The MTV Video Music Awards is an award show presented by the cable channel MTV to honor the best in the music video medium. Originally conceived as an alternative to the Grammy Awards, the annual MTV Video Music Awards ceremony has often been called the Super Bowl for youth, an acknowledgment of the VMA ceremony's ability to draw millions of youth from teens to 20-somethings each year. By 2001, the VMA had become a coveted award.
The MTV Video Music Award for Video of the Year Presented by Burger King is the most prestigious competitive award and the final award presented at the annual MTV Video Music Awards. The award was created by the U.S. network MTV to honor artists with the best music videos. At the first MTV Video Music Awards ceremony in 1984, the Video of the Year honor was presented to The Cars for the video "You Might Think". Originally, all winners were determined by a special panel of music video directors, producers, and record company executives. Since the 2006 awards, winners of major categories are determined by viewers' votes through MTV's website, while the jury decides in the technical categories.
The MTV Video Music Award for Best Choreography is a craft award given to the artist, the artist's manager, and choreographer of the music video. From 1984 to 2007, the full name of the award was Best Choreography in a Video. The biggest winner is Frank Gatson with six wins. Michael Rooney follows closely behind with five wins.
The 2006 MTV Video Music Awards aired live on August 31, 2006, honoring the best music videos from June 11, 2005, to June 26, 2006. The show was hosted by Jack Black at Radio City Music Hall in New York City.
The 1997 MTV Video Music Awards aired live on September 4, 1997, honoring the best music videos from June 17, 1996, to June 16, 1997. The show was hosted by Chris Rock at Radio City Music Hall in New York City.
The 1996 MTV Video Music Awards aired live on September 4, 1996, honoring the best music videos from June 16, 1995, to June 14, 1996. The show was hosted by Dennis Miller at Radio City Music Hall in New York City.
The 1999 MTV Video Music Awards aired live on September 9, 1999, honoring the best music videos from June 13, 1998, to June 11, 1999. The show was hosted by Chris Rock at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York City. Ricky Martin was the most-awarded artist of the night, winning two primary awards for Best Pop Video and Best Dance Video, and three additional awards in the International Viewer's Choice categories for "Livin' la Vida Loca". Martin and Korn were the most nominated artists of the night, both with 9 nominations for their songs, "Livin' la Vida Loca" and "Freak on a Leash", respectively. Martin was also the first Latin artist in history to receive a nomination in Video of the Year category, but lost to "Doo Wop " by Lauryn Hill, which became the first Hip hop video to receive the award.
The 2000 MTV Video Music Awards aired live on September 7, 2000, honoring the best music videos from June 12, 1999, to June 9, 2000. The show was hosted by Marlon and Shawn Wayans at Radio City Music Hall in New York City.
The 1995 MTV Video Music Awards aired live on September 7, 1995, honoring the best music videos from June 16, 1994, to June 15, 1995. The show was hosted by Dennis Miller at Radio City Music Hall in New York City. David Sandlin was commissioned to design the program catalogue.
The 2005 MTV Video Music Awards aired live on August 28, 2005, honoring the best music videos from the previous year. The show was hosted by Diddy at the American Airlines Arena in Miami, Florida. The big winner of the night was Green Day, who took home seven VMA's, including Best Rock Video, Best Group Video, Viewer's Choice, and Video of the Year.
The 2004 MTV Video Music Awards aired live on August 29, 2004, honoring the best music videos from the previous year. The show took place at the American Airlines Arena in Miami, Florida, and, unlike in previous years, had no host.
The 2003 MTV Video Music Awards aired live on August 28, 2003, honoring the best music videos from June 1, 2002, to June 9, 2003. The show was hosted by Chris Rock at the Radio City Music Hall in New York City. The ceremony is best remembered for Madonna kissing Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera during the show's opening performance.
The 2002 MTV Video Music Awards aired live on August 29, 2002, honoring the best music videos from June 9, 2001, to May 31, 2002. The show was hosted by Jimmy Fallon at the Radio City Music Hall in New York City. During the show, Michael Jackson accepted a birthday statue in hands of Britney Spears, which he believed to be an "Artist of the Millennium Award" due to a misunderstanding after which he joined her to present the Best Pop Video Award. Performers included Eminem, who won four awards including Video of the Year, and Axl Rose with a new lineup of Guns N' Roses. The show also saw the debut solo performance from Justin Timberlake, performing his soon to be hit single "Like I Love You" alongside rap duo Clipse. TLC members Tionne "T-Boz" Watkins and Rozonda "Chili" Thomas appeared, paying tribute to their fallen member Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes, who died in a car accident in Honduras on April 25, 2002, four months before the event.
The 1994 MTV Video Music Awards aired live on September 8, 1994, honoring the best music videos from June 16, 1993, to June 15, 1994. The show was hosted by Roseanne Barr at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, and this would be the last time there was a female host for the VMAs until Chelsea Handler hosted in 2010. Kurt Cobain, frontman of grunge band Nirvana, was honored this night after his death on April 5.
The 1993 MTV Video Music Awards aired live on September 2, 1993, honoring the best music videos from June 16, 1992, to June 15, 1993. The show was hosted by Christian Slater at the Universal Amphitheatre in Los Angeles. This would be Kurt Cobain's final VMA appearance.
The 1989 MTV Video Music Awards aired live on September 6, 1989, honoring the best music videos from April 2, 1988, to June 1, 1989. The show was hosted by Arsenio Hall at the Universal Amphitheatre in Los Angeles.
The 2008 MTV Video Music Awards took place on September 7, 2008, live from Paramount Pictures Studios, honoring the best music videos from the previous year. Nominations for a majority of the categories were announced on the MTV program FNMTV after being selected through viewer online voting at MTV.com. The remaining, professional categories were chosen by a panel of music industry professionals and announced via press release on August 27. When the nomination process was first announced, it mentioned a previously-unheard professional category named "Best Story;" however, this award did not come to fruition when the list of professional nominees was revealed the following month.
The Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award, also known as the Video Vanguard Award or the Lifetime Achievement Award, is a merit given to recording artists and music video directors at the MTV Video Music Awards (VMAs), a ceremony that was established in 1984. It is presented by MTV for "outstanding contributions" and "profound impact" on music videos and popular culture. As the ceremony's special category, the trophy is a gold-plated "moonman" rather than the silver ones of the other VMA categories. The Beatles and director Richard Lester were honored with the Video Vanguard Award at the inaugural VMAs for "essentially inventing the music video." David Bowie also received the award at the same ceremony. Two years later, Madonna became the first female recipient. In 1991, the award was renamed after Michael Jackson, who had previously won the 1988 trophy.
