Repollo
On August 19, 2026, MTV retired the Best Rock category from the September 27 VMAs after 37 years, leaving only Best Alternative as rock’s remaining VMA slot. The category dates to 1989’s Best Heavy Metal Video and lands one year after the show’s Ozzy Osbourne tribute — timing critics call symbolic. Supporters say MTV is just calling it: rock stopped ruling the charts a decade ago and had few viral videos to award anyway. Detractors argue MTV — whose own music programming vanished years ago — is the last authority anyone should trust on rock’s health, and ceding the category the same year Ozzy died reads less like honesty than surrender.