The MTV dropped the Best Afrobeats category from the 2026 VMAs, ending the award after just three editions.
Taylor Swift and Madonna dominated the 2026 MTV Video Music Awards, with the two music stars taking home several major honours at the ceremony held at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles on Sunday.
Nigerian stars Burna Boy and Tems, however, missed out despite receiving nominations in major categories.
Burna Boy was nominated in two categories for “Dai Dai”, his collaboration with Colombian singer Shakira. The song lost Best Collaboration to Madonna and Sabrina Carpenter’s “Bring Your Love”, while Bad Bunny’s “NUEVAYoL” won Best Latin.
Tems was nominated for Best R&B for “Raindance”, her collaboration with British rapper Dave. The award went to Bruno Mars for “I Just Might”.
The losses meant Nigeria had no winner among its nominations at the 2026 VMAs.
The development also comes after MTV dropped the Best Afrobeats category from the 2026 VMAs, ending the award after just three editions.
The category was introduced in 2023 as Afrobeats continued to gain global prominence, with Nigerian singer Rema and American singer Selena Gomez winning the inaugural award for their hit collaboration, “Calm Down”.
South African singer Tyla won the award in the following two editions, taking home the 2024 prize for “Water” and the 2025 award for “Push 2 Start”.
Tyla’s victories, particularly her first win in 2024, generated debate among some Nigerian music fans and observers over the classification of her music as Afrobeats.
At the 2024 ceremony, Tyla acknowledged African artistes, including Wizkid, Burna Boy, and Tems, after winning the award. However, her relationship with the genre became a subject of discussion after she identified her musical roots with Amapiano, while later saying she pushes both Afrobeats and Amapiano.
Her second consecutive win in 2025 came ahead of a field that included Burna Boy, Rema, Tems, Wizkid and Asake.
The pioneer nominees in the category are French superstar Aya Nakamura and Nigerian singers Asake, Arya Starr, Burna Boy, Davido and Rema.
MTV has not publicly stated a specific reason for removing the Best Afrobeats category from the 2026 VMAs, as it also scrapped other categories.
The category’s removal means Burna Boy and Tems, who were nominated in the Best Afrobeats category in previous editions, had to compete in other categories in 2026.
Swift won Video of the Year for “The Fate of Ophelia”, extending her record in the category.
She also won Best Direction for “Opalite” and became the first recipient of the Artist Director Honours, a new award recognising her work in music-video direction.
During the ceremony, Swift premiered the music video for “Patient Zero”, which she directed. She dedicated her Video of the Year victory, in part, to late country music legend Dolly Parton.
Madonna, who led the nominations, opened the ceremony with Sabrina Carpenter and Charli XCX, marking her first performance at the VMAs in 23 years. Her seven wins included Artist of the Year, Best Collaboration for “Bring Your Love” with Carpenter, Best Dance, Best Cinematography, Best Choreography, Best Long Form Video and Best Album for Confessions II.
BTS also had a major night, winning three awards: Song of the Year, Best K-Pop and Best Group, for “SWIM”.
Other major winners included Sienna Spiro, who won Best New Artist; LISA, who took Best Pop for “Dream” featuring Kentaro Sakaguchi; Cardi B featuring Kehlani, who won Best Hip-Hop for “Safe”; Bruno Mars, who won Best R&B for “I Just Might”; Olivia Rodrigo, who won Best Alternative for “the cure”; Bad Bunny, who won Best Latin for “NUEVAYoL”; and Ella Langley, who won Best Country for “Choosin’ Texas”.
The ceremony also featured tributes to music legends. Kacey Musgraves performed “I Will Always Love You” in tribute to Dolly Parton, while RAYE, Sombr, Teddy Swims and Adam Lambert joined a tribute to George Michael.
Nirvana received the Video Vanguard Award.
Hosted by Snoop Dogg, the 2026 VMAs were broadcast live on CBS and simulcast on MTV, with streaming available on Paramount+.
Other performers included LISA, Sienna Spiro, Shaboozey and Gunna, GENER8ION and Yung Lean, and RAYE.
Video of the Year
WINNER: Taylor Swift — “The Fate of Ophelia”
Artist of the Year
WINNER: Madonna
Song of the Year
