Nigerian music stars Burna Boy and Tems have earned nominations at the 2026 MTV Video Music Awards (VMAs), with Burna Boy receiving two nominations and Tems securing one.
The nominations were announced on Tuesday ahead of the awards ceremony scheduled to hold at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles on Sunday, September 27.
Burna Boy received both nominations for his collaboration with Colombian singer Shakira on their song, “Dai Dai.”
The Grammy-winning singer is nominated for Best Collaboration alongside Clipse, Kendrick Lamar, Pusha T and Malice for “Chains & Whips”; French Montana and Max B for “Ever Since U Left Me”; Madonna and Sabrina Carpenter for “Bring Your Love”; PinkPantheress and Zara Larsson for “Stateside”; and Teyana Taylor and Lucky Daye for “Hard Part.”
“Dai Dai” also earned Burna Boy a nomination in the Best Latin category.
The song will compete against entries by Anitta and Shakira, Bad Bunny, Fuerza Regida, KAROL G, Rosalía featuring Yahritza y Su Esencia, and Ryan Castro, Kapo and GANGSTA.
Tems, meanwhile, received a nomination for Best R&B for her collaboration with British rapper Dave on “Raindance.”
The Nigerian singer will compete in the category against Bruno Mars’ “I Just Might,” Chris Brown’s “It Depends/Obvious,” Justin Bieber’s “YUKON,” Kehlani’s “Folded,” and Mariah the Scientist and Kali Uchis’ “Is It a Crime.”
The 2026 MTV VMAs will air live on CBS, with a simulcast on MTV and streaming on Paramount+.
Fans can vote in most categories daily until September 25 at 6 p.m. ET.
Madonna leads this year’s nominations with 11, while Taylor Swift follows with nine nominations.
Notably, the Best Afrobeats category, which featured in previous editions of the VMAs, is absent from this year’s nominations.
In 2025, South African singer Tyla won the Best Afrobeats award for “Push 2 Start,” beating Nigerian nominees Burna Boy, Wizkid, Rema, Tems and Asake.
Tyla also won the category in 2024 for “Water,” while Rema and Selena Gomez claimed the inaugural Best Afrobeats award in 2023 for their hit collaboration, “Calm Down.”
The MTV VMAs are an annual awards show created by MTV in 1984 to celebrate music videos, songs and artists. The ceremony is known for its Moonperson trophy and memorable moments in pop culture.
Burna Boy and Tems’ nominations add to Nigeria’s growing representation at major international music awards, with both artists continuing to make an impact on the global music scene.
