From Madonna to LISA, RAYE & More, Which 2026 VMAs Performance Was Your Favorite? Vote!
Sombr, Teddy Swims and Adam Lambert also took the stage for a George Michael tribute.
Lisa performs at the 2026 MTV Video Music Awards held at Peacock Theater on Sept. 27, 2026, in Los Angeles.
Rich Polk/Billboard
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The 2026 VMAs is in the books, carving out another year of memorable performances from the night’s nominees. But from Madonna, LISA and more, which was your favorite?
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The award show took place Sunday (Sept. 27) at Peacock Theater in Los Angeles, hosted by Snoop Dogg. In between the bequeathing of Moon People to artists such as Taylor Swift, who won both video of the year for “The Fate of Ophelia” and the VMAs’ first-ever artist director honors — at which point she debuted the music video for her “Patient Zero” single — and the Queen of Pop, who received the most wins of the night including artist of the year, a number of superstars took over the stage to contribute live music to the event. (Well, sort of. The “live” telecast ran on a 22-minute delay due to the late ending of the Baltimore Ravens vs. Dallas Cowboys game beforehand.)
First up was Madge, who — before collecting artist of the year, best dance and best collaboration — kicked off the show with a medley of Confessions II songs, featuring star-studded cameos from Sabrina Carpenter, Charli xcx, Seth Rogen and more. RAYE delivered a high-energy showcase of her This Music May Contain Hope tracks “I Will Overcome.” and “Where Is My Husband!
,” while LISA commanded the stage with a choreography-filled rendition of new single “SaWaDiKa.” Later, Sienna Spiro — who’d go on to accept best new artist — belted out “Great Expectation” and earned a standing ovation, and Kacey Musgraves honored the late Dolly Parton with a cover of “I Will Always Love You.” Additionally, RAYE returned to help sombr, Teddy Swims, Adam Lambert and more artists pay tribute to George Michael, and Yung Lean smashed a Moon Person statuette and spat ice cream at the camera while performing Gener8ion collab “Storm” in a sea of dancers.
But which of those was your favorite? Billboard shared its ranking Sunday night, and now it’s your turn.
Tell us which star(s) you think gave the best performance at the 2026 VMAs by voting in the poll below.
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