Taylor Swift will become the most awarded artist in MTV VMAs history: A guide to the 2026 show
NEW YORK — Taylor Swift will once again break records. At the 2026 MTV Video Music Awards on Sunday, she will receive the inaugural Artist Director Honors, becoming the most awarded artist in VMA history.
Currently, Swift is tied with Beyoncé for the title of most-awarded musician in VMA history. They have 30 each. (Eminem is the male artist with the most VMAs, with 15.) The new award, which according to the VMAs is meant to recognize artists “whose work behind the camera has expanded the possibilities of music video and advanced the art of visual storytelling,” will bring her total to 31.
Here's everything you need to know about the forthcoming award show.
The two-hour MTV Video Music Awards show will broadcast live on CBS on Sunday, Sept. 27, at 7:30 p.m. Eastern and 4:30 p.m. Pacific, from the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles.
Hosted by Snoop Dogg, will also simulcast on MTV and be available to stream on Paramount+ in the U.S.
The show will become available to stream globally the next day on Paramount+ and MTV.
CBS is home to a number of award shows, including the Tony Awards and the American Music Awards. It has aired the Grammys since 1973, though that show will head to ABC in 2027.
Madonna leads this year’s ceremony, with 11 nominations that include video, artist and song of the year as well as best collaboration, dance, direction, art direction, cinematography, editing, choreography and visual effects.
Swift follows Madonna with the second-most nominations, with nine.
Those pop powerhouses are followed by Ariana Grande and Sabrina Carpenter with seven nods to their name as well as Bruno Mars, PinkPantheress and Zara Larsson with five. Blackpink’s LISA has four and Shakira, Tate McRae, GENER8ION and Yung Lean are tied for three.
Rounding out the artist of the year category nominees are Grande, Mars, Carpenter and Morgan Wallen, in addition to Madonna and Swift.
This year’s Video Music Awards features 26 first-time nominees, which include GENER8ION and Yung Lean (for their “Storm” collaboration) and the K-pop boy band CORTIS and viral “Boston” singer Stella Lefty with two each. Other notable first-time nominees include Don Toliver, Kali Uchis, Noah Kahan, Olivia Dean, Tucker Wetmore and Sienna Spiro .
The best dance category has returned for the first time in seven years. Nominees include McRae’s “Nobody’s Girl,” Bebe Rexha and Faithless’ “New Religion,” Harry Styles’ “Aperture,” Lady Gaga and Doechii’s “Runway,” Madonna’s “Confessions II — The Film,” PinkPantheress’ “Stateside” with Larsson and Slayyyter’s “Dance …”
Madonna will open the show. It will mark her first performance at the VMAs in 23 years.
Other performers include GENER8ION with Yung Lean, Shaboozey with Gunna as well as Lisa, Raye and Sienna Spiro.
Nirvana will receive the 2026 Video Vanguard Award.
Previous recipients include Shakira, Beyoncé, Nicki Minaj, Madonna, Janet Jackson, Jennifer Lopez, Rihanna, Missy Elliott, Katy Perry and many more.
Fan voting began online in mid-August across 13 categories and ends Sept. 25 at 6 p.m. Eastern and 3 p.m. Pacific.
Voting in the best new artist category will remain active during the show.
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The pub that is adjacent to Wrexham’s Racecourse stadium and a regular feature in the award-winning “Welcome to Wrexham” series has been bought by the club’s celebrity co-owners.
The acquisition of The Turf was described by Wrexham’s ownership — fronted by Hollywood stars Ryan Reynolds and Rob Mac — as a “continuation of the strategy to protect the future of the club and its interests by ring fencing key areas related to the life of the club.”
It was inside The Turf where Wrexham AFC was founded in 1864, when the pub was called the Turf Hotel. It has a central role in the TV docuseries that is into its fifth season and has helped to make Wrexham a popular club around the world.
The deal for The Turf “allows for the preservation of the history and traditions of the historic public house that is inexorably linked to the Racecourse Ground and Wrexham AFC Football Club,” the club said in a statement, and incorporates it with the club and the stadium under a single ownership.
Reynolds and Mac have regularly been filmed in The Turf alongside other celebrity actors like Will Ferrell and Paul Rudd, while Prince William once went behind the bar to pour a pint.
The pub’s landlord, Wayne Jones, has become a celebrity in his own right owing to his frequent appearances in TV series and Wrexham said he will continue to run The Turf on a day-to-day basis.
“I look forward to continue running The Turf,” Jones said, “and bringing its unique mix of history, atmosphere and sometimes Hollywood stardust to the next generation of Wrexham fans and locals alike.”
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BRISBANE, Australia — Australian actor Rebel Wilson returned to a court in Sydney on Monday over her directorial debut, “The Deb,” with producers accusing her of sabotaging the 2024 musical comedy.
AI Film Production Limited is suing Wilson in the New South Wales state Supreme Court alleging she undermined and blocked the release of the film, causing the Britain-based production company financial and reputational damage.
The film's release was shelved in 2024, after Wilson fell out with co-producers Amanda Ghost, her husband Greg Cameron and Vince Holden. It was eventually released in April this year.
The star of the “Pitch Perfect” films and “Bridesmaids” won a defamation suit in the Federal Court in Sydney in July. That suit had been brought by the star of the “The Deb,” Australian actor Charlotte MacInnes.
Wilson’s social media posts in July 2024 are at the center of both suits.
The three AI Film co-producers alleged Wilson accused them of inappropriate behavior conduct toward MacInnes, embezzling money and trying to block the film's release.
They said that Wilson and her company Camp Sugar Productions breached consumer law concerning misleading conduct and breached various contracts by making allegedly defamatory statements about them to her 11 million Instagram followers.
Wilson was accused of preventing the film's release by undermining negotiations with potential distributors and threatening an injunction against showing the film in Australia.
AI Film is seeking unspecified damages as well as an apology from Wilson for misleading and deceptive conduct. AI Film is also seeking corrective advertising.
In a cross-claim, Wilson and Camp Sugar alleged the three co-producers' involvement in the film was marked by “a troubling pattern of illicit egregious behaviors, including theft, bullying and sexual misconduct.”
Wilson said that Ghost broke verbal agreements over writing credits and a soundtrack album deal. Wilson also alleged Cameron and Holden embezzled 900,000 Australian dollars ($642,000) from a joint venture company set up to make the movie.
Wilson sat at the back of the courtroom on Monday and frequently typed on her phone as her lawyer Dauid Sibtain questioned the first witness, Holden.
The hearing was adjourned until Tuesday.
In the previous federal court case, MacInnes had alleged Wilson defamed her or breached her confidence in four social media posts from September 2024 to July 2025, by falsely suggesting she had withdrawn a sexual harassment complaint against Ghost to advance her career.
MacInnes denied ever making such a complaint, but a judge ruled that none of Wilson’s posts were defamatory.
