VMAs 2026: Madonna Opens The Show With Her First VMAs Performance In 23 Years, Joined By Sabrina Carpenter, Charli XCX, & More

It's been a huge year for Madonna. Confessions II, her long-awaited, much-hyped sequel to 2005's Confessions On A Dance Floor, was rapturously received — including by Stereogum readers, who voted "Danceteria" to the top of our Song Of The Summer poll. Any perceived beef with her artistic descendant Charli XCX was squashed with a remix and a pack of smokes, and Charli's pal Troye Sivan paid homage with a "Music" sample on his new single "Party." Madge has been everywhere from Coachella to the World Cup final to Times Square. Now, that list includes the 2026 MTV Video Music Awards.

Madonna is the reigning queen of the MTV Video Music Awards, with arguably more iconic VMAs moments than anyone, dating all the way back to "Like A Virgin" at the first installment of the ceremony in 1984. But until tonight, she hadn't performed at the VMAs in 23 years. That streak of absences ended with a show-opening medley live from the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles, where the VMAs are taking place tonight. It's her record-breaking fifth VMAs performance, and it comes on a night when she leads the field with 13 nominations.

She was joined by Sabrina Carpenter, performing their Confessions II duet "Bring Your Love," and Charli XCX, singing the new "Danceteria" remix. Also onstage was Julia Stiles, who was set to play Madonna in her scrapped biopic. Madonna and Garner seemingly will reference that storyline in the upcoming season of The Studio, and The Studio creator/star Seth Rogen was up on stage too, as were Andrew Watt and Sombr.

Watch footage from the performance below.