The showgirl herself — a.k.a. Taylor Swift — has made her grand return to the 2026 MTV Video Music Awards.
Swift, 36, strutted down the Saturday, September 27, red carpet at Los Angeles’ Peacock Theater dressed in a Tamara Ralph halter gown featuring a black corset and silver skirt. She completed her ensemble with diamond earrings from Leviev and Anito Ko, Le Silla pumps, and Forever Diamonds and Etho Maria rings and a rosy lip.
For glam, the pop star showed off her newly cut bob and blunt bangs.
Swift, however, didn’t have husband Travis Kelce on her arm, as the Kansas City Chiefs tight end, 36, was in Miami for a football game against the Miami Dolphins earlier on Sunday. (The Chiefs beat the Dolphins 24-10.)
Swift, who last attended the VMAs in 2024, is up for 11 trophies, including Video of the Year, Artist of the Year, Best Pop, Best Direction, Best Art Direction, Best Cinematography, Best Editing, Best Choreography, Best Visual Effects, Best Album and Song of the Summer. Swift will also receive the inaugural Artist Director Honors.
“The MTV VMA Artist Director Honors celebrates a sustained and influential body of work from artists who have pushed creative boundaries and developed a clear directorial voice,” a press release read. “A seven-time VMAs Best Director nominee and four-time winner, Swift has emerged as one of the most distinctive directors of her generation, using music video as an extension of her songwriting and developing a visual language that blends narrative, symbolism, humor and autobiographical themes.”
The statement adds, “Across her work, Swift has brought an increasingly expansive approach to storytelling, creating interconnected narratives, cinematic worlds and recurring details that invite audiences deeper into each project. The inaugural MTV VMA Artist Director Honors recognizes that body of work, while also underscoring the growing role artists play in shaping how their music is brought to life on screen.”
Swift directed videos for “The Fate of Ophelia” and “Opalite” from her 2025 studio album, The Life of a Showgirl, both of which were recognized at the VMAs. Days before the ceremony, Swift dropped an extended version of the record with four new songs.
“About a year ago, you guys did a truly unfathomable thing. Something that completely blew my mind. You gave The Life of a Showgirl the biggest first week for an album in history,” Swift wrote via Instagram on Wednesday, September 23. “I took a trip to Sweden to celebrate with Max [Martin] and Shellback, my two collaborators on this album. Really we just wanted to reflect and take in how grateful we were for the moment we were in, but there was a studio there and we did what we do when we feel anything at all: We wrote more songs.”
She continued, “I hope you love them, because they were born out of pure gratitude for your exuberance for and celebration of the album we made.”
The new songs are “Patient Zero,” “Cleveland!,” “Pink Clouding” and “Babylon.”
