Olivia Rodrigo's "the cure" is nominated for Best Alternative at the 2026 MTV VMAs. Released by Geffen Records on May 22, the single topped Spotify's global chart on day one with 7.21 million streams, along with domestic charts in Australia, Ireland, and Singapore, and reached the top 10 in the UK, US, Canada, and Germany. The category also includes Geese ("Taxes"), Machine Gun Kelly & Fred Durst ("FIX UR FACE"), Noah Kahan ("The Great Divide"), and SOMBR ("Homewrecker"), with the ceremony set for September 27.
By September 27, will "the cure" win Best Alternative?
Since the category's return in 2020, Machine Gun Kelly has won it twice, in 2020 and 2021, making him one of its most dominant past winners; his pairing with Fred Durst this year extends that visibility. Best Alternative is one of 13 fan-voted categories, with voting closing September 25 and the winner determined purely by vote count."
The cure" also lifted the earlier single "drop dead" back up 17 spots to No. 8, while the parent album, "You Seem Pretty Sad for a Girl So in Love," debuted atop the Billboard 200 with 485,000 equivalent album units, the best first week by a female artist in 2026. In fan-voted categories specifically, Rodrigo has a strong track record, including three wins at the 2021 VMAs, a Best New Artist win at that year's AMAs, and two wins at the 2024 People's Choice Awards — nine total wins in this format to date.
