JoJo attends the 2026 MTV Video Music Awards in Los Angeles, California, US, September 27, 2026. REUTERS/Caroline Brehman
Madonna opened up the VMAs last night, and she killed it. She started her performance doing “Bring Your Love” with Sabrina Carpenter.
Then she transitioned to “Danceteria”, with Charli XCX bursting out of a bathroom stall smoking a cigarette. This woman is determined to Make Smoking Great Again, isn’t she???
There were also cameo appearances by Sombr, Debi Mazar, Julia Garner, and . . . for some reason . . . Seth Rogen clad in head-to-toe leather and puffing on a joint.
While she was on point during the show opener, Madonna seemed a little ALTERED later on, like when she accepted the award for Best Dance toward the end of the show. (WARNING: She says “ass” in this video.)
Other show highlights included:
1. Kacey Musgraves paying tribute to Dolly Parton with an awesome rendition of “I Will Always Love You”.
2. Taylor Swift later spent most of her Video of the Year acceptance speech praising Dolly. Taylor was, of course, also awarded the inaugural Artist Director Award . . . a trophy that seems like it was invented just to get Taylor to show up. I mean seriously, who are they gonna give it to next year???
3. Krist Novoselic giving all the glory to Kurt Cobain while accepting Nirvana’s Video Vanguard Award.
4. The tribute to George Michael featured great performances by Sombr, Teddy Swims, Raye, and Adam Lambert.
As for the actual awards, Madonna was the big winner. She came into the show with 13 nominations, and went home with seven VMAs . . . including Artist of the Year. Taylor Swift had a big night, too. After last night, she has a record 30 VMAs, including this year’s Video of the Year trophy for “The Fate of Ophelia”.
(Check out the winners in all the major categories here.)
