Where Would 'Bad Romance' Rank Among the Greatest 'VMA Video of the Year' Winners?
Yesterday, MTV tried to wake us up early with its 2010 Video Music Awards nominations. Didn't happen. But with 13 nominations, Lady Gaga just broke the record for "most nominated female solo artist in a single year." Way fancy. Since "Bad Romance" is this year's "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)" -- garnering 257 million YouTube views -- we can assume it'll win Video of the Year. But where will it rank among all other Videos of the Year? Or better yet: Does it even deserve to be mentioned with the other winners? Join us for the historical rankings!
After examining all of MTV's Video Music Award winners for Video of the Year, here's a comprehensive ranking from best to worst.
1. Peter Gabriel, "Sledgehammer" (1987)
2. Pearl Jam, "Jeremy" (1993)
3. Sinead O'Connor, "Nothing Compares 2 U" (1990)
4. Jamiroquai, "Virtual Insanity" (1997)
5. The Smashing Pumpkins, "Tonight, Tonight" (1996)
6. REM, "Losing My Religion" (1991)
7. TLC, "Waterfalls" (1995)
8. Madonna, "Ray of Light" (1998)
9. Don Henley, "The Boys of Summer" (1985)
10. Lauryn Hill, "Doo Wop (That Thing)" (1999)
11. Beyonce, "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)" (2009)
12. Dire Straits, "Money for Nothing" (1986)
13. The Cars, "You Might Think" (1984)
14. INXS, "Need You Tonight/Mediate" (1988)
15. Missy Elliott, "Work It" (2003)
16. Neil Young, "This Note's for You"
17. Outkast, "Hey Ya!" (2004)
18. Van Halen, "Right Now" (1992)
19. Rihanna (featuring Jay-Z), "Umbrella" (2007)
20. Aerosmith, "Cryin'" (1994)
21. Eminem, "The Real Slim Shady" (2000)
22. Green Day, "Boulevard of Broken Dreams" (2005)
23. Eminem, "Without Me" (2002)
24. Panic! at the Disco, "I Write Sins Not Tragedies" (2006)
25. Britney Spears, "Piece of Me" (2008)
26. Christina Aguilera, Lil' Kim, Mýa and Pink, "Lady Marmalade" (2001)
You're allowed to disagree, but not by much; the best and worst really speak for themselves. I still remember the chill that ran through my underfed teen body when Mick Jagger read that "Lady Marmalade" had beaten Fatboy Slim's "Weapon of Choice" for 2001's top honors. "Weapon of Choice" could've easily cracked the top ten on this list. It still burns.
As for "Bad Romance," I'd place it just ahead of Outkast's "Hey Ya" and after Neil Young's "This Note's for You." Gaga's icy, grotesque imagery outclasses Outkast's technicolor romp, but it lacks the bite and consumerist evisceration of Neil Young's banned opus. Still an admirable rank.
Let's look at that top ten for a moment. MTV really used to honor the best in music video -- I mean, Don Henley won the Video of the Year. He was not cooler than many other people in 1985. Now he'd have to shake his moneymaker in a bustier while covering a Patti LaBelle hit to get anywhere. This note's for him.
Watch "Bad Romance" for the 1,152nd time below.
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Comments
Perhaps the question should be "Are the VMA Awards rank?" And the answer would be "yes, yes they are."
Hey look, Beyonce did have one of the best videos of all time.
Bad Romance is so far Gaga's best video, and that's mainly thanks to the director and cinematographer, not her. Alejandro is what happens when she's in charge which makes for empty symbolism and no filmic story-telling. And Bad Romance is way better than Single Ladies.
Boys of Summer in the top 10? Someone appears to have a bit of a hard on for Don Henley (I didn't even think the video was all that good by 1985 standards).
pinkyt: Boys of Summer was a very well-written song with an actual melody and several hooks. It is no wonder it was highly requested/viewed.
@Jimmmy
Hi, where on the internet can we see the videos of different singers, also the ones from the previous years?
Thank you!
Greetings!
Well, i would've placed Ray of light in the third position. I don't knw what's the big deal with Sinead's video...
And Gaga would be just fine in the 6th position.
But she'll only get her place if you keep voting for her! I don't know how her fans managed to vote by having two videos in that category, but i hope they had noticed that Bad Romance deserves this honor.
Also, i think MTV should have the final results in online voting by 50/50. 50 for online votes from the fans and 50 from a voting panel of people who really know about the art of music videos (maybe a panel of non-nominated directors). Because if left to the fans only it would be predictable and the most popular would win all the time in online voting categories... i wouldn't be surprised if Justin Bieber takes the Moonman for Best New Artist.
Can't believe it, Lady Gaga got 8 VMA awards last night. I'm extremely happy for her achievements and I enjoyed the Born This Way song GaGa sang also!
I was sleeping and I remember waking up and I felt really anxious and my breathing was really weird (I've had an anxiety attack once before when I was little and it felt like that but I felt really anxious and kept moving around). How is it possible that it was an anxiety attack or an anxiety attack? (Is a panic attack and panic and anxiety attack two different things or the same?) The information you provide here is very valuable - thank you.
"Perhaps the question should be "Are the VMA Awards rank?" And the answer would be "yes, yes they are.""
Agreed.
Brilliant! I never thought of it like that but I'm sure it says something about treating your body like a temple or summot or "Thou shalt look after yourself so you shalt be sexified!" Summit like that.