E! Online·United States·Monday, September 28, 2026 at 03:09 PM

Why Noah Kahan Wasn't at VMAs 2026

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Olivia Evans

Noah Kahan might be an astronaut, but he couldn’t be at the VMAs with all the moon people.

Although the “Orbiter” singer was nominated for Best Alternative video at the Sept. 27 ceremony—which saw Taylor Swift, Madonna and BTS among winners—he could not be present in Los Angeles as he is currently in Australia for The Great Divide tour.

“Can’t watch the Vmas in Australia,” Kahan quipped in a Sept. 27 post on X, “So, I’m just pouring Nickelodeon slime all over myself in my hotel room pretending I won something.”

Indeed, while Kahan earned his very first VMA nomination for his “The Great Divide” video alongside Geese for “Taxes,” Machine Gun Kelly and Fred Durst for “Fix Ur Face,” Sombr for “Homewrecker,” Tame Impala for “Dracula,” Twenty One Pilots for “Drag Path,” and Olivia Rodrigo for “The Cure,” the Moon Person ultimately went to Rodrigo, who also missed the ceremony due to her Unraveled Tour. (See here for every winner at the VMAs.)

Of course, Kahan kept his sportsmanship in check, emphasizing that he was lucky to have his career in music following his loss.

“So easy to get bogged down in silly bulls—t,” the 29-year-old wrote in a separate post on X. “I don’t care at all. You guys know how this started and how lucky I am to be here!! Thank you for that.”

And later, the “Stick Season” singer joked that he did come away from the evening with a win after all.

“Omg I won Most Deviated Septum !!!” Kahan joked in another post. “Thank you so much to the academy and to all my fellow nominees. Every single one of you has SUCH a sore throat in the morning and you all deserve to be up here giving this nasally speech. I’m in shock.”

Meanwhile, the VMAs ceremony went off without a hitch—seeing Madonna walk away as the most decorated artist of the evening with seven awards, including Artist of the Year for her comeback album Confessions II.

Amy Sussman/Getty Images

“I want you to know that I spent the last year finding myself, believing in myself and really making the music that I wanted to make,” Madonna said while accepting the award. “To me, that really is the definition of being an artist.”

Swift, for her part, also celebrated a truly enchanting evening, taking home three awards to become the most decorated musician in VMAs history. The “Opalite” singer also took home the ceremony’s inaugural Artist Director Award for her contribution in directing her own videos.

Frazer Harrison/Getty Images

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