October 28, 1994(1994-10-28)– November 28, 2015(2015-11-28)
The 20 (formerly known as the VH1 Top 20 Video Countdown) is a weekly music video countdown television show that aired on the VH1cable television network in the United States. The long-running show was first introduced in 1994 as VH1 Top 10 Countdown, part of VH1's "Music First" re-branding effort.[1] Over the years, a variety of hosts counted down the top 10 or 20 music videos of the week. The order of countdown was initially decided by a mix of record sales, radio airplay, video spins, message board posts, and conventional mail. The final episode aired unexpectedly without fanfare on November 28, 2015.
As part of VH-1's rebranding as "VH1: Music First" in 1994, the channel launched a new show, the VH1 Top 10 Countdown, that counted down the top 10 music videos played on the channel each week. A combination of record sales, radio airplay, video spins, message board posts, and conventional mail decided the order of the countdown. A rotating cast of VJs picked up hosting duties for the show over the years. The show expanded from 10 to 20 music videos, becoming VH1 Top 20 Video Countdown, on April 13, 2001.
Show logo until 2012
Each week, the show broadcasts from another location around New York City, often at the Virgin Records store in Union Square. Following a decline in the show's relevance, popular Survivor contestant Jenna Lewis was hired to host the show in 2001. After her departure from the show, from 2002 to 2006, the show was usually hosted by either Rachel Perry, Bradford How, or Aamer Haleem, but occasionally another VJ would fill in.
The show became known as the VSPOT Top 20 Video Countdown on April 7, 2006, at which time it received a new on-air look, a new studio at the MTV headquarters in Times Square (where TRL located at), and a new host, Matt Pinfield, the venerable VJ from MTV and MTV2 in the 1990s and former host of MTV's 120 Minutes. In a fundamental change from the show's older format of compiling the top 20 videos of the week, online votes determined the entire order of the countdown. Fan participation was introduced via VSPOT, VH1's online music video outlet. Also as part of the change, VH1 temporarily moved the show's first airing of the week to Friday evenings instead of Saturday mornings. On the week of July 15, 2006, the show stopped airing on Friday evenings.
On the September 16, 2006, episode, Pinfield announced that after being on the countdown for 20 weeks, a video would be retired. Before this time, videos could remain on the countdown for as long as seemed appropriate, though almost all were gone by the 24th week. One notable exception, however, was Keane's "Somewhere Only We Know", which remained in the countdown for 28 non-consecutive weeks in two countdown runs. The video only peaked at #8, and its second wind was caused by the popularity of the VH1.com live version of the video.
After Pinfield did not show up for a few recordings of the show[citation needed] on October 7, 2006, former host Aamer Haleem returned to host the show once again. Starting the week of February 17, 2007, after a mass layoff of music producers at MTV Networks (now known as "Paramount Media Networks"),[2] the show left the MTV studios and became broadcast from another location every week, as it was in the late 1990s and early 2000s (decade), starting at New York'sGrand Central Terminal. Haleem continued to host the show every week from another location until August 4, 2007, when he hosted his last episode.
Alison Becker became the new host on August 11, 2007. Around this time, the VSPOT online video center was renamed to "Video.VH1.com," so the series regained its original title, VH1 Top 20 Video Countdown. Since then, each episode has usually featured one or two interviews with all celebrities of latest notoriety who either have a video, movie, or TV show of interest at the time. The countdown sometimes has videos high in its countdown despite virtually no radio airplay for the song. One example is Bret Michaels' Go That Far which was directed by Shane Stanley. This video spent twelve weeks on the countdown and bowed out at #7. The video supported Michaels' show Rock of Love which is shown on the network.
David Cook and David Archuleta, the winner and runner-up of American Idol season 7 were the first guest stars to introduce their own music video at the #1 spot. David Archuleta introduced his video "Crush" on November 15, 2008. The following Countdown on November 22, 2008, Cook made a guest appearance to introduce his music video for "Light On" which was making its Countdown Debut at #1. Shinedown joined the group to introduce a song at #1 when their video for "Second Chance" was #1 on May 16, 2009. Introducing "Come Back To Me" at #1 on May 30, 2009, made David Cook the first to introduce two music videos at #1 on two occasions. Later in 2009 Daughtry introduced their music video for "No Surprise" at #1 on July 18, 2009, and British singer Jay Sean introduced his music video for "Down" at #1 on October 17, 2009. After four months of no one introducing their own video at #1, Adam Lambert would also join the group as he introduced his video, "Whataya Want from Me," at #1 on February 20, 2010. At VH1's Winter Wonderland Countdown Special, The Script introduced their video, Breakeven at #1 on March 6, 2010. For five months, no one had introduced their song at number one until August 21, 2010, where B.o.B introduced Airplanes at #1. Two months later, on October 9, Bruno Mars introduced his #1 single, "Just the Way You Are," at #1. Following a four- to five-month absence of an artist introduction at #1, on February 26, 2011, Adele introduced "Rolling in the Deep" at #1. On November 5, 2011, Kelly Clarkson introduced "Mr. Know It All" at #1 after a nine-month absence. On March 24, 2012, Neon Hitch introduced "Get Yourself Back Home" at #1. Since then there has been no one else to introduce their own videos at #1.
