Burna Boy and Tems Score Three Nominations at the 2026 MTV VMAs | See Full List

The 2026 MTV Video Music Awards nominations are in, and Nigerian music is represented by Burna Boy and Tems across three nominations. Burna Boy receives two nods alongside Shakira for “Dai Dai” — in Best Collaboration and Best Latin — while Tems is nominated with British-Nigerian rapper Dave in the Best R&B category for “Raindance.” The ceremony is set for Sunday, 27 September, at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles.

Beyond Nigeria, the wider African and diaspora footprint remains strong across the lineup: PinkPantheress scores five nominations for “Stateside + Zara Larsson“, RAYE picks up two, Shaboozey appears in Best Country and Best Cinematography, Tyler, the Creator lands a spot in Best Hip-Hop, and French Montana earns a Best Collaboration nomination.

One notable change, however, is the absence of the Best Afrobeats category from the 2026 MTV VMAs nominations. Introduced in 2023, the category had three winners across its three editions: Rema and Selena Gomez won the inaugural award for “Calm Down” in 2023, while South African star Tyla won in 2024 for “Water” and again in 2025 for “Push 2 Start.” That means Tyla currently has two MTV Video Music Awards, both for Best Afrobeats.

For Nigerian music fans, Rema remains the Nigerian artist to have won the Best Afrobeats VMA, making history with Selena Gomez in 2023. This year, Burna Boy and Tems carry the Nigerian flag in other genre and collaboration categories instead.

Best Afrobeats is not the only category missing from this year’s announcement. Also absent are Best Rock, Best Pop Artist, Push Performance of the Year, Best Album, Video for Good, Best Long-Form Video, Best Group and Song of the Summer. Meanwhile, Best Dance returns to the VMAs slate for the first time in seven years.

Madonna leads the 2026 nominations with 11 nods, followed by Taylor Swift with nine. Ariana Grande and Sabrina Carpenter each earn seven nominations, while Bruno Mars, PinkPantheress and Zara Larsson receive five apiece.

Here is the complete list of nominees for the 2026 MTV Video Music Awards.

Video of the Year

• Ariana Grande — “hate that i made you love me”
• Bruno Mars — “I Just Might”
• GENER8ION — “STORM starring Yung Lean”
• Madonna — “Confessions II – The Film”
• Sabrina Carpenter — “Tears”
• Taylor Swift — “The Fate of Ophelia”

Artist of the Year

• Ariana Grande
• Bruno Mars
• Madonna
• Morgan Wallen
• Sabrina Carpenter
• Taylor Swift

Song of the Year

• BTS — “Swim”
• Ella Langley — “Choosin’ Texas”
• HUNTR/X: EJAE, Audrey Nuna and REI AMI — “Golden”
• Madonna and Sabrina Carpenter — “Bring Your Love”
• Olivia Dean — “Man I Need”
• PinkPantheress and Zara Larsson — “Stateside”
• RAYE — “WHERE IS MY HUSBAND!”

Best New Artist

• Bella Kay
• CORTIS
• Magnus Ferrell
• Malcolm Todd
• Myles Smith
• Sienna Spiro
• Stella Lefty

Best Collaboration

• Clipse, Kendrick Lamar, Pusha T and Malice — “Chains & Whips”
• French Montana and Max B — “Ever Since U Left Me”
• Madonna and Sabrina Carpenter — “Bring Your Love”
• PinkPantheress and Zara Larsson — “Stateside”
• Shakira and Burna Boy — “Dai Dai”
• Teyana Taylor and Lucky Daye — “Hard Part”

Best Pop

• Ariana Grande — “hate that i made you love me”
• Charli xcx — “SS26”
• LISA — “Dream” featuring Kentaro Sakaguchi
• Olivia Rodrigo — “drop dead”
• Sabrina Carpenter — “House Tour”
• Tate McRae — “Nobody’s Girl”
• Taylor Swift — “The Fate of Ophelia”

Best Hip-Hop

• Cardi B featuring Kehlani — “Safe”
• Don Toliver — “E85”
• Drake — “Janice STFU”
• Megan Thee Stallion — “LOVER GIRL”
• Travis Scott — “DUMBO”
• Tyler, the Creator — “SUGAR ON MY TONGUE”

Best R&B

• Bruno Mars — “I Just Might”
• Chris Brown — “It Depends/Obvious”
• Dave and Tems — “Raindance”
• Justin Bieber — “YUKON”
• Kehlani — “Folded”
• Mariah the Scientist and Kali Uchis — “Is It a Crime”

