The 2026 MTV Video Music Awards will not include Best Afrobeats, a category South African star Tyla won in each of the past two years. An AI-generated audio version of this report is also available.
Key takeaways
- Best Afrobeats is missing from the 2026 VMA nominations, three years after its introduction.
- Tyla won the prize in 2024 for Water and again in 2025 for Push 2 Start.
- Burna Boy and Shakira earned a Best Collaboration nomination for Dai Dai.
- Tems is competing for Best R&B with Dave for their track Raindance.
- The ceremony is scheduled for September 27 in Los Angeles and will air on CBS and MTV.
Best Afrobeats disappears from the lineup
The genre award was left out of the nominations unveiled Tuesday for this year’s ceremony. Its removal comes only three years after the VMAs created the category to reflect Afrobeats’ expanding international reach and the wider impact of African music.
Tyla established herself as the award’s leading winner with consecutive victories. She collected the Moon Person in 2024 for her worldwide breakout song Water, then returned to the winners’ list in 2025 with Push 2 Start.
The Johannesburg-born performer is not included in the nominees for the 2026 event.
MTV has offered no public reason for excluding Best Afrobeats. Several other genre categories remain in place, including Best R&B, Best Hip-Hop, Best Latin, Best K-Pop and Best Country. Best Dance is also back after a seven-year hiatus, while Best Rock and Best Group are not part of this year’s announced categories.
African artists remain in contention
Although the dedicated Afrobeats prize has been removed, African performers still appear elsewhere on the ballot.
Nigerian Grammy winner Burna Boy shares a Best Collaboration nomination with Colombian superstar Shakira for their joint release Dai Dai.
Tems, another Nigerian standout, is nominated for Best R&B alongside British rapper Dave. Their collaboration, Raindance, earned the pair a place in the category.
Best Afrobeats first appeared at the VMAs in 2023. Nigerian hitmaker Rema and Selena Gomez became its inaugural recipients for Calm Down, after which Tyla won the honor during the next two award cycles.
The 2026 MTV Video Music Awards are set for September 27 in Los Angeles. The show will be broadcast live on CBS and MTV, with streaming available on Paramount+.
Madonna tops the nominations with 11 mentions. Taylor Swift follows with nine, while Ariana Grande and Sabrina Carpenter each receive seven. Bruno Mars, PinkPantheress and Zara Larsson have five nominations apiece.
