Madonna returned to the VMAs stage Sunday for her first live performance at the show in 23 years.
The 68-year-old Grammy winner opened the 2026 MTV Video Music Awards at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles with an electric set that featured cameos by Sabrina Carpenter, 26, Charli XCX, 33, and a surprise appearance by Julia Garner, 31. Snoop Dogg, 53, hosted the ceremony.
Madonna, wearing a black coat over a red dress, and Carpenter, dressed in a white button-down shirt, black micro-shorts and a beret, performed their 2026 hit, “Bring Your Love.” Charli XCX later joined the “Vogue” hitmaker for “Danceteria” on a stage set designed to look like a public men’s bathroom, complete with urinals.
Garner, who had been slated to portray Madonna in the singer’s since-cancelled biopic, was spotted dancing beside Madge during the performance. Other cameos included “Entourage” actress Debi Mazar, who has been friends with Madonna for more than two decades, Seth Rogen, Sombr, and photographer Nigel Barker.
The production also featured dancers with lasers shooting from their nether regions, adding to the spectacle of the opening number.
Madonna’s return marks her first VMAs performance since 2003, when she famously kissed Britney Spears, 44, and Christina Aguilera, 45, during a medley of “Like a Virgin” and “Hollywood.” At the time, Spears and Aguilera were both dressed as brides while Madonna emerged from a massive cake as a groom. Missy Elliott subsequently joined the trio to close the performance with “Work It” and “Get Ur Freak On.”
Aguilera later praised Madonna’s “soft lips,” calling her a “cute little kisser,” in a post-show interview with “Entertainment Tonight.” She further reflected on the experience during a 2018 “Radio Andy” appearance, noting that the broadcast cut away from her kiss to show Justin Timberlake’s reaction to ex-girlfriend Spears being kissed.
“They were exes, but still it was just a cheap shot,” the “Genie In a Bottle” hitmaker said of the “whirlwind” moment. “I definitely saw the newspaper and was like, ‘Oh, well, I guess I got left out of that one.'”
Spears had predicted at the time that the lip-lock would “cause controversy,” while Madonna insisted she was “absolutely” surprised by the backlash. Timberlake, when asked about the moment backstage, avoided comment and gave Coldplay a shout-out instead.
Jennifer Lopez was initially supposed to take part in the 2003 performance and had “rehearsed and everything,” but couldn’t get out of a prior commitment, leading Aguilera to step in.
Prior to 2003, Madonna had delivered iconic VMAs performances in 1984 with “Like a Virgin” and in 1990 with “Vogue.”
The Queen of Pop is currently promoting her 15th studio album, “Confessions II,” which was released in July and hit No. 1 on the Billboard charts. A source told how “locked in” Madonna was while writing the record, saying she and producer Stuart Price “really hunkered down” in the studio.
“[She turned] mourning into music,” the insider added, referencing Madonna’s brother Christopher Ciccone and stepmother Joan Ciccone passing within weeks of each other in 2024. The source also noted that “working on the script for her biopic, [doing] the ‘Celebration’ tour and [navigating her 2023] health scare” all made the songwriter extra “reflective” on the “incredible life and career she continues to have.”
Madonna’s 2023 health scare involved a serious bacterial infection that led to a stay in intensive care and forced the postponement of her “Celebration” tour.