The American SetMadonna Sets the Tone at the 2026 VMAs, With Sabrina Carpenter and Charli XCX Alongside
The 2026 MTV Video Music Awards began with Madonna, and she had company: Sabrina Carpenter, Charli XCX and several other names shared the first moments of the night with her. The first minutes of an awards show tell the audience what kind of evening to expect, and this one started with pop royalty and two of the genre's brightest current stars on the same bill. For an archive that tracks who stood where, and when, that lineup is already worth noting. The looks will get their own entry once the full record is in.
With reporting from Vogue.