Taylor Swift became the most decorated artist in the history of the MTV award

Singer Taylor Swift set a new record at the 2026 MTV Video Music Awards (VMA). She received the first ever award “Best Director-Performer” and became the most decorated artist in the history of VMA. Before that, Swift and Beyoncé shared the lead in the number of awards - each had 30 statuettes, according to the Assosiated Press (AP).

"I started making music videos and taking part in them 20 years ago," Swift said. She added that she participated in the creation of about 60 music videos, 18 of which she wrote and directed.

The new award recognizes artists whose behind-the-scenes work has contributed to the development of music videos and expanded the possibilities of visual storytelling.

Swift also won the Video of the Year Award for The Fate of Ophelia from The Life of a Showgirl. Swift dedicated this award to the late Dolly Parton.

At the ceremony, Swift also presented a video for a new song Patient Zero. The singer herself became the director of the video, which starred Colin Farrell and Dakota Johnson. In the clip, Swift and Johnson look like mirror images of each other.

Madonna opened the MTV Video Music Awards 2026 with the new song Bring Your Love with Sabrina Carpenter. Later, the duo received the award for best collaboration. Madonna was also named Artist of the Year.

One of the main events of the evening was the presentation of Nirvana Video Vanguard Award. The award went to Krist Novoselic, Dave Grohl and Pat Smir, the remaining members of the band. Kurt Cobain, vocalist and guitarist of Nirvana, died in 1994.

The MTV Video Music Awards were established by MTV in 1984. It is awarded for achievements in the creation of music videos, and the main award is traditionally considered a statuette in the form of an astronaut. Over the years, the award has become one of the most famous music awards in this field.

Taylor Swift regularly became one of the main characters of the VMA. In 2023, she won nine awards, including Artist of the Year, Video of the Year, Album of the Year and Song of the Year.

In 2024, Swift again became the leader in the number of statuettes received - she won in five nominations. Including the singer for the fifth time received the award for “Video of the year”, and was recognized as “Artist of the year” and won in the nomination “Best Director”.