MTV Video Music Awards

MTV Video Music Awards History

The MTV Video Music Awards is an annual award show that seeks to honor achievements in the music video industry. Conceptualized by MTV, the show has been hosted by MTV since its inception in 1984.

The award ceremony is usually televised live from either a venue in Los Angeles or New York, however the event has also been held in Miami and Las Vegas. Current award categories include Video of the Year, Best Male Video, Best Female Video and the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award for lifetime achievement. Although the nomination and award selection process has not been made transparent by MTV, viewers and fans are encouraged to vote for their favorite nominees within each category. Once announced, the winner of each category is rewarded with a symbolic VMA moon man trophy. The VMA awards are not held on a specific calendar day but rather on a Sunday in late August or early September as decided by MTV.

Top 10 Facts for MTV Video Music Awards in 2026

• The 2026 ceremony takes place at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles, California, marking the first time the event has returned to the city since 2017.
• Madonna leads the 2026 field with eleven nominations, followed by Taylor Swift with nine, and both Ariana Grande and Sabrina Carpenter with seven nominations each.
• Fans influence the outcome of the 2026 event through active voting for major categories including Video of the Year, Artist of the Year, and Song of the Year.
• The 2026 awards are broadcast live on CBS and simulcast on MTV, with streaming options available via Paramount+.
• The iconic trophy presented to winners is a statuette of an astronaut on the moon, a design inspired by one of the earliest logos for the MTV network.
• Often described as the 'Super Bowl for youth,' the ceremony historically serves as a platform to draw millions of viewers from their teens through their 20s.
• The awards show originated in 1984 as a youth-oriented, high-energy alternative to the more formal and structured nature of the Grammy Awards.
• Throughout its history, the event has gained a reputation for unpredictable, unscripted moments and boundary-pushing performances that frequently define the year's pop culture conversations.
• The ceremony honors a wide variety of genres, including pop, hip-hop, and rock, maintaining its status as a significant institution for celebrating excellence in the music video medium.
• To ensure the date does not coincide with the anniversary of the September 11, 2001 attacks, organizers traditionally schedule the ceremony to avoid that specific calendar day.

In the News and Trending for MTV Video Music Awards

Top things to do for MTV Video Music Awards

• Attend the MTV VMAs.
• Use Twitter, Facebook and Instagram to stay in the loop on current MTV Video Music Award happenings. Use popular hashtags such as #MTVVMA, #VMA2016 and #Redcarpet.
• Host an MTV Video Music Awards Viewing Party. Incorporate the MTV VMA theme by cutting out cookies and food in the shape of the moon man, the official trophy of the VMAs.
• Vote for your favorite MTV VMA nominees.
• Watch the top two music videos which have won the most number of MTV VMAs:
  - Sledgehammer (1987) by Peter Gabriel, winner of 9 MTV VMAs
  - Bad Romance (2010) by Lady Gaga, winner of 7 MTV VMAs