Adedokun Waliyu
4 min read
Nigerian music stars Burna Boy and Tems have earned nominations at the 2026 MTV Video Music Awards (VMAs), with Burna Boy receiving two nominations and Tems securing one.
The nominations were announced ahead of the awards ceremony scheduled to take place at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles.
Burna Boy received both nominations for his collaboration with Colombian singer Shakira on their song, “Dai Dai.”
The Grammy-winning singer is nominated for Best Collaboration alongside Clipse, Kendrick Lamar, Pusha T and Malice for “Chains & Whips”; French Montana and Max B for “Ever Since U Left Me”; Madonna and Sabrina Carpenter for “Bring Your Love”; PinkPantheress and Zara Larsson for “Stateside”; and Teyana Taylor and Lucky Daye for “Hard Part.”
“Dai Dai” also earned Burna Boy a nomination in the Best Latin category, where it competes against songs by Anitta and Shakira, Bad Bunny, Fuerza Regida, KAROL G, Rosalía featuring Yahritza y Su Esencia, and Ryan Castro, Kapo and GANGSTA.
Tems, meanwhile, received a nomination for Best R&B for her collaboration with British rapper Dave on “Raindance.”
The pair are up against Bruno Mars’ “I Just Might,” Chris Brown’s “It Depends/Obvious,” Justin Bieber’s “YUKON,” Kehlani’s “Folded,” and Mariah the Scientist and Kali Uchis’ “Is It a Crime.”
The 2026 VMAs will air live on CBS, with a simulcast on MTV and streaming on Paramount+. Fans can vote in most categories daily until September 25 at 6 p.m. ET.
Madonna leads this year’s nominations with 11, while Taylor Swift follows with nine.
Notably, the Best Afrobeats category, which featured in previous VMAs, is absent from this year’s nominations. In 2025, South African singer Tyla won the award for “Push 2 Start,” beating Nigerian nominees Burna Boy, Wizkid, Rema, Tems and Asake.
Tyla had also won the category in 2024 for “Water,” while Rema and Selena Gomez won the inaugural award in 2023 for “Calm Down.”
The MTV VMAs are an annual awards show created by MTV in 1984 to celebrate the best music videos, songs and artists. The awards are known for their Moonperson trophy and memorable pop-culture moments.
Full List of Nominations
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, REI AMI — “Golden”
– Madonna & Sabrina Carpenter — “Bring Your Love”
– Olivia Dean — “Man I Need”
– PinkPantheress — “Stateside + Zara Larsson”
– 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, Malice — “Chains & Whips”
– French Montana x Max B — “Ever Since U Left Me”
– Madonna & Sabrina Carpenter — “Bring Your Love”
– PinkPantheress — “Stateside + Zara Larsson”
– Shakira & Burna Boy — “Dai Dai”
– Teyana Taylor & Lucky Daye — “Hard Part”
Best Pop
– Ariana Grande — “hate that i made you love me”
– Charli xcx — “SS26”
– LISA — “Dream feat. 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 ft. 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 & Tems — “Raindance”
– Justin Bieber — “YUKON”
– Kehlani — “Folded”
– Mariah the Scientist & Kali Uchis — “Is It a Crime”
Best Alternative
– Geese — “Taxes”
– mgk & 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 & Faithless — “New Religion”
– Harry Styles — “Aperture”
– Lady Gaga & Doechii — “RUNWAY”
– Madonna — “Confessions II – The Film”
– PinkPantheress — “Stateside + Zara Larsson”
– 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 ft. Yahritza Y Su Esencia — “La Perla”
– Ryan Castro, Kapo & GANGSTA — “LA VILLA”
– Shakira & Burna Boy — “Dai Dai”
Best K-Pop
– BLACKPINK — “JUMP”
– BTS — “SWIM”
– CORTIS — “REDRED”
– KATSEYE — “PINKY UP”
– LE SSERAFIM feat. j-hope of BTS — “SPAGHETTI”
– LISA — “Dream feat. 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 & Doechii — “RUNWAY”
– Madonna — “Confessions II – The Film”
– PinkPantheress — “Stateside + Zara Larsson”
– 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 feat. 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 feat. 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 X ZAYN — “Eyes Closed”
– Madonna — “Confessions II – The Film”
– PinkPantheress — “Stateside + Zara Larsson”
– RAYE ft. Hans Zimmer — “Click Clack Symphony.”
– Taylor Swift — “The Fate of Ophelia”