Becker announced at the end of the January 3, 2009, broadcast that it would be her last show as host. The new host, Jim Shearer, taped his first show on January 5, 2009, at the Virgin Megastore at Union Square in New York, for broadcast on January 10. In 2009, VH1 took tighter control of the songs played on the show, with the number of videos available to be voted onto the Top 20 Countdown reduced to less than 30, and several videos removed from the voting list while they were still in the top half of the Countdown. There are also less rivalries regarding songs that try to earn a #1 spot due to the lack of a majority of song rivalries in 2009 and four consecutive brand new #1 videos in January 2010.
On September 18, 2010, the show had expanded from 2 hours to 2.5 hours, but returned to the original two-hour format on February 11, 2012. On May 14, 2011, the show celebrated its 800th episode. This makes the countdown the longest-running music-related program on any channel, ever, in TV history. The countdown's 800th #1 video was "Rolling in the Deep" from Adele.
In the past we could choose up to 20 videos to vote for at one time by dragging a song into spaces that were numbered 1-20, and it was unlimited to how many times you could vote, but in mid-2011, the voting format changed. It was made to where we could only vote for one video at a time and votes were limited to 20 times per day. As of 2014, the show's voting was taken away. Jim Shearer hosted his last episode on December 13, 2014, since his contract was not renewed for 2015. From January 10, 2015, to April 25, 2015, musical artists and others guest-hosted the show.
On April 12, 2015, Shannon Coffey was announced as the new host starting on May 2, 2015, keeping the same video countdown, but introduced with new segments and the show's name is changed to The 20.
On November 28, 2015, the last episode of "The 20" aired without ceremony, and the program was cancelled without any publicity nor statement as to why. An end of year special aired on December 15, 2015, in the same time slot called the 2015 Year-End Special hosted by Coffey, but no video of the year was named, and it comprised a countdown of 20 pop-culture moments instead of videos. From 2016, Paramount has dropped music videos from the VH1 schedule. Random movies now air in the show's former timeslot.
Special editions
Occasionally, VH1 aired special editions of the Top 20 Video Countdown:
Fairway to Heaven: The show is condensed to 18 videos and takes place at a celebrity golf tournament. The title is a reference to the song "Stairway to Heaven."[3]
Lift Ticket to Ride: An annual winter ski party event. The title is a reference to the song "Ticket to Ride."[4]
VH1's Top 40 Videos of the Year: The year's best videos are counted down with commentary from celebrities. Prior to 2002, the special was a top 50 countdown, and was five hours long to allow most or all of each video to be played. From 2002 to 2011, the special was a top 40 countdown and resembled VH1's occasional "Top 100" countdowns. In 2012, the format of the year end show was changed again, to a top 20 countdown. The special is treated the same way as a weekly show would be shown. In 2013, the format changed again back to a top 40 countdown. In 2014, the year end countdown once again changed back to a top 20 format.
Rock Across America: Each summer through 2001, the show became a traveling event across the country.[5]
The 20th Anniversary special aired on June 20, 2015. Starting with 1995, each year was represented with a video.
20/20 Club
A video is said to be part of the 20/20 Club when it has been on the countdown for 20 consecutive weeks. On its 20th week, the host will say that it has reached 20 weeks and this will be the last time it will be shown on the countdown. As of 2013, the 20/20 Club has ended, and there is no limit to how long videos can appear on the countdown.[6]
Videos that spent 20 weeks or more before the 20/20 Club
Céline Marie Claudette Dion is a Canadian singer. Referred to as the "Queen of Power Ballads", she is noted for her powerful and technically skilled vocals. Her music has incorporated genres such as pop, rock, R&B, chanson, and classical music. Her recordings have been mainly in English and French, although she has also sung in several other languages including Japanese, Italian, German, Mandarin, Spanish and Neapolitan.
