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Taylor Swift makes history with most ever wins at the MTV Video Music Awards
28th September, 2026 07:47 AM
Taylor Swift made history at the 2026 MTV Video Music Awards after becoming the most awarded artist in the history of the show. The 36-year-old singer achieved the milestone during the awards ceremony held on September 27 at Los Angeles’ Peacock Theater.
Swift, who received nine nominations at this year’s ceremony, became the first recipient of the Artist-Director award. MTV said the award recognises a musician whose work behind the camera has expanded the possibilities of music videos and advanced visual storytelling.
Swift celebrates directing career
While accepting the award, Swift reflected on her journey as a music video director and thanked her fans for supporting her work.
“I got to start making music videos and being a part of music videos 20 years ago, and since then I’ve gotten to be a part of making 60 music videos,” she said. “Eighteen of those I wrote and directed. I really love writing and directing music videos.”
Swift went on to explain why directing has become an important part of her career, crediting her fans for making the experience rewarding.
“I got to tell you though, the main reason why I love writing and directing music videos so much is that you, the fans, make it so much fun,” she continued. “You make it so rewarding because you actually care about what we’re making.”
The wins also moved Swift past Beyoncé as the artist with the most MTV VMA awards. Before this year’s ceremony, Swift and Beyoncé were tied at 30 Moonman trophies each. Swift’s additional wins at the 2026 ceremony gave her the record outright.
Swift’s work behind the camera
Swift began directing her own music videos more than a decade ago, first working as a co-director on her 2010 song “Mine”.
She later took a bigger role in creating the visuals for several of her songs, including “The Man”, “I Bet You Think About Me”, “All Too Well: The Short Film”, “Anti-Hero” and “Bejewelled”.
Her latest directing work was also showcased at the VMAs when she premiered the music video for “Patient Zero”. The video stars actors Dakota Johnson and Colin Farrell and was unveiled during the ceremony hosted by Snoop Dogg.
New music and ‘Patient Zero’
The video came days after Swift released “Patient Zero” as part of her September 25 project, The Life of a Showgirl: Encore. The release also featured three other new songs, including “Pink Clouding”, “Babylon” and “Cleveland!”.
The latter track focuses on Swift’s relationship with her husband, Travis Kelce.
“Something we all can agree on, but my baby likes what he likes,” Swift sings on the song. “He already took me to Cleveland and showed me The Heights, so hate all you like, this is the love of my life”
With her latest wins, Swift has now added another milestone to a career that has seen her expand beyond music into songwriting, directing, and visual storytelling.
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