1994 MTV Video Music Awards

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."

Nominations

Winners are in bold text.

Video of the Year

• Aerosmith — "Cryin'"
• Beastie Boys — "Sabotage"
• Nirvana — "Heart-Shaped Box"
• R.E.M. — "Everybody Hurts"

Best Male Video

• Beck — "Loser"
• Tony Bennett — "Steppin' Out with My Baby"
• Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers — "Mary Jane's Last Dance"
• Bruce Springsteen — "Streets of Philadelphia"

Best Female Video

• Björk — "Human Behaviour"
• Sheryl Crow — "Leaving Las Vegas"
• Janet Jackson — "If"
• Me'Shell NdegéOcello — "If That's Your Boyfriend (He Wasn't Last Night)"

Best Group Video

• Aerosmith — "Cryin'"
• Beastie Boys — "Sabotage"
• Green Day — "Longview"
• R.E.M. — "Everybody Hurts"

Best New Artist in a Video

• Beck — "Loser"
• Björk — "Human Behaviour"
• Counting Crows — "Mr. Jones"
• Green Day — "Longview"
• Lisa Loeb and Nine Stories — "Stay (I Missed You)"
• Me'Shell NdegéOcello — "If That's Your Boyfriend (He Wasn't Last Night)"

Best Metal/Hard Rock Video

• Aerosmith — "Cryin'"
• Anthrax — "Black Lodge"
• Rollins Band — "Liar"
• Soundgarden — "Black Hole Sun"

Best R&B Video

• Brand New Heavies — "Dream on Dreamer"
• Toni Braxton — "Breathe Again"
• R. Kelly — "Bump n' Grind"
• Salt-n-Pepa (featuring En Vogue) — "Whatta Man"

Best Rap Video

• Coolio — "Fantastic Voyage"
• Cypress Hill — "Insane in the Brain"
• Dr. Dre — "Let Me Ride"
• Snoop Doggy Dogg — "Doggy Dogg World"

Best Dance Video

• En Vogue — "Runaway Love"
• Janet Jackson — "If"
• Salt-n-Pepa (featuring En Vogue) — "Whatta Man"
• Us3 — "Cantaloop (Flip Fantasia)"
• Crystal Waters — "100% Pure Love"

Best Alternative Video

• Beck — "Loser"
• Green Day — "Longview"
• Nirvana — "Heart-Shaped Box"
• The Smashing Pumpkins — "Disarm"

Best Video from a Film

• Backbeat Band — "Money" (from Backbeat)
• Bruce Springsteen — "Streets of Philadelphia" (from Philadelphia)
• Madonna — "I'll Remember" (from With Honors)
• Sinéad O'Connor — "You Made Me the Thief of Your Heart" (from In The Name of the Father)

Breakthrough Video

• Beastie Boys — "Sabotage"
• Björk — "Human Behaviour"
• Deep Forest — "Sweet Lullaby"
• Nine Inch Nails — "Closer"
• R.E.M. — "Everybody Hurts"

Best Direction in a Video

• Aerosmith — "Amazing" (Director: Marty Callner)
• Beastie Boys — "Sabotage" (Director: Spike Jonze)
• Deep Forest — "Sweet Lullaby" (Director: Tarsem)
• R.E.M. — "Everybody Hurts" (Director: Jake Scott)

Best Choreography in a Video

• Hammer — "Pumps and a Bump" (Choreographers: Hammer and Randi G.)
• Janet Jackson — "If" (Choreographer: Tina Landon)
• Salt-n-Pepa (featuring En Vogue) — "Whatta Man" (Choreographers: Frank Gatson and Randy Connors)
• Us3 — "Cantaloop (Flip Fantasia)" (Choreographer: Toledo)

Best Special Effects in a Video

• Aerosmith — "Amazing" (Special Effects: Cream Cheese Films and Video Image)
• Björk — "Human Behaviour" (Special Effects: Michel Gondry)
• Peter Gabriel — "Kiss That Frog" (Special Effects: Brett Leonard and Angel Studios)
• Tool — "Prison Sex" (Special Effects: Adam Jones)

Best Art Direction in a Video

• Aerosmith — "Amazing" (Art Director: Ted Baffalucus)
• Björk — "Human Behaviour" (Art Director: Michel Gondry)
• Nine Inch Nails — "Closer" (Art Director: Tom Foder)
• Nirvana — "Heart-Shaped Box" (Art Director: Bernadette Disanto)

Best Editing in a Video

• Aerosmith — "Amazing" (Editors: Troy Okoniewski and Jay Torres)
• Björk — "Human Behaviour" (Editor: Michel Gondry)
• Deep Forest — "Sweet Lullaby" (Editor: Robert Duffy)
• Peter Gabriel — "Kiss That Frog" (Editor: Craig Wood)
• Meat Puppets — "Backwater" (Editor: Katz)
• R.E.M. — "Everybody Hurts" (Editor: Pat Sheffield)
• The Smashing Pumpkins — "Disarm" (Editor: Pat Sheffield)
• Stone Temple Pilots — "Vasoline" (Editor: Kevin Kerslake)

Best Cinematography in a Video

• Aerosmith — "Amazing" (Director of Photography: Gabriel Beristain)
• Deep Forest — "Sweet Lullaby" (Directors of Photography: Tarsem and Denise Milford)
• Nirvana — "Heart-Shaped Box" (Director of Photography: John Mathieson)
• R.E.M. — "Everybody Hurts" (Director of Photography: Harris Savides)

Viewer's Choice

• Aerosmith — "Cryin'"
• Beastie Boys — "Sabotage"
• Nirvana — "Heart-Shaped Box"
• R.E.M. — "Everybody Hurts"

International Viewer's Choice Awards

MTV Brasil

• Chico Science — "A Cidade"
• Legião Urbana — "Perfeição"
• Raimundos — "Nêga Jurema"
• Sepultura — "Territory"
• Caetano Veloso and Gilberto Gil — "Haiti"

MTV Europe

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

MTV Japan

• Chara — "Tsumibukako Aishiteyo"
• Hide — "Eyes Love You"
• Original Love — "The Rover"
• Seikima-II — "Tatakau Nihonjin"
• Izumi Tachibana — "Vanilla"

MTV Latin America

• Caifanes — "Afuera"
• Los Fabulosos Cadillacs — "El Matador"
• La Ley — "Tejedores de Ilusión"
• Mano Negra — "El Señor Matanza"

Video Vanguard Award

• Tom Petty

Lifetime Achievement Award

• The Rolling Stones

Performances

• Aerosmith — "Walk This Way"
• Boyz II Men — "I'll Make Love to You"
• The Smashing Pumpkins — "Disarm"
• The Rolling Stones — "Love Is Strong"/"Start Me Up"
• Green Day — "Armatage Shanks"
• Beastie Boys — "Sabotage"
• Alexandrov Red Army Ensemble & Leningrad Cowboys — "Sweet Home Alabama"
• Salt-n-Pepa — "Push It"/"None of Your Business"/"Whatta Man"/"Shoop"
• Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers — "Mary Jane's Last Dance"
• Snoop Doggy Dogg — "Murder Was the Case (DeathAfterVisualizingEternity)"
• Stone Temple Pilots — "Pretty Penny"
• Bruce Springsteen — "Streets of Philadelphia"

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
• 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

External links

• Official MTV site