Best Alternative

• Geese — “Taxes”
• mgk and Fred Durst — “FIX UR FACE”
• Noah Kahan — “The Great Divide”
• Olivia Rodrigo — “the cure”
• SOMBR — “Homewrecker”
• Tame Impala — “Dracula”
• twenty one pilots — “Drag Path”

Best Dance

• Bebe Rexha and Faithless — “New Religion”
• Harry Styles — “Aperture”
• Lady Gaga and Doechii — “RUNAWAY”
• Madonna — “Confessions II – The Film”
• PinkPantheress and Zara Larsson — “Stateside”
• Slayyyter — “DANCE…”
• Tate McRae — “Nobody’s Girl”

Best Latin

• Anitta with Shakira — “Choka Choka”
• Bad Bunny — “NUEVAYoL”
• Fuerza Regida — “TU SANCHO”
• KAROL G — “Papasito”
• Rosalía featuring Yahritza Y Su Esencia — “La Perla”
• Ryan Castro, Kapo and GANGSTA — “LA VILLA”
• Shakira and Burna Boy — “Dai Dai”

Best K-Pop

• BLACKPINK — “JUMP”
• BTS — “SWIM”
• CORTIS — “REDRED”
• KATSEYE — “PINKY UP”
• LE SSERAFIM featuring j-hope of BTS — “SPAGHETTI”
• LISA — “Dream” featuring Kentaro Sakaguchi

Best Country

• Ella Langley — “Choosin’ Texas”
• Kacey Musgraves — “Dry Spell”
• Lainey Wilson — “Somewhere Over Laredo”
• Luke Combs — “Back in the Saddle”
• Shaboozey — “Cowgirl”
• Stella Lefty — “Boston”
• Tucker Wetmore — “Brunette”

Best Direction

• Ariana Grande — “hate that i made you love me”
• Bruno Mars — “I Just Might”
• GENER8ION — “STORM starring Yung Lean”
• Madonna — “Confessions II – The Film”
• Sabrina Carpenter — “House Tour”
• Taylor Swift — “Opalite”

Best Art Direction

• Charli xcx — “SS26”
• Lady Gaga and Doechii — “RUNAWAY”
• Madonna — “Confessions II – The Film”
• PinkPantheress and Zara Larsson — “Stateside”
• SOMBR — “My Body Isn’t Ready”
• Taylor Swift — “The Fate of Ophelia”

Best Cinematography

• A$AP Rocky — “PUNK ROCKY”
• Ariana Grande — “hate that i made you love me”
• LISA — “Dream” featuring Kentaro Sakaguchi
• Madonna — “Confessions II – The Film”
• Shaboozey — “Cowgirl”
• Taylor Swift — “The Fate of Ophelia”

Best Editing

• Ariana Grande — “hate that i made you love me”
• Bruno Mars — “I Just Might”
• LISA — “Dream” featuring Kentaro Sakaguchi
• Madonna — “Confessions II – The Film”
• Sabrina Carpenter — “House Tour”
• Taylor Swift — “The Fate of Ophelia”

Best Choreography

• GENER8ION — “STORM starring Yung Lean”
• Harry Styles — “Dance No More”
• KATSEYE — “PINKY UP”
• Madonna — “Confessions II – The Film”
• Tate McRae — “Nobody’s Girl”
• Taylor Swift — “The Fate of Ophelia”

Best Visual Effects

• Ariana Grande — “hate that i made you love me”
• JISOO and ZAYN — “Eyes Closed”
• Madonna — “Confessions II – The Film”
• PinkPantheress and Zara Larsson — “Stateside”
• RAYE featuring Hans Zimmer — “Click Clack Symphony”
• Taylor Swift — “The Fate of Ophelia”

The post Burna Boy and Tems Score Three Nominations at the 2026 MTV VMAs | See Full List appeared first on BellaNaija – Showcasing Africa to the world. Read today!.

Burna Boy and Tems lead Nigeria’s representation at the 2026 MTV VMAs with three nominations. Burna Boy earns two nods for “Dai Dai” with Shakira, while Tems is nominated for “Raindance” with Dave.
The post Burna Boy and Tems Score Three Nominations at the 2026 MTV VMAs | See Full List appeared first on BellaNaija – Showcasing Africa to the world. Read today!. Read More