Madonna has walked away from the 2026 MTV Video Music Awards (VMAs) as the night’s biggest winner, taking home more trophies than any other artist. The ceremony, which took place on Sunday, September 27, saw a whole host of queer talent hit the red carpet and take the stage.
Madonna opened the VMAs with a medley of songs from her 2026 album, Confessions II, marking her first performance at the event in 23 years. The medley saw the artist reunite with Sabrina Carpenter to perform ‘Bring Your Love’, with the song later winning the Best Collaboration award.
The Queen of Pop was also accompanied by fellow pop icon Charli xcx, as the two performed ‘Danceteria Afterhours’ together.
Madonna ended the night with seven awards, including: Artist of the Year, Best Album, Best Collaboration, Best Dance, Best Cinematography, Best Choreography and Best Long Form Video.
While accepting Artist of the Year, Madonna reminisced about her famous wardrobe malfunction during her 1984 VMAs performance, saying, “I had a little problem with my shoes, and one of my stilettos fell off, and I dove onto the stage to try to make myself look cute and sexy, and my dress went up, and my butt cheek was hanging out, and in those days, butt cheeks were not hanging out.”
She added, “I went backstage feeling really proud of myself, and my manager told me that my career was over.”
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Another highlight of the night came when Adam Lambert made an unannounced appearance during the tribute to George Michael, with a rendition of ‘Freedom! ’90’.
The performance was introduced by openly gay country-western singer Orville Peck, who described Michael as a “pop god”. It saw a number of artists taking on some of Michael’s most famous tracks, including Sombr performing ‘Faith’ and ‘Father Figure’, followed by RAYE with ‘I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me)’, and Teddy Swims with ‘Careless Whisper’. Finally, Lambert took to the stage for ‘Freedom! ’90’, joined by fellow artists MNEK, Saint Harison and MEEK.
Other LGBTQ+ figures seen at the ceremony included Troye Sivan, Bob the Drag Queen, Monét X Change, Lauren Jauregui and Pabllo Vittar, while openly queer singer Kehlani took home the Best Hip-Hop award for her collaboration with Cardi B on ‘Safe’.
The night also saw Taylor Swift make history, becoming the most awarded artist ever at the VMAs. While accepting the trophy for Video of the Year, Swift dedicated the win to the late Dolly Parton, referring to her as the “ultimate showgirl”.
© 2026 GCN (Gay Community News). All rights reserved.
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