1994 MTV Video Music Awards

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1994 MTV Video Music Awards
1994-mtv-vma-logo.jpg
DateSeptember 8, 1994
LocationRadio City Music Hall, New York, New York
CountryUnited States
Hosted byRoseanne Barr
Most awardsR.E.M (4)
Most nominationsAerosmith (9)
Television/radio coverage
NetworkMTV
  • ← 1993
  • MTV Video Music Awards
  • 1995 →

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.

Michael Jackson and Lisa Marie Presley opened the show by Michael giving a speech. They ended it by taking a long kiss in front of everyone. In another notable moment, David Letterman escorted Madonna onto the stage and told the singer to watch her language, poking fun at Madonna's controversial appearance on the Late Show with David Letterman five months earlier.

R.E.M. was, for the second time in their careers, the biggest winner of the night, taking home four technical awards for their video "Everybody Hurts." Closely following were hip-hop group Salt-n-Pepa and rock band Aerosmith, both of which earned three moonmen that night. Aerosmith's video for Cryin', in fact, won the two main awards of the night, Video of the Year and Viewer's Choice, making it the second video in VMA history to achieve this feat. This would also be the last time that the nominees for Viewer's Choice were the same as those for Video of the Year, as MTV discontinued this rule the next year.

In terms of nominations, meanwhile, Aerosmith was the night's biggest nominee, earning a total of nine nominations for two of their videos: "Cryin'" received four general nominations, while "Amazing" earned five professional ones. Right behind them were R.E.M., whose video for "Everybody Hurts" was the night's most nominated video with seven nominations, and newcomer Björk, who received six nominations for "Human Behaviour."

Winners and nominations[]

Winners are in bold text.

Video of the Year[]

Aerosmith – "Cryin'"

Best Male Video[]

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers – "Mary Jane's Last Dance"

Best Female Video[]

Janet Jackson – "If"

Best Group Video[]

Aerosmith – "Cryin'"

Best New Artist in a Video[]

Counting Crows – "Mr. Jones"

Best Metal/Hard Rock Video[]

Soundgarden – "Black Hole Sun"

Best R&B Video[]

Salt-n-Pepa with En Vogue – "Whatta Man"

Best Rap Video[]

Snoop Doggy Dogg – "Doggy Dogg World"

Best Dance Video[]

Salt-n-Pepa with En Vogue – "Whatta Man"

Best Alternative Video[]

Nirvana – "Heart-Shaped Box"

Best Video from a Film[]

Bruce Springsteen – "Streets of Philadelphia" (from Philadelphia)

Breakthrough Video[]

R.E.M. – "Everybody Hurts"

Best Direction in a Video[]

R.E.M. – "Everybody Hurts" (Director: Jake Scott)

Best Choreography in a Video[]

Salt-n-Pepa with En Vogue – "Whatta Man" (Choreographers: Frank Gatson and Randy Connor)

Best Special Effects in a Video[]

Peter Gabriel – "Kiss That Frog" (Special Effects: Brett Leonard and Angel Studios)

Best Art Direction in a Video[]

Nirvana – "Heart-Shaped Box" (Art Director: Bernadette Disanto)

Best Editing in a Video[]

R.E.M. – "Everybody Hurts" (Editor: Pat Sheffield)

Best Cinematography in a Video[]

R.E.M. – "Everybody Hurts" (Director of Photography: Harris Savides)

Viewer's Choice[]

Aerosmith – "Cryin'"

International Viewer's Choice Awards[]

MTV Brasil[]

Sepultura – "Territory"

MTV Europe[]

Take That – "Babe"

  • The Cranberries – "Linger"
  • D:Ream – "Things Can Only Get Better"
  • Enigma – "Return to Innocence"
  • U2 – "Stay (Faraway, So Close!)"
  • Whale – "Hobo Humpin' Slobo Babe"

MTV Japan[]

Hide – "Eyes Love You"

  • Chara – "Tsumibukako Aishiteyo"
  • Original Love – "The Rover"
  • Seikima-II – "Tatakau Nihonjin"
  • Izumi Tachibana – "Vanilla"

MTV Latin America[]

Los Fabulosos Cadillacs – "El Matador"

Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award[]

Tom Petty

Lifetime Achievement Award[]

The Rolling Stones

Performances[]

Appearances[]

  • Michael Jackson and Lisa Marie Presley – opened the show and welcomed the audience
  • Tom Jones – presented Best Female Video
  • Coolio and Björk – presented Best Dance Video
  • Bill Bellamy, Kennedy and Rudy Giuliani – appeared in a vignette about Viewer's Choice voting procedures
  • Adam Sandler and Sandra Bullock – presented Best Video from a Film
  • Beavis and Butthead – appeared in some pre-commercial break vignettes
  • Natalie Merchant and Soundgarden (Chris Cornell and Kim Thayil) – presented Breakthrough Video
  • Jann Wenner – presented the Lifetime Achievement Award
  • Ed Lover and Doctor Dré – appeared in a vignette about Viewer's Choice voting procedures
  • Melissa Etheridge and Brendan Fraser – presented Best New Artist in a Video
  • Mark Messier and Daisy Fuentes – presented Best Direction in a Video
  • Roseanne (host) – introduced the winners of the professional categories
  • Naomi Campbell and Denis Leary – presented Best Metal/Hard Rock Video
  • Billy Corgan – presented the Video Vanguard Award
  • Public Enemy (Chuck D and Flavor Flav) – presented Best Rap Video
  • Fab 5 Freddy and Daisy Fuentes – appeared in a vignette about Viewer's Choice voting procedures
  • Ben Stiller and Lisa Loeb – presented Best Group Video
  • Sheryl Crow and Stephen Dorff – introduced the International Viewer's Choice Award winners
  • VJs Gastão Moreira (Brasil), Kristiane Backer (Europe), Hannah (Japan) and Ruth Infarinato (Latin America) – announced their respective region's Viewer's Choice winner
  • Toni Braxton and Tony Bennett – presented Best Alternative Video
  • Bill Bellamy and Kennedy – presented the Viewer's Choice Award
  • Cindy Crawford and Jon Stewart – presented Best R&B Video
  • Queen Latifah – presented Best Male Video
  • Krist Novoselic – paid a special tribute to Kurt Cobain
  • David Letterman – accompanied Madonna on stage (and also appeared in a pre-commercial vignette with Beavis and Butthead)
  • Madonna – presented Video of the Year

See also[]

External links[]

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