Madonna Takes Back the VMA Opener — and Brings Everybody With Her
Madonna returned to the MTV Video Music Awards stage after 23 years and did not come back alone. The Queen of Pop opened the 2026 ceremony in Los Angeles with Sabrina Carpenter, then kept the door swinging for Charli xcx, Debi Mazar, Julia Garner, SOMBR, Fab 5 Freddy and Seth Rogen in a star-loaded comeback that felt less like one performance and more like Madonna reclaiming a piece of VMA real estate.
The opening began with Madonna and Carpenter performing “Bring Your Love”, their Confessions II collaboration that first hit the stage together at Coachella earlier this year. Later, Charli emerged for “Danceteria Afterhours”, the pair’s newly released remix, while the rest of the guest list turned the set into a parade of Madonna-world faces, pop heirs and wonderfully unexpected cameos.
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Madonna at the 2026 VMAs
Madonna returned to the VMA performance stage after 23 years, opened with Sabrina Carpenter and ended the night with seven wins.
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Sabrina Carpenter Opens the Door, Charli xcx Walks Through It
For Sabrina, the VMA opening completed a circle that started months earlier at Coachella, where Madonna surprised her headline set and the two debuted “Bring Your Love” live. At the VMAs, the roles flipped: this was Madonna’s stage, Madonna’s return and Madonna’s history with MTV — with Carpenter stepping directly into it.
Then came Charli xcx for “Danceteria Afterhours,” followed by cameos that kept widening the performance beyond a standard two-song medley. Debi Mazar brought real Madonna history into the room; Julia Garner added another wink to the long-discussed Madonna biopic connection; and SOMBR, Fab 5 Freddy and Seth Rogen made sure the whole thing stayed just strange enough to feel like a proper VMA opener.
INYIM Caught the VMA Return in Motion
Our first clip catches the energy surrounding Madonna’s return as the 2026 show got underway.
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“Bring Your Love” Wins Best Collaboration
The opener was only the beginning. Later in the night, Madonna and Sabrina Carpenter won Best Collaboration for “Bring Your Love”, turning a collaboration that began as one of 2026’s biggest live pop surprises into a Moon Person-winning VMA moment.
Madonna ultimately led the night with seven wins, including Artist of the Year and Best Dance for Confessions II — The Film. For somebody returning to the VMA performance stage after more than two decades, this was not a ceremonial nostalgia booking. She arrived with current music and left with a stack of new hardware.
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Madonna and Taylor Swift Share a Backstage VMA Moment
And somewhere between all the stage chaos and Moon Persons, Madonna and Taylor Swift found each other backstage for a hug and a quick chatter — two generations of VMA history crossing paths away from the cameras pointed at the main stage.
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Madonna’s relationship with the VMAs has never exactly been quiet: “Like a Virgin” in 1984, “Express Yourself” in 1989, “Vogue” in 1990, and the infamous 2003 opener with Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera all became pieces of MTV history. Twenty-three years after that last VMA performance, 2026 gave the archive another chapter.
Sources: MTV / CBS; Paramount Press Express; Pitchfork; Vogue; INYIM Media social coverage.
