Summary:
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Snoop Dogg to host 2026 VMAs in LA on Sept. 27, airing on CBS, MTV, and Paramount+ Premium.
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Madonna leads with 11 nominations, Taylor Swift with 9, and Nirvana to receive the Video Vanguard Award.
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Snoop Dogg, a 13-time nominee with 3 wins, will also produce the show, emphasizing MTV’s early years.
Snoop Dogg is hosting the 2026 MTV Video Music Awards, and he’s doing it on home turf. MTV announced Thursday that the rapper will host this year’s show, which comes live from the Peacock Theater in downtown Los Angeles on Sunday, Sept. 27. It’s the VMAs’ first West Coast broadcast since 2017.
The show airs from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. EDT on CBS, with a simulcast on MTV and streaming on Paramount+ Premium in the U.S. Viewers outside the U.S. can watch it the next day on Paramount+ and MTV.
Snoop Dogg will also serve as an executive producer. In a statement, he called hosting “a full-circle moment for me” and said working with veteran MTV producer Van Toffler makes it even more meaningful.
His history with the show goes back decades. He’s a 13-time VMA nominee with three wins, and his run of standout moments includes his 1994 main-stage debut, a 1999 performance with Dr. Dre and Eminem, a 2005 tribute to The Notorious B.I.G. and a 2022 metaverse-themed set with Eminem.
Big live broadcasts aren’t new for him either. He’s handled Olympics commentary for NBC and coached on “The Voice.” He takes over from LL Cool J, who hosted last year’s show from New York.
On the nominations side, Madonna leads with 11, followed by Taylor Swift with nine. Ariana Grande and Sabrina Carpenter have seven each. Nirvana will receive the Video Vanguard Award, and performers and presenters will be announced in the coming days. Fan voting in most categories stays open through Sept. 25.
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With Snoop Dogg hosting, Madonna leading the field and Nirvana taking the Vanguard, this year’s show is leaning hard on artists who helped define MTV’s early years.
