Music videos that became legendary in their own right, transcending the songs they were meant to promote. We're diving into the most iconic visual experiences that captured our imagination and became cultural phenomena, overshadowing the very tracks they were designed to showcase.
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00:00Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're counting down our picks for those evergreen videos
00:07that outshine their songs.
00:17Number 10.
00:18Wrecking Ball – Miley Cyrus It was the controversial Terry Richardson
00:27who was behind the director's chair for Wrecking Ball by Miley Cyrus.
00:31The visual aesthetic is a striking homage to Sinead O'Connor's Nothing Compares
00:36to You alongside equally memorable sequences featuring Cyrus with a sledgehammer and yes,
00:42a wrecking ball.
00:51The song itself is great, but the lighting and framing of Wrecking Ball created a number
00:55of images that went on to become indelibly linked with Cyrus' early success as an artist.
01:02And Miley's fans probably never forgot the first or hundredth time they watched this
01:08video.
01:14Number 9.
01:15Clint Eastwood – Gorillaz The very fact that Gorillaz is a virtual animated
01:27band probably destined their music videos to become equally imaginative and strange.
01:33The clips for both Stylo and their breakthrough hit Clint Eastwood represent the creativity
01:37of Gorillaz in a huge way.
01:42There's a lot of clever references to classic horror cinema from Dead Alive and Resident
01:50Evil to George A. Romero's original Dawn of the Dead.
01:53There's a seemingly endless amount of ideas Gorillaz have employed over the course of
01:58their over 15 year career.
02:01Clint Eastwood was, for many, their first taste of this weird and wild world.
02:13Number 8.
02:14Virtual Insanity – Jamiroquai The music video medium is designed to capture
02:18our attentions and imaginations while also selling us on the music at hand.
02:29Jamiroquai are still going, but many fans of a certain age will always associate this
02:34British group with their groundbreaking video for Virtual Insanity.
02:43The kinetic energy of the clip is captured by singer JK's endless motion on a series
02:48of travelators.
02:49His running, walking, and dancing are front and center and impossible to ignore.
02:56It's the sort of music video that instantly makes its mark, as if it knew it was destined
03:05to break the mold.
03:13Number 7.
03:14Telephone – Lady Gaga Featuring Beyoncé The late 2000s and early 2010s saw the rise
03:20of Gaga and the return of the music video as high concept art.
03:32Videos for both Bad Romance and Telephone were mini-movies during an era where the continued
03:37relevance of the music video was being called into question.
03:45Director Jonas Ackerlund was no stranger to this medium either, having helmed music videos
03:50for artists as varied as Madonna and Robbie Williams to Metallica and Satiricon.
03:55Telephone as a result is psychedelic and technicolored camp at its finest.
03:59Homages to the women in prison exploitation film genre are juxtaposed against Gaga and
04:05Beyoncé's rockstar swagger.
04:11Honestly we challenge just about anyone to separate the Telephone music video from the
04:16song.
04:21Number 6.
04:22All The Small Things – Blink-182 The boy band era was at its apex around the
04:28time pop-punk stars Blink-182 released their music video for All The Small Things.
04:40The group's videos have always been known for their irreverent nature and this one is
04:45no exception.
04:52All The Small Things delights in parodying all the pop star cliches and stereotypes of
04:57the day, although the video stops just shy of feeling malicious or mean-spirited.
05:09It all feels like harmless fun at the end of the day, although All The Small Things
05:13is almost too funny.
05:15The video was so popular that it overshadowed the memorable hooks and cheeky lyrics in the
05:20tune.
05:26Number 5.
05:27Gangnam Style – Psy The K-pop subculture is obviously big business
05:32these days, but it was also a cult sensation when Psy hit it big with Gangnam Style back
05:37in 2012.
05:46There was a sort of curiosity attached to the video, which went viral and exposed itself
05:51– pun intended – to a lot of people who lived outside of K-pop's immediate sphere
05:55of influence.
06:04Psy was destined to be a one-hit wonder in areas like North America, but what a hit Gangnam
06:09Style was, right?
06:16Die-hard and casual pop fans alike couldn't escape this video.
06:20They liked it, shared it, and talked about it – due at least, in part, to the accompanying
06:25dance craze.
06:29Number 4.
06:31Single Ladies – Put A Ring On It – Beyonce Do we blame the Single Ladies hand dance for
06:45overshadowing any other physical gesture associated with this Beyonce song?
06:50Maybe.
06:51And the tune immediately does stand on its own alongside the singer's numerous other
06:55hits.
07:01That said, the internet was much more obsessed with a video of Single Ladies – Put A Ring
07:06On It – rather than the song's melodies or hooks.
07:12Heck, former first lady Michelle Obama even famously did the Single Ladies dance alongside
07:17James Corden during an episode of his Carpool Karaoke series.
07:21It's easy, fun, and nobody ever has to worry about the audience not understanding the reference.
07:31Number 3.
07:32Here It Goes Again – OK Go The prevalence of people dancing on the internet
07:37is inescapable these days.
07:45From impressively choreographed line dances to cringeworthy TikTok nonsense, social media
07:51is chocked full of dancing fools.
07:59OK Go were sort of ahead of the curve in this regard, specifically with their music videos
08:04for songs like Upside Down and Inside Out, and especially Here It Goes Again.
08:15The latter in particular was designed to be shared online, since the treadmill dance routine
08:20just has to be seen to be believed.
08:23The single-shot, one-take clip took OK Go 17 tries to get right, but the end result
08:28went on, for better or worse, to define their career as a pop act.
08:39Number 2.
08:40Take On Me – Aha It can be tough living ahead of your time.
08:45Norway's Aha earned international acclaim with the then-revolutionary rotoscoping effects
08:50featured in their second video for Take On Me.
09:01This extremely popular video made the rounds on MTV and was Aha's break in America.
09:06The narrative here is simple, yet effective, and captures the song's kinetic energy.
09:16Take On Me actually featured an earlier, more direct band performance video, but it
09:21was this second one that would forever symbolize Aha's international success.
09:32The group would continue to earn acclaim abroad, but North American fans will probably never
09:37be able to separate Take On Me from this iconic video.
09:52Before we unveil our number one pick, here are a few honorable mentions.
09:57The Rain, Supa Dupa Fly, Missy Misdemeanor Elliott, Hype Williams' visuals, and that
10:02blow-up suit.
10:11Hurt – Johnny Cash A beautifully melancholic video makes us
10:15forget about Nine Inch Nails.
10:22Always – Bon Jovi This band was always cinematic, but always
10:27goes for broke.
10:35Hotline Bling – Drake Memed to death.
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11:03Weapon Of Choice – Fatboy Slim Norman Quentin Cook, aka Fatboy Slim, has
11:09nothing to prove with regards to his cult music taste.
11:12His knowledge of groovy music influenced hits like Weapon Of Choice.
11:18However, the average MTV viewer back in 2001 probably didn't have a clue about Fatboy
11:26Slim's career or pedigree.
11:28All we knew was that Weapon Of Choice was the music video that featured Christopher
11:32Walken dancing.
11:42The video was yet another example of Spike Jonze's brilliance, as he guides a lighter-than-air
11:47Walken around a hotel lobby.
11:56Weapon Of Choice was certainly strange, but it helped earn Fatboy Slim another hit.
12:06How important are music videos in the modern day?
12:10Let us know your thoughts in the comments.