Madonna performs at the VMAs 2026 in a slinky blazer and lace-up leather

The Queen of Pop is back on her throne.

Madonna kicked off the VMAs 2026 Sunday, performing “Bring Your Love” with Sabrina Carpenter and “Danceteria Afterhours” with Charli XCX.

The “Vogue” hitmaker took the stage in a black blazer, which she shrugged off to reveal a wine-red bodysuit cinched with a corset belt. For “Danceteria Afterhours,” she added a lace-up leather jacket, complementing her knee-high boots and red fingerless gloves.

Carpenter nodded to Madge’s eighties style in a beret, sparkling hot pants and suspender while Charli showed a peek of her purple underwear beneath a black ultra-mini.

Julia Garner, Debi Mazer, Seth Rogan and Sombr were among the backup dancers on stage, too.

It was the 68-year-old’s first VMAs performance since 2003, when she kissed Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera onstage during a “Like a Virgin” medley. That moment remains one of the ceremony’s most memorable.

At tonight’s show at Los Angeles’ Peacock Theater, Madonna leads the nominations with 11 nods — a career high — including Artist of the Year, Video of the Year for her acclaimed “Confessions II — The Film”, and Song of the Year for her Sabrina Carpenter duet, “Bring Your Love.” A win would be her first VMA in 27 years.

“My dream was to make people dance this summer!!” Madonna wrote on Instagram after the album topped the Billboard 200. “To bring people JOY! Dreams do come true.”

Dolce & Gabbana outfitted the singer and the entire cast of the album’s accompanying film, and later created her 68th birthday gown, a sequined Alta Moda floral piece she wore in Corfu. The Italian house has dressed the star since her 1993 “Girlie Show” tour.

“She loves transforming herself,” Garren, Madonna’s go-to hairstylist, told Page Six Style in July.

Over the years at the MTV awards show, she’s dressed as Marie Antoinette, paired white lingerie with a “Boy Toy” belt, and courted controversy in a pile of traditional Moroccan jewelry worn with a spiked headpiece.

One of her still-referenced moments came in 1995, when she layered a blue satin Gucci shirt over a black bra with voluminous, blown-out hair styled by Garren.

“She [was inspired by] a picture of Catherine Deneuve walking through the lobby with her hair pulled up. I went for it and it really elevated her and took her to another level,” he said.

Tonight’s ceremony, hosted by Snoop Dogg, is airing live on CBS, MTV and Paramount+.