The 43rd annual MTV Video Music Awards are now just three days away, coming up this Sunday (Sept. 27). This year’s broadcast looks to be dominated by icons both new and old, with Taylor Swift accepting the show’s first-ever Artist Director Honors (and debuting her new video for “Patient Zero”), in addition to past VMAs greats like grunge paragons Nirvana and pop exemplar George Michael receiving tributes, and even the late Dolly Parton — whose crossover peak largely pre-dates the VMAs — being honored.
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And then, of course, there’s Madonna. The Queen of Pop represents the VMAs’ legacy both historically — she received the Video Vanguard lifetime achievement award back in 1986, a full 40 years ago — and in real-time, as she is both the most-nominated artist at this year’s awards (for her acclaimed Confessions II album and its accompanying singles and videos) and the night’s opening performer.
After talking with Billboard earlier in the week about the upcoming Nirvana and George Michael tributes, today, VMAs producer and Gunpowder & Sky CEO Van Toffler discusses some of the other genre-and-generation-spanning musical greats involved with this year’s awards, and why it makes sense to mix them all — along with some potential future icons — on television in 2026.
Making the move to CBS, with the audience that’s built in from the CBS viewership — does there come with either more of a pressure, or maybe just more of a permission to kind of play to the older crowds? Is there less of a pressure to be solely youth-oriented than there would have been when it was only on MTV, and that being such a youth-oriented channel?
It’s a great question. I think part of the issue for television is that it’s all gotten grayer and older. I mean, the median age of MTV is much older. I left in in 2015. The median age was 22. I’m going to guess it’s a bit older than that right now.
So the thing is that — also with streaming of music — it has kind of erased time, and so what I mean by that is, if you’re a metal fan, you may like Black Sabbath or Def Leppard or Guns N’ Roses, and they’re decades apart. But you just say, “I like metal music,” right? And that’s what Spotify and Apple did. And so a 15-year-old young woman may love Fleetwood Mac, and they weren’t [releasing music during that young woman’s lifetime]. And so I think mixing those kind of genres has kind of come natural as a way of listening to music. So having it live [together] on an award show makes a lot of sense to me,
When we talk about George Michael and Nirvana, these were very present MTV figures in their time, they were incredibly visible on the channel. Dolly Parton, not necessarily so much — country was not a huge part of the MTV landscape up until fairly recently. So, why was it still important for you to make sure that Dolly was commemorated by such a popular recording artist of today on this year’s VMAs?
I think Dolly’s impact is pervasive in culture at large, not just music, right? But you know, if you think about Sabrina Carpenter, right, and Kacey, Brandi Carlile, all these artists were impacted by Dolly. You know, writing her own music, controlling her own publishing, singing her own songs, creating an empire, and so — it just felt like, if you’re doing a music show, you’ve got to acknowledge the Queen. And so we will. And look, Beyoncé did “Jolene.” So one Queen to the other Queen… it feels like her impact is all over music.
Is it more of an emphasis for MTV in 2026 to have country be a part of your overall core brew when it comes to the VMAs — not just with Dolly and Kacey, but with Shaboozey performing, and there’s a country award, which was introduced, I think, last year for the first time —now that country’s a bigger part of top 40 landscape, is it important that it be that would be reflected in the VMAs as well?
I think so. I mean, I can’t speak for MTV the channel. I’ve been gone for a while, but look, Ella Langley is as prevalent as Sabrina Carpenter, right, and so you have to acknowledge it, and they’re probably around the same age. So I don’t want to insult one or the other, but I think those songs really resonate. And again, unlike when I was growing up — you know genres really were delineated — I think that’s so much less so in current music.
Another award you’re giving out for the first time this year is the Artist-Director Award, which certainly is obviously a very very good fit for Taylor Swift as a first-time winner. Were there discussions with her or her camp about that award before you decided to give it to her, before you decided to introduce it? Was she a part of that process, or was it just a matter of coming up with the award and she was a logical first-time recipient?
Well, we definitely came up with the award and then talked to her team about it. Simply because, the thing about Taylor is, she just keeps evolving and growing. Not just as a musician, you know, from country to pop to folk, but as a talent, you know, directing, acting, writing — and it’s quite unique. And her evolution in music, it’s kind of like — I’m not saying she’s like The Beatles, but The Beatles in six years transitioned quite significantly —and I think that recognizing Taylor’s talent, it just seems like a natural [choice], because she really has made great videos.
Is it fair to assume that she’ll be present to accept the award?
I think you’ll have to ask her that.
You said earlier you don’t necessarily think about the future that much while you’re still working on this year’s show. But are there plans for this to be a regular award, the Artist-Director Award? Or is it more of a “when it makes sense to give it out, we’ll give it out” award?
I think as long as artists keep acting in front and behind the camera, we’ll give it out. I think it makes sense, because so many artists taking control [of all 360 degrees] of their career, so it feels like a natural [choice] for the future.
Just talking about Taylor and Madonna, these are probably two of the five or six most important artists in the Video Music Awards’ history, just in terms of what they’ve won and what they’ve accomplished, and the presence that they’ve been at the awards over the years. Is it important to you as you sort of look to the VMAs’ future to keep the icons of the show involved, and create that continuity, where they are not only continuing to be honored for their current accomplishments, but that their importance to the show over the years continues to be recognized?
I mean, why not? I think Madonna broke doors down for so many of the artists that will be on the show this year, and have been on the show. And why not recognize the art, particularly while they’re still around, you know, performing, and still on the road giving great concerts?
And are there artists who you look to as sort of the younger crop, who are maybe involved with the show this year, or that you hope to be involved with the show in future years, who you could see becoming the Madonnas and Taylors of future generations of VMAs?
Yeah, I mean. I think we’ve got three of them with Sienna [Spiro] and RAYE and LISA, all kind of different, but great chops can sing, write. Some of them dance more than others. Some of them are more visual than others. But I’m quite happy with the choices we’ve made around some of the new artists.
More and more, we see artists on the Beyoncé and Rihanna level going to events like the Met Gala, and not necessarily going to music award shows in the same way. So how do you make sure that the VMAs stays competitive with those sort of all-culture-consuming events like the Met Gala, even the Super Bowl, and that you still get the kind of icons of today and of yesterday showing up to the VMAs and being an active part of that legacy?
I don’t really compare like the Met Gala to the VMAs or the Grammys. I think the issue for the VMAs is kind of a blessing and a curse, and that is the bar is so high for the expectations of performances, right? So both the artists you mentioned, Beyoncé and Rihanna have won the Video Vanguard Award. And if you go back and look at their performances, they’re stellar, right? I mean, just insanely wonderful. So it’s hard to prepare for that kind of stuff, and if you’re not in cycle, then you know — it’s kind of crazy. So I think because the bar is so high, it takes them a lot of preparation to do it. Look, Madonna hasn’t been on the show for a whole bunch of years, over a decade, and you will see the amount of work she’s putting into it, I promise.
And just as a sort of a flip of that, having an artist like Yung Lean and Gener8ion involved with the show — where they don’t really have that kind of chart success of these other artists that we’re talking about do, but they had a video that was very impactful in a viral sense and a social media sense. Is it important to continue to acknowledge artists and visuals like that, where it really is about the video, more than being just attached to a hit song, for keeping the VMAs healthy?
One hundred million thousand percent. Have you seen that video, dude?
I have. It’s an eye-catcher, certainly.
By the way, you know we had the Leningrad Cowboys on the VMAs, right? So we’re keeping in that tradition. I think that performance will definitely go viral, no doubt.