The 2026 MTV Video Music Awards will take place this Sunday, the 27th, at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles. This year's edition arrives at a symbolic moment for the relationship between MTV and rock. For the first time, the genre has lost ground at the event, as the 2026 edition will not include one of its main categories: Best Rock Video, created in 1989.
The category has gone by different names throughout its history. In 1989, it began as Best Heavy Metal Video. Later, it was renamed Best Metal/Hard Rock Video and Best Hard Rock Video. In 1997, it arrived at the format known as Best Rock Video. In 2017, MTV removed the word "Video" from the genre categories and simply adopted "Best Rock".
The list of winners includes some of the biggest names in the genre. Guns N' Roses won the first edition with "Sweet Child O' Mine." Aerosmith won four times. Metallica, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, Korn, Linkin Park, Green Day , and Foo Fighters also took home the trophy. The last winner was Coldplay, with "All My Love," in the 2025 edition.
The absence doesn't mean that rock artists have completely disappeared from the awards. The genre can still appear in general or technical categories, depending on the nominees. However, the decision ends one of the VMA's oldest traditions. For almost four decades, the rock category served as one of the few permanent slots for the genre within the MTV awards. The American website Loudwire contacted two representatives from Paramount, the company that owns MTV, and they confirmed the removal of the category, but offered no further explanation.
In previous decades, some of the most chaotic moments of the awards show came precisely from artists who seemed unable to accept that the VMAs should function as a perfectly controlled ceremony. While today the VMAs are mainly associated with big pop stars, there was a time when the live broadcast seemed to offer rock musicians an irresistible opportunity: to break the script.
Wikimetal has selected some of the most memorable rock moments at the VMAs below:
Tim Commerford climbed the ranks after losing to Limp Bizkit
Few episodes better summarize the chaotic spirit of the VMAs than the one starring Tim Commerford, bassist of Rage Against the Machine, in 2000. That night, the Best Rock Video went to Limp Bizkitfor "Break Stuff." The band was competing against names like Creed, Kid Rock, Korn, Metallica, and Rage Against the Machine themselves, nominated for "Sleep Now in the Fire."
While Fred Durst was giving his acceptance speech, Commerford climbed onto a stage structure about 15 meters high and refused to come down. The broadcast was cut to commercials while event organizers tried to remove the musician from the area. At the time, according to ABC News, Commerford was eventually taken away by police, handcuffed, and spent the night in jail. The following day, he pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct and was released after serving his jail time.
Nirvana turned a feud with Axl Rose into a spectacle
If there's an edition capable of competing with the chaos of 2000, it's 1992. Behind the scenes, members of Nirvana were embroiled in tension with Axl Rose , the lead singer of Guns N' Roses. The episode began after a provocation involving Courtney Love and Kurt Cobain, Frances Bean. 's newborn daughter
The rivalry between Axl Rose and Kurt Cobain predates the MTV Video Music Awards. The two represented very different sides of rock at the time: Guns N' Roses was one of the biggest bands in the world, while Nirvana led the grunge explosion. The tension escalated when Axl publicly criticized Kurt and Courtney Love, even making comments about their daughter, Frances Bean. Cobain, in turn, began provoking the Guns N' Roses vocalist in interviews.
When the two bands met at the VMAs in September 1992, the atmosphere was already tense. Backstage, Courtney Love provoked Axl by ironically asking if he would like to be Frances' godfather. Irritated, the vocalist reportedly told Kurt to make Courtney stop: "You shut your wife up or I'll knock you to the ground." Cobain responded sarcastically, which increased the tension between the two.
Also on that same occasion, Nirvana took the stage. During "Lithium," Kurt started playing the chords of "Rape Me," contrary to MTV's expectations, before launching into the scheduled song. At the end of the performance, Krist threw his bass into the air, but the instrument bounced back and hit him in the head.
Dave Grohl took the opportunity to taunt Axl, shouting: “Axl! Axl! Where are you, Axl?!” The taunting continued afterward. Kurt even spat on a piano he believed belonged to Axl—but the instrument actually belonged to Elton John. Despite all the tension, Axl and Kurt didn't physically fight, but the night was marked by a succession of provocations that transformed the 1992 VMA into one of the most chaotic episodes in the history of the awards show.
Metallica ignored MTV rules and brought punk to the VMAs
In 1996, Metallica arrived at the MTV Europe Music Awards with a seemingly simple mission: to perform "King Nothing," a track from the album Load. However, MTV reportedly imposed some conditions on the band, including avoiding profanity and sticking to the pre-arranged setlist. The band decided to do just the opposite.
Instead of playing “King Nothing,” Metallica took the stage and performed versions of “Last Caress” by the Misfitsand “So What?” by the Anti-Nowhere League —songs known for their explicit lyrics. This angered MTV, and the network treated the episode as a serious breach of rules, even suspending Metallica from future appearances for a period, and removing their performance from all reruns. The episode became a classic example of the clash between MTV's television control and the willingness of major rock bands to ignore the script.
Courtney Love interrupted an interview with Madonna
One of the most comical and famous moments happened in 1995, when Courtney Love found another way to turn the VMAs into chaos. During the pre-ceremony, Madonna was participating in an interview conducted by VJ Kurt Loder. The Queen of Pop was talking about her work at the time, and Courtney Love started throwing her makeup compacts from under the elevated stage to get her attention.
Madonna showed irritation and said that “Courtney desperately needs attention right now.” The situation could have ended there, but Loder invited Courtney Love upstairs, resulting in a chaotic, erratic, and awkward conversation about shoes, lifestyle, and celebrities, with Courtney interrupting Madonna and diverting the interview into a series of disjointed comments. It wasn't a musical performance, but it had everything that made the 1990s VMAs so unpredictable: a live broadcast, a rock star, and no guarantee that the script would be followed.
Marilyn Manson, Maneskin, and visual provocation
In 1997, it was Marilyn Manson 's turn to transform the VMA stage into a spectacle. The singer closed the awards show with "The Beautiful People," in a deliberately theatrical performance where Manson appeared accompanied by figures dressed as military personnel and used a podium to create an image of authority and provocation. The visual aspect also drew attention. The performance relied on shock and transgression, including the iconic costume from the Antichrist Superstar era that left the singer's buttocks exposed to the cameras.
Another visual provocation occurred more recently, in 2022, decades after the most chaotic episodes of the 1990s; Måneskin showed that rock could still provoke MTV. During the Italian band's performance, vocalist Damiano David wore an outfit that also left part of his buttocks exposed. The situation took on another dimension when bassist Victoria De Angelis 's costume shifted during the choreography, leaving part of her body exposed.
The broadcast then switched to wider shots and audience footage for the remainder of the performance, avoiding showing Victoria at certain points. After the performance, Måneskin publicly criticized MTV's handling of the situation. In an interview with NME, the band's vocalist accused the awards show of censorship and of adopting different standards for male and female bodies. "This shows that there are still many, many prejudices against rock bands and against women. There is a lot of work to be done and we try to do our part," said David, arguing that his performance had not received the same treatment.
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