winner at the ceremony, taking home Artist of the Year, Best Dance and Best Collaboration alongside Sabrina Carpenter for their song Bring Your Love. The track was the lead single from Madonna’s 2026 album, Confessions II. Madonna also received awards for Best Cinematography and Best Choreography for the Confessions II film.
Madonna, who led the nominations with 13, reflected on her long career while accepting Artist of the Year. The 68-year-old recalled performing at the inaugural VMAs 43 years ago and an early onstage fall that exposed her backside, an incident she said had threatened to end her career.
The pop icon also performed at the ceremony for the first time since her memorable onstage kiss with Britney Spears in 2003. Her performance included a duet with Carpenter and an appearance by British singer Charli XCX for a rendition of their new song Danceteria (Afterhours).
Carpenter, meanwhile, addressed Madonna’s account of waiting five days for a response from her team about a possible collaboration. She clarified that her team does respond to people but added that contacting her directly is the fastest way to reach her.
Lisa of K-pop group Blackpink made history by becoming the first Asian solo artist to win the Best Pop category for her song Dream, which featured Japanese actor Kentaro Sakaguchi in its music video. The Thai singer, whose real name is Lalisa Manobal, thanked her fans, known as Lillies, for their support.
Other winners included British singer Sienna Spiro, who took home Best New Artist, while PinkPantheress and Zara Larsson won Best Art Direction for Stateside. BTS won Best Group and Song of the Year for Swim, Olivia Rodrigo’s The Cure won Best Alternative, and Nirvana received the Video Vanguard award. The ceremony, hosted by Snoop Dogg, also featured tributes to the late Dolly Parton and George Michael.