Kacey Musgraves will perform a tribute to her late friend Dolly Parton at the 2026 MTV Video Music Awards following Parton's death on 25 August at age 80. Musgraves, who is nominated for best country this year, has previously honoured Parton at multiple industry events and shared the stage with her on several occasions, making her a fitting choice to pay respects at the ceremony.

The VMAs will take place on 27 September at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles, hosted by Snoop Dogg and opened by Madonna, who leads the nominees with 13 mentions. The ceremony will also feature a George Michael tribute, with Nirvana receiving the Video Vanguard Award and Taylor Swift receiving the inaugural MTV VMA Artist Director Honors. The show will air on CBS and MTV at 7:30–9:30 p.m. ET, and stream on Paramount+ globally the following day.