"The Reason" is a song by Canadian singer Celine Dion, recorded for her fifth English-language studio album, Let's Talk About Love (1997). It was written by Carole King, Mark Hudson and Greg Wells, and produced by Sir George Martin. "The Reason" was released as the second single from the album in selected European countries on 24 November 1997. In France, it was issued as a double A-side single with "My Heart Will Go On".
A New Day Has Come is the eighteenth studio album and seventh English-language album by Canadian singer Celine Dion, released by Sony Music on 25 March 2002. It was her first new studio album since her 1998 Christmas album These Are Special Times. Dion returned to the music scene after a two-year hiatus when she gave birth to her first child in 2001. She collaborated on A New Day Has Come with various producers, including Anders Bagge and Peer Åström for the first time.
"My Heart Will Go On" is a song performed by the Canadian singer Celine Dion, used as the theme for the 1997 film Titanic. It was composed by James Horner, with lyrics by Will Jennings, and produced by Horner, Walter Afanasieff and Simon Franglen. It was released as a single internationally by Columbia and Epic on November 24, 1997, and included on Dion's album Let's Talk About Love (1997) and the Titanic soundtrack.
Lifehouse is an American rock band from Los Angeles, California comprising Jason Wade, Rick Woolstenhulme Jr., Bryce Soderberg, and Steve Stout. The band came to mainstream prominence with their 2000 single "Hanging by a Moment," which led their debut studio album, No Name Face (2000). The song peaked at number two on the Billboard Hot 100, won a Billboard Music Award for Hot 100 Single of the Year—having spent 20 weeks within the top ten and over a cumulative year on the chart—and was named the best-performing single of 2001 despite not reaching the top position, making it the fourth song in the chart's history to do so.
"When I Fall in Love" is a popular song, written by Victor Young (music) and Edward Heyman (lyrics). It was introduced in Howard Hughes' last film One Minute to Zero as the instrumental titled "Theme from One Minute to Zero". Jeri Southern sang on the first vocal recording released in April 1952 with the song's composer, Victor Young, handling the arranging and conducting duties. The song has become a standard, with many artists recording it; the first hit version was sung by Doris Day released in July 1952.
Bradford How is a Canadian entertainer. A former MuchMusic VJ from 2000 to 2003, he has hosted shows including Nick at Nite's Bet The House, VH1's Top 20 Countdown in 2005, and as a regular on the TV series He's with Me from 2013 to 2016.
"The Show Must Go On" is a song by British rock band Queen, featured as the twelfth and final track on their 1991 album, Innuendo. It is credited to Queen, but was primarily written by guitarist Brian May. The song chronicles the effort of frontman Freddie Mercury continuing to perform despite approaching the end of his life, although his diagnosis with HIV/AIDS had not yet been made public in spite of ongoing media speculation that he was seriously ill. When the band recorded the song in 1990, Mercury's condition had deteriorated to the point that May had concerns as to whether he was physically capable of singing it. May recalls; "I said, 'Fred, I don't know if this is going to be possible to sing.' And he went, 'I'll do it, darling' — vodka down — and went in and killed it, completely lacerated that vocal".
VH1 debuted the first annual VH1 Divas concert in 1998. VH1 Divas Live was created to support the channel's Save The Music Foundation and subsequent concerts in the series have also benefited that foundation. The VH1 Divas concerts were a follow-up to the channel's annual VH1 Honors benefit concert that ran from 1994 to 1997, airing annually from 1998 to 2004. After a five-year hiatus, the series returned in 2009 with a younger-skewed revamp. In 2010 the concert saluted the troops and in 2011 it celebrated soul music, doubling the previous year's ratings. After a dance music-focused 2012 edition aired live from the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles on December 16, 2012, the show took another hiatus before being revived on December 5, 2016, at the Kings Theatre in Brooklyn, New York with a holiday theme and achieved its highest ratings in over a decade.
"The Power of Love" is a pop song co-written and originally recorded by American singer-songwriter Jennifer Rush in 1984. It was released in December 1984 by CBS Records as the fifth single from her debut album, Jennifer Rush (1984), and has since been covered by Air Supply, Laura Branigan, and Celine Dion.
"Because You Loved Me" is a song performed by Canadian singer Celine Dion on her fourth English-language studio album, Falling into You (1996). It was released on 19 February 1996 as the first single in North America, and as the second single in the United Kingdom on 20 May 1996. "Because You Loved Me" was written by Diane Warren and produced by David Foster, and served as the theme song from the 1996 film Up Close & Personal, starring Robert Redford and Michelle Pfeiffer. Billboard ranked it as the 14th "Top Love Song of All Time".
