In the second of her three acceptance speeches during last night’s MTV Video Music Awards, Madonna remarked that she opened the very first VMAs some 43 years ago and inadvertently distilled the problem with this once-great broadcast.
In theory, a Madonna opener in 2026 is a cute and potent callback to consistency and legacy—“mother,” as they say, showing her pop offspring how it’s done. (The special guests in Madonna’s set ranged from Debi Mazar and Fab 5 Freddy to Sabrina Carpenter, Charli xcx and Sombr, a little something for everyone). Two-and-a-half hours later, though, Madonna not only had one of the better performances but netted three of the night’s biggest awards. It’s not that she isn’t deserving, but more that Madonna being the focal point of a show—hosted by… Snoop Dogg—that purports to have its finger on the pulse of What’s Hot Right Now says a lot about what the VMAs have become.
The VMAs used to signal the official end of summer like Punxsutawney Phil heralds the end of winter, sending us back to school with a big heaping of pop culture to absorb and unpack. It was always less about who won what and more about who did what, coupled with some of the most creative performances from all the stars who were making noise on the charts and the streets. But last night, the artist with the new longest-running number one song ever and the one with the most ubiquitous song on Reels right now—Ella Langley and Adéla, respectively—were nowhere to be found. On the subject of inescapable Instagram songs, where was the Don Toliver “E85” performance? Actually, there was next to zero hip-hop representation outside of Big Snoop and a Gunna feature verse on his new country-rap duet with Shaboozey. Artists used to move heaven and earth to make headlines at the VMAs, but now it feels most of them can’t even be bothered.
It’s not like it was a bad show. Most performances were objectively good (I especially liked Yung Lean’s). Kacey Musgraves smoked a Dolly Parton tribute. Nirvana gave a good speech. Taylor Swift was there. But man, it all just felt so inert and inessential. I watched the show live, but it actually started 20 minutes late, bumped by an overtime football game on CBS. Not that anyone noticed.
