Madonna Returns to the VMAs Stage After 23 Years

Madonna performed at the MTV Video Music Awards tonight for the first time in 23 years, opening the ceremony with Sabrina Carpenter for their duet "Bring Your Love." Bondage dancers doubling as steadicam operators flanked the pair onstage.

The night's surprises kept coming. Charli XCX emerged from a bathroom stall to perform "Danceteria Afterhours," the just-released remix of "Danceteria," a track from Madonna's new album Confessions II. Cameos followed from Julia Garner, Debi Mazar, Sombr, and Seth Rogen, who smoked a joint on camera.

Madonna enters this year's ceremony as the most-nominated artist, with 11 nods. Her nominations include Video of the Year, Artist of the Year, Song of the Year, and Best Album — all on the strength of Confessions II. This marks the third time she has led the VMA nominations. She earned nine in 1998, for "Ray of Light" and "Frozen," and nine in 1990 for "Vogue."

The last time Madonna opened the VMAs was in 2003, in a performance that entered pop history: she sang a medley with Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera before the three famously kissed onstage.

Her VMA legacy stretches back to the show's origins. In 1990 she performed "Vogue" in an 18th-century French-inspired staging. In 1984 she headlined the very first VMAs, singing "Like a Virgin."

Tonight's appearance doubles as the largest televised showcase yet for Confessions II, the album that generated her 11 nominations. Whether she converts those nods into wins will shape how this comeback chapter is measured — and whether a 24-year wait for the next performance proves anywhere near as long.