opened the 2026 MTV in Los Angeles last night (27 September), marking her first VMAs performance in 23 years – and, in true fashion, she brought along a few famous friends.
As if the moment couldn’t be any more iconic, the Queen of Pop also set a new record for the most VMA opening performances, following previous appearances in 1984, 1990 and 2003.
Madonna performed a medley of songs from her No. 1 2026 album, , including ‘Bring Your Love’ with , followed by ‘Danceteria Afterhours’ with .
A homage to
The set was a homage to her VMA-winning music video , which won four awards: Best Dance, Best Long Form Video, Best Choreography and Best Cinematography.
Opening the ceremony with green lasers shooting from her dancers’ crevices, Madonna sat legs-spread on top of a piano, with Carpenter on the keys.
The pair went on to perform crowd-pleaser ‘Bring Your Love’, which reached No. 1 on Spotify’s Global Top Songs following its debut earlier this year.
After Sabrina made her exit, descending a flight of stairs behind a black curtain, Madonna rode a moving platform around the VMA stage, flanked by a choir dressed in white.
As the Queen of Pop returned to centre, the black curtain was lifted to reveal toilet cubicles, in a nod to the ‘Danceteria’ segment of .
Enter Charli XCX: “You wanna talk about Madonna and Charli?” she said as she flung open the door of the middle booth.
Who made a cameo in Madonna’s opening VMA 2026 performance?
The performance featured a series of surprise celebrity cameos, several of whom also appeared in Madonna’s award-winning music video.
Madonna reappeared alongside actress Debi Mazar from one of the cubicles, alongside Julia Garner, who was set to play Madonna in her biopic, as well as Sombr, Seth Rogen, Andrew Watt, Fab 5 Freddy and Tony Ward.
And that was just the beginning. As this year’s leading nominee, with 13 nominations, Madonna took home seven awards!
Madonna wins big at the 2026 VMAs
- Artist of the Year
- Best Collaboration — ‘Bring Your Love’ with Sabrina Carpenter
- Best Dance —
- Best Album — |
- Best Long Form Video —
- Best Choreography —
- Best Cinematography —