"A New Day Has Come" is a song by Canadian recording artist Celine Dion for her seventh English-language album of the same name (2002). The song was written by Aldo Nova and Stephan Moccio and produced by Walter Afanasieff and Nova. It was released as the album's lead single on 11 March 2002. "A New Day Has Come" is a piano-driven ballad in 6 8 time. However, the midtempo radio version, co-produced and remixed by Christian B & Marc Dold of along with Ric Wake, converted the song into 4 4 time, added guitars and other electronic elements and was released as the lead single. Both versions are included on the album.
"If You Asked Me To" is a song written by American songwriter Diane Warren and produced by Stewart Levine and Aaron Zigman. It was originally recorded by American singer Patti LaBelle for her ninth studio album, Be Yourself (1989), and also for the soundtrack to the James Bond film Licence to Kill. The song was released as the soundtrack's second single on June 12, 1989 by MCA Records. The lyrics are from the point of view of a woman who pleads to her significant other: "If you asked me to, I just might change my mind, and let you in my life forever". Three years later, Canadian singer Celine Dion covered the song for her 1992 self-titled second English-language studio album. Released as the album's second single, Dion's version topped the Canadian charts and peaked at number four on the US Billboard Hot 100.
"It's All Coming Back to Me Now" is a power ballad written by Jim Steinman. According to Steinman, the song was inspired by Wuthering Heights, and was an attempt to write "the most passionate, romantic song" he could ever create. The Sunday Times posits that "Steinman protects his songs as if they were his children". Meat Loaf, who had collaborated with Steinman on most of his hit songs, had wanted to record the song for years, but Steinman refused, saying he saw it as a "woman's song". Steinman won a court case, which prevented Meat Loaf from recording it. Girl group Pandora's Box went on to record it, and it was subsequently made famous through a cover by Celine Dion, which upset Meat Loaf because he was going to use it for a planned album with the working title Bat Out of Hell III.
"That's the Way It Is" is the lead single from Celine Dion's greatest hits album All the Way... A Decade of Song, released on 1 November 1999. It peaked within the top ten in many countries, like Austria, Belgium, Canada, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United States. Billboard listed it as one of the Greatest Songs of 1999.
"Goodbye's (The Saddest Word)" is a song recorded by Canadian recording artist Celine Dion for her seventh English-language album A New Day Has Come (2002). The song was written and produced by Robert John "Mutt" Lange, while Lange and his then-wife, country singer Shania Twain did the backing vocals. Lyrically, the song speaks about motherly love and fear of losing one's mother. It was released as the album's third and last commercial single on 18 November 2002 by Columbia Records and Epic Records.
Live in Las Vegas: A New Day... is the eighth home video by Canadian singer Celine Dion, released on DVD between 7–10 December 2007 in Europe, on 11 December 2007 in North America, on 15 December 2007 in Australia and on 19 December 2007 in Japan. It includes the record-breaking A New Day... show at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, Nevada. The blu-ray edition was also released on 5 February 2008 in North America, and between 8–22 February 2008 in Europe. Live in Las Vegas: A New Day... topped the charts in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, France, Belgium, Switzerland, Denmark, Netherlands, Estonia and New Zealand, and reached top ten elsewhere. It was commercially successful achieving 3× Diamond status in Canada, Diamond in France and Multi-Platinum, Platinum and Gold in other countries. It also became the 19th best selling DVD of 2008 in Brazil.
"Taking Chances" is a song recorded by Canadian singer Celine Dion, taken from her tenth English-language studio album Taking Chances (2007). It was written by Kara DioGuardi and former Eurythmics member, Dave Stewart for their band named Platinum Weird. The song was supposed to be released as a single in February 2007 from their unreleased self-titled album. However, after DioGuardi and Stewart recorded it, they played the track for Dion's husband René Angélil, who loved it and she recorded it.
"Broken" is a song by American alternative band Lifehouse. It is the third single released from their fourth studio album, Who We Are (2007). Lead singer Jason Wade was inspired to write the song after he visited a friend in Nashville who needed a kidney transplant. Originally released on June 18, 2007, as the fifth track on Who We Are, the song was then edited for radio to give it more of a "rock" feel. The new radio version of the song was released via digital download on July 8, 2008.
"Incredible" is a song by Canadian singer Celine Dion and American singer-songwriter and record producer, Ne-Yo. It was recorded for Dion's English-language studio album, Loved Me Back to Life (2013) and chosen as the second single in North America, most countries in Europe, Australia and New Zealand. The song was co-written by Andrew Goldstein, Emanuel Kiriakou and Ne-Yo, and produced by Kiriakou.
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