Madonna, 68, performs at the 2026 VMAs after 23 years and everyone is saying the same thing

Madonna has officially kicked off the MTV 2026 VMAs in a surprise collaboration with Sabrina Carpenter and Charli XCX.

The 68-year-old Queen of Pop has been joined by the 'Espresso' singer, 27, and the 'Von Dutch' hitmaker, 34, in her first performance at the iconic music awards ceremony since 2003 - and fans are going wild.

One X user wrote: "Madonna x sabrina is so chaotic #vmas" while a second added: "The #VMAs kinda feel important again thanks to this Madonna performance."

It's going to be a busy show for the Queen of Pop, as she’s leading this year’s nominations with 11 nods for her album Confessions II, including Artist of the Year, Video of the Year, and Best Collaboration.

Social media has been flooded with comments ever since she opened the show with a dazzling and roof-raising performance - and as with any time she performs, some fans simply cannot get over the singer’s age.

Yes, if you didn’t already know, Madonna is 68 years young.

Reacting online, one fan wrote: "Damn sabrina and madonna look damn near the same age #vmas."

While a second added: "Madonna doing all this at 68 is literally legendary," and a third wrote: "Madonna giving this level of performance at 68 years old is why she’s mother #VMAs."

A fourth agreed: "I’m sorry but Madonna being 68 and still performing like that is absolutely insane."

The star got similar comments a few months ago when she led the performances at the 2026 FIFA World Cup's first-ever half-time show back in July.

Madonna's iconic VMAs history

Madonna has a very impressive VMA history, having been nominated in every single decade of her musical career, as well as bagging 19 competitive MTV VMA wins.

Back in 1986, she became the first solo female artist to receive the Video Vanguard Award.

The last time Madonna graced the MTV VMAs stage was in 2003 when she famously performed her hits before sharing a kiss with Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera in one of the most talked-about moments in the show's history.

And in 1984, she headlined the very first VMAs to perform her then-new single 'Like a Virgin' in a wedding dress, while writhing across the stage and accidentally flashing her underwear after her shoe fell off.

She later shared that, ironically, her manager at the time told her afterwards that her career was over - how wrong she was!

She said while accepting the Artist of the Year award at this year's ceremony: "I had a little problem with my shoes, and one of my stilettos fell off, and I dove onto the stage to try to make myself look cute and sexy, and my dress went up, and my butt cheek was hanging out, and in those days, butt cheeks were not hanging out.

I went backstage feeling really proud of myself, and my manager told me that my career was over."

After Madonna's sizzling performance, viewers are in for a treat as a host of other musicians are set to hit the stage at Los Angeles’ Peacock Theater, in a ceremony that's being hosted by Snoop Dogg.

Those left to perform include LISA, who became the first K-pop soloist to win a VMA in 2022, while RAYE, GENER8ION, and Yung Lean are also set to make their debuts.

Sombr, Teddy Swims, Shaboozey and Gunna, and Sienna Spiro will also be hitting the stage.