Madonna surpasses Taylor Swift in MTV Video Music Awards nominations

'Confessions II' is Madonna's beautiful tribute to herself and the dance floor Madonna scored the most nominations for the MTV Video Music Awards on Tuesday, four decades after the “Material Girl” singer put the event on the cultural map with a headline-grabbing performance. Madonna received 11 nominations for next month's VMA ceremony, including nominations for video of the year for "Confessions II – The Film" and artist of the year. She surpassed the nine nominations of Taylor Swift, who will compete for the video of the year award with “The Fate of Ophelia”, from her most recent album, “The Life of a Showgirl”. Both singers already have several “Moon Person” VMA trophies. Madonna achieved the first in 1986, when she received the Video Vanguard Award for pioneering the music video format. In 1987, she won the award for best female music video for “Papa Don’t Preach” and has accumulated 20 VMA awards throughout her career to date. Taylor Swift receives Video of the Year award at the 2019 VMAs for “You Need to Calm Down” Matt Sayles/Invision/AP It was her performance at the first edition of the VMAs, in 1984, that created one of the program's most iconic moments. Madonna took the stage in a wedding dress adorned with a “Boy Toy” belt buckle and rolled on the floor while singing “Like a Virgin,” pushing the boundaries of what was considered acceptable on cable TV at the time. This year, she faces off against the mighty Swift, who recently completed the highest-grossing concert tour of all time. Swift is tied with Beyoncé for the most career VMA wins, with 30 each. Other nominees for this year's VMAs include Ariana Grande, last year's VMA winner for video of the year, and Sabrina Carpenter. Each received seven nominations. Fans can vote online in 13 of this year's categories. Winners will be announced on September 27th in a ceremony broadcast live on CBS and MTV and available for streaming on Paramount+.