MTV VMAs 2026 Leave Fans Asking Questions as Best Afrobeats Category Vanishes From This Year’s Nominations

The 2026 MTV Video Music Awards have sparked questions across the Afrobeats community after the Best Afrobeats category was left out of this year’s nominations, despite being introduced only three years ago and becoming an important platform for African music at one of the world’s biggest music award shows.

The omission has attracted particular attention because Afrobeats has continued to expand its global reach, with Nigerian and African artists regularly appearing on international charts, performing at major venues and earning recognition at awards outside Africa.

The Best Afrobeats category was introduced at the VMAs in 2023, with Rema and Selena Gomez winning the inaugural award for their global hit “Calm Down.” The category subsequently became a significant part of the VMAs’ recognition of African music.

In 2024, South African singer Tyla won the award for “Water,” beating a field that included Burna Boy, Ayra Starr, Tems, Wizkid and Davido. The result generated considerable debate, particularly in Nigeria, over the definition of Afrobeats and the growing inclusion of artists from across Africa.

The category returned in 2025, with Tyla once again emerging as the winner. She took home the Best Afrobeats award for “Push 2 Start,” continuing her strong run in the category after her 2024 victory with “Water.” Other major African artists, including Burna Boy, Wizkid, Tems, Rema and Asake, were among the artists recognised in the 2025 nominations.

That makes the disappearance of the category from the 2026 nominations particularly noticeable. The latest nominations include categories such as Best Pop, Best Hip-Hop, Best R&B, Best K-Pop, Best Latin and Best Country, but Best Afrobeats is absent.

Several other categories have also been changed or omitted this year, suggesting that MTV has made broader adjustments to the awards structure rather than simply changing the nominees within the Afrobeats category.

Still, the decision raises questions about how African music is being represented at a time when its international influence is arguably stronger than ever. Artists such as Burna Boy, Wizkid, Tems, Rema, Ayra Starr and Tyla have helped push African sounds further into the global mainstream through major collaborations, international performances and chart success.

African music has not completely disappeared from this year’s VMAs. Burna Boy, for example, remains connected to the ceremony through his collaboration with Shakira, which received recognition in another category. However, the absence of a dedicated Afrobeats award removes a specific space where artists from the genre could compete directly for recognition.

For fans, the key question is whether Best Afrobeats has simply been paused as part of a wider restructuring or whether MTV intends to discontinue the category permanently. As of the announcement of the 2026 nominations, there has been no clear public explanation for its absence.

The development comes at an important moment for Afrobeats, which has evolved from a sound strongly associated with West Africa into a major global musical force influencing pop, hip-hop and R&B.

With the 2026 VMAs scheduled for September 27 in Los Angeles, attention will now turn to whether MTV addresses the missing category and what its decision could mean for the future representation of Afrobeats on the global awards stage.