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| How to Vote for the VMAs 2026: Full K-pop Nominations, Voting Dates and Everything Fans Need to Know. |
The 2026 MTV Video Music Awards have officially entered fan-voting territory, and K-pop has plenty of skin in the game. Nominations were announced on 18 August 2026, with BLACKPINK's Lisa emerging as the most nominated K-pop act with four nods, while BTS picked up two nominations for SWIM. With voting already open for most categories, fans have until late September to make their clicks count before the ceremony takes over Los Angeles.
This year's VMAs are shaping up to be a particularly busy one, with Madonna leading the overall nominations on 11, followed by Taylor Swift with nine. Ariana Grande and Sabrina Carpenter each collected seven, while Bruno Mars, PinkPantheress and Zara Larsson received five apiece. Lisa's four nominations put her ahead of the other K-pop artists in the overall tally, although BTS and several newer acts have their own opportunities to take home trophies.
For K-pop fans, the headline category is naturally Best K-Pop, where BLACKPINK's JUMP, BTS' SWIM, CORTIS' REDRED, KATSEYE's PINKY UP, LE SSERAFIM's SPAGHETTI featuring j-hope of BTS, and Lisa's Dream featuring Kentaro Sakaguchi are all nominated.
It is a fairly broad mix, bringing together established global names, a major girl group, a rising act and a newer generation of performers. In other words, the category has managed to make choosing one song considerably less straightforward than simply picking the biggest name.
The K-pop representation does not stop at Best K-Pop. BTS and HUNTR/X, featuring EJAE, Audrey Nuna and REI AMI, are both nominated for Song of the Year, with SWIM and Golden respectively. CORTIS is also nominated for Best New Artist, giving the group a chance to compete outside the dedicated K-pop field.
Lisa has an especially strong showing beyond Best K-Pop. Her track Dream featuring Kentaro Sakaguchi is nominated for Best Pop, as well as Best Cinematography and Best Editing.
The latter two are non-votable categories, meaning fans cannot directly decide those awards through the public voting process. Lisa's four nominations nevertheless make her the standout K-pop name in this year's overall nominations.
There is more representation elsewhere, too. KATSEYE's PINKY UP is nominated for Best Choreography, another non-votable category, while Jisoo's Eyes Closed with Zayn receives a nomination for Best Visual Effects, also outside the public voting categories.
That means the K-pop contingent stretches well beyond one trophy race, with artists appearing across performance, pop and technical categories.
So, how does VMAs 2026 voting actually work? Fans can vote online through vote.mtv.com, where they need to sign in using an email address or a Google account. After choosing a category, voters select their preferred nominee.
The standard allowance is 10 votes per person, per category, per day, so fans do not need to decide between making one heroic click and disappearing until September. There is a daily allowance to use.
There are also designated double-vote periods, which are particularly useful for fans keeping a close eye on the numbers. The first two arrive around the opening of voting, with 18 August from 9am to 11.59pm ET and 19 August from midnight to 11.59pm ET allowing up to 20 votes per category. Another double-vote day is scheduled for 25 September, again allowing 20 votes per category.
Daily Power Hours offer another opportunity to increase voting totals. From 20 August through 24 September, the one-hour period between 1pm and 1.59pm ET doubles the normal voting allowance.
Fans following the campaign from outside the US may want to check the time conversion carefully, because missing the hour after planning an entire voting strategy would be a rather unfortunate plot twist.
For most categories, public voting opened at 9am ET on 18 August and continues until 5.59pm ET on 25 September 2026. There is one major exception: Best New Artist remains open until the award is presented during the live ceremony on 27 September. That gives the category a much longer voting window and means the result can remain in play right up to the broadcast.
There is also Best Group and Song of the Summer, but fans will have to wait for more information before voting there. The nominees and voting details are expected to be announced in September, with fans able to vote through MTV's official Instagram page. The choices will appear in Instagram Stories, where viewers can tap the group they want to support.
The ceremony itself takes place on Sunday, 27 September 2026, at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles. The live broadcast runs from 7.30pm to 9.30pm ET, or 4.30pm to 6.30pm PT, on the CBS Television Network.
It will also be simulcast on MTV and streamed live on Paramount+ in the United States, while the programme becomes available internationally the following day on Paramount+ and MTV.
For fans, the biggest conversation will likely remain around BLACKPINK, BTS and Lisa, particularly because the Best K-Pop category creates a direct clash between some of the biggest names in the Korean pop scene and newer acts looking to make a serious impression.
BTS's two nominations for SWIM have already given fans plenty to discuss, while Lisa's four overall nods put her in an unusually prominent position among K-pop nominees.
Fan reactions are, unsurprisingly, far from uniform. Some supporters are celebrating the breadth of K-pop representation and the chance for artists such as CORTIS to compete in major categories.
Others are already treating the voting period like a full-time administrative job, keeping track of daily allowances and double-vote windows. There is also plenty of discussion around the Best K-Pop nominees, with fans weighing established global acts against newer names rather than simply assuming the most familiar artist has the advantage.
The nomination of KATSEYE alongside BLACKPINK, BTS, CORTIS, LE SSERAFIM and Lisa also adds another interesting angle. The category is no longer simply a contest between a handful of long-established K-pop giants.
Its range reflects how quickly the international pop landscape is changing, with newer acts increasingly appearing alongside artists who have already spent years dominating global charts and award shows.
Still, nominations are only the beginning. The VMAs are famously driven by fan enthusiasm, and the public categories can become particularly competitive once fandoms start organising around voting schedules.
With the ceremony more than a month away, there is plenty of time for campaigns to build, rankings to shift and fans to remind everyone on social media, repeatedly and with impressive determination, which artist they believe deserves the trophy.
For K-pop fans, the key dates are therefore worth remembering: voting opened on 18 August, the next major deadline for most categories is 25 September, the final double-vote day is also on 25 September, and the 2026 MTV VMAs take place on 27 September. Best New Artist remains open until its winner is announced during the broadcast, while Best Group and Song of the Summer will arrive later through MTV's Instagram voting.
With BLACKPINK, BTS, Lisa, LE SSERAFIM, KATSEYE, CORTIS and Jisoo all represented across the nominations, the K-pop contingent has plenty to watch this year. Which artist do you think has the strongest chance of taking home a VMA, and will you be using those double-vote windows to support your favourite?