Madonna Kills It in Wild 2026 VMAs Opener Featuring Charli xcx & Sabrina Carpenter

In the words of host Snoop Dogg, Madonna “kilt” it at the 2026 MTV VMAs, offering a very Madonna opening to the show — football be damned!

The 7:30 p.m. ET start time for the show was delayed a full 22 minutes by football on CBS, but it opened with a bang.

Madonna kicked things off — literally, check out those high kicks — with a two’fer, performing “Bring Your Love” with Sabrina Carpenter and “Danceteria” with Charli xcx and a host of guests.

After a bit of her “Confessions II” short film featuring dancers with laser beams emanating from places from which laser beams rarely emanate, Madonna began warbling “Bring Your Love” while seated on a piano as Sabrina accompanied her.

Madonna rocked black boots and a silky black robe over red while Sabrina served a black-and-white look with a beret.

Stripped of her robe, Madonna was carried by dancers and deposited on a platform that raced around a gospel choir, all the while recreating yoga-vibing choreography from her short film “Confessions II.”

This ended with a journey to a men’s room setting for “Danceteria.” The song, all about the Queen of Pop’s downtown NYC days, was just remixed to include Charli xcx, who emerged from a stall to sing about her own journey to stardom.

“Now I’m singing with Madonna at the VMAs!” she sang after a musical walk down memory lane.

The production number included a slew of dancers, but also some familiar faces — from Madonna’s world, her ex-boyfriend Tony Ward (who appeared in the “Sex” book and “Justify My Love” music video with her), iconic DJ Fab Five Freddy, Julia Garner (long slated to play Madonna in a stalled biopic), and her bestie Debi Mazar; Seth Rogen (Madonna will be seen on the next season of “The Studio”); Sombr; and more added to the controlled chaos.

The song samples Lou Reed’s iconic “Walk on the Wild Side,” so among the projections flashing overhead was a tribute to Reed.

Madonna has performed many times at the VMAs, but not in 23 years!

The rest of the night, she stuck around to see how many of the 13 awards for which she was nominated would slide into her wins column — starting with Best Collaboration, which she and Sabrina shared.

During their acceptance speech, Madonna teased Sabrina for not replying to her collab request quickly enough, but praised her as remarkably professional and raved about her tendency to write her songs down on paper. She went on to say it was wonderful working together, so which Sabrina simply replied, “Everyone — Madonna!”

Making her night complete, she took home he coveted Artist of the Year Award, thanking her co-writer/co-producer Stuart Price, her manager Guy Oseary, and MTV — reminding the crowd she performed at the first MTV VMAs in 1984.