Madonna is officially the 2026 VMA Artist of the Year, taking home the trophy on Sept. 27 at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles. She beat out Sabrina Carpenter, Taylor Swift, Ariana Grande, Bruno Mars and Morgan Wallen, riding a huge year powered by Confessions II, which debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 this summer. She and Sabrina Carpenter also won best collaboration for their duet“Bring Your Love.”
The acceptance speech is what everyone’s talking about. Madonna looked back at the first MTV VMAs in 1984, when a stiletto fell off during her performance, her dress rode up, and her manager at the time told her the mishap meant her career was over. On Sunday night she joked that she’d like to thank her fingers because she can always count on them.
She wrapped up by crediting a year and a half of self-belief and making the music she wanted to make. So the artist who was supposedly finished in 1984 just collected Artist of the Year and shared the stage with one of pop’s biggest stars. Which Madonna era is your all-time favorite? Tell us in the comments.
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Local Lawton
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