1989 MTV Video Music Awards

1989 MTV Video Music Awards
Date	September 6, 1989
Venue(s)	Universal Amphitheatre
Country	USA
Host(s)	Arsenio Hall
Network	MTV

The 1989 MTV Video Music Awards aired live on September 6, 1989, honoring the best music videos from April 2, 1988, to June 1, 1989. The show was hosted by Arsenio Hall at the Universal Amphitheatre in Los Angeles.

This year's show featured the first major restructuring that was done to the Video Music Awards, as four new "genre" categories (Best Heavy Metal Video, Best Rap Video, Best Dance Video, and Best Post-Modern Video) were added alongside the International Viewer's Choice awards. Also, the award for Best Concept Video was retired this year, and the eligibility cutoff date was moved two months down from April to June, making this a 14-month eligibility year.

In terms of the awards themselves, meanwhile, Madonna and Paula Abdul were the night's biggest with four awards each, while rock group Living Colour was the second biggest winner, taking home three moonmen that night. On the other hand, Michael Jackson was the most nominated artist of 1989, receiving nine nominations for two of his videos: six for "Leave Me Alone" and three for "Smooth Criminal." Despite all the nominations, though, Jackson only took home one award for Best Special Effects.

The award for Video of the Year, though, went to Neil Young's controversial video for "This Note's for You," making this the first time since The Cars' win in 1984 that an act takes home the main award without winning any other one. Unlike The Cars, though, Young's video did not have any other nominations that night except for Viewer's Choice, which until 1994 had the exact same nominees as Video of the Year. The Viewer's Choice award, however, went to another video that also stirred up controversy: Madonna's "Like a Prayer."

The ceremony is notable for comedian Andrew Dice Clay's stand-up routine that included adult versions of Mother Goose nursery rhymes, leading MTV executives to ban him from ever appearing on the network again.

Nominations

Winners are in bold text.

Video of the Year

• Fine Young Cannibals — "She Drives Me Crazy"
• Michael Jackson — "Leave Me Alone"
• Madonna — "Like a Prayer"
• Steve Winwood — "Roll with It"
• Neil Young — "This Note's for You"

Best Male Video

• Bobby Brown — "Every Little Step"
• Elvis Costello — "Veronica"
• Lou Reed — "Dirty Blvd."
• Steve Winwood — "Roll with It"

Best Female Video

• Paula Abdul — "Straight Up"
• Tracy Chapman — "Fast Car"
• Madonna — "Express Yourself"
• Tanita Tikaram — "Twist in My Sobriety"
• Jody Watley — "Real Love"

Best Group Video

• Fine Young Cannibals — "She Drives Me Crazy"
• Guns N' Roses — "Sweet Child o' Mine"
• Living Colour — "Cult of Personality"
• Traveling Wilburys — "Handle with Care"

Best New Artist in a Video

• Paula Abdul — "Straight Up"
• Edie Brickell & New Bohemians — "What I Am"
• Neneh Cherry — "Buffalo Stance"
• Living Colour — "Cult of Personality"

Best Heavy Metal Video

• Aerosmith — "Rag Doll"
• Def Leppard — "Pour Some Sugar on Me"
• Guns N' Roses — "Sweet Child o' Mine"
• Metallica — "One"

Best Rap Video

• DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince — "Parents Just Don't Understand"
• Ice-T — "Colors"
• Kool Moe Dee — "How Ya Like Me Now"
• MC Hammer — "Turn This Mutha Out"
• Tone Lōc — "Wild Thing"

Best Dance Video

• Paula Abdul — "Straight Up"
• Bobby Brown — "Every Little Step"
• Michael Jackson — "Smooth Criminal"
• Jody Watley — "Real Love"

Best Post-Modern Video

• The Cure — "Fascination Street"
• The Escape Club — "Wild, Wild West"
• Love and Rockets — "So Alive"
• R.E.M. — "Orange Crush"
• Siouxsie and the Banshees — "Peek-a-Boo"

Best Video from a Film

• The Belle Stars — "Iko Iko" (from Rain Man)
• Ice-T — "Colors" (from Colors)
• Annie Lennox and Al Green — "Put a Little Love in Your Heart" (from Scrooged)
• U2 with B. B. King — "When Love Comes to Town" (from Rattle and Hum)

Breakthrough Video

• Paula Abdul — "Straight Up"
• Art of Noise (featuring Tom Jones) — "Kiss"
• Elvis Costello — "Veronica"
• The Escape Club — "Wild, Wild West"
• Fine Young Cannibals — "She Drives Me Crazy"
• Michael Jackson — "Leave Me Alone"
• Jody Watley — "Real Love"

Best Stage Performance in a Video

• Bobby Brown — "My Prerogative"
• Def Leppard — "Pour Some Sugar on Me"
• Guns N' Roses — "Paradise City"
• Living Colour — "Cult of Personality"

Best Direction in a Video

• DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince — "Parents Just Don't Understand" (Director: Scott Kalvert)
• Madonna — "Express Yourself" (Director: David Fincher)
• Van Halen — "Finish What Ya Started" (Director: Andy Morahan)
• Jody Watley — "Real Love" (Director: David Fincher)
• Steve Winwood — "Roll with It" (Director: David Fincher)

Best Choreography in a Video

• Paula Abdul — "Straight Up" (Choreographer: Paula Abdul)
• Bobby Brown — "Every Little Step" (Choreographers: Bobby Brown and Alex Keshishian)
• Michael Jackson — "Smooth Criminal" (Choreographers: Michael Jackson and Vincent Paterson)
• New Kids on the Block — "You Got It (The Right Stuff)" (Choreographer: Tyrone Procter)

Best Special Effects in a Video

• Adrian Belew — "Oh Daddy" (Special Effects: Joey Ahlbum)
• The Escape Club — "Wild, Wild West" (Special Effects: Nicholas Brandt and Bridget Blake-Wilson)
• Michael Jackson — "Leave Me Alone" (Special Effects: Jim Blashfield)
• Prince — "I Wish U Heaven" (Special Effects: Maury Rosenfeld and Fred Raimondi)

Best Art Direction in a Video

• DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince — "Parents Just Don't Understand" (Art Director: Greg Harrison)
• Debbie Gibson — "Electric Youth" (Art Director: Rhaz Zeizler)
• INXS — "New Sensation" (Art Director: Lynn-Maree Milburn)
• Michael Jackson — "Leave Me Alone" (Art Director: Jim Blashfield)
• Madonna — "Express Yourself" (Art Directors: Holgar Gross and Vance Lorenzini)
• Jody Watley — "Real Love" (Art Director: Piers Plowden)

Best Editing in a Video

• Paula Abdul — "Straight Up" (Editor: Jim Haygood)
• Michael Jackson — "Leave Me Alone" (Editor: Paul Diener)
• Madonna — "Express Yourself" (Editor: Scott Chestnut)
• Jody Watley — "Real Love" (Editor: Scott Chestnut)
• Steve Winwood — "Roll with It" (Editor: Scott Chestnut)

Best Cinematography in a Video

• Michael Jackson — "Smooth Criminal" (Director of Photography: John Hora)
• Madonna — "Express Yourself" (Director of Photography: Mark Plummer)
• Tanita Tikaram — "Twist in My Sobriety" (Director of Photography: Jeff Darling)
• Steve Winwood — "Roll with It" (Director of Photography: Mark Plummer)

Viewer's Choice

• Fine Young Cannibals — "She Drives Me Crazy"
• Michael Jackson — "Leave Me Alone"
• Madonna — "Like a Prayer"
• Steve Winwood — "Roll with It"
• Neil Young — "This Note's for You"

International Viewer's Choice Awards

MTV Europe

• Front 242 — "Headhunter"
• The Jeremy Days — "Brand New Toy"
• Niagara — "Soleil d'Hiver"
• Rainbirds — "Sea of Time"
• Roxette — "The Look"
• Vaya con Dios — "Don't Cry for Louie"

MTV Internacional

• Chayanne — "Este Ritmo Se Baila Así"
• Emmanuel — "La Última Luna"
• Gipsy Kings — "Djobi Djoba"
• Miguel Mateos–ZAS — "Y, sin Pensar"
• Fito Páez — "Sólo los Chicos"

MTV Japan

• Kyosuke Himuro — "Angel"
• Kome Kome Club — "Kome Kome War"
• Toshinobu Kubota — "Indigo Waltz"
• Unicorn — "Daimeiwaku"

Video Vanguard Award

• George Michael

Performances

• Madonna — "Express Yourself"
• Bobby