LOS ANGELES (REUTERS): Pop music veteran Madonna secured the most nominations for MTV’s Video Music Awards on Tuesday, four decades after her headline-making performance helped put the event on the cultural map.
Madonna earned 11 nominations for next month’s VMA ceremony, including nods for Video of the Year for “Confessions II – The Film” and Artist of the Year. She surpassed Taylor Swift, who received nine nominations and will compete for Video of the Year with “The Fate of Ophelia”, from her latest album, The Life of a Showgirl.
Both artists have already collected several VMA Moon Person trophies. Madonna won her first in 1986, when MTV honoured her with the Video Vanguard Award for pioneering the music video format. She won Best Female Video for “Papa Don’t Preach” in 1987 and has collected 20 VMAs throughout her career.
Madonna created one of the show’s most iconic moments at the inaugural VMAs in 1984. She took the stage in a wedding gown featuring a “Boy Toy” belt buckle and rolled across the floor while performing “Like a Virgin”, pushing the boundaries of what cable television considered permissible at the time.
This year, Madonna faces powerhouse Swift, who recently completed the highest-grossing concert tour of all time. Swift shares the record for the most lifetime VMA wins with Beyoncé, with 30 awards each.
Other nominees include Ariana Grande, who won last year’s Video of the Year award, and Sabrina Carpenter. Each artist secured seven nominations.
Fans can vote online in 13 categories this year. Organisers will announce the winners on 27 September during a ceremony broadcast live on CBS and MTV and streamed on Paramount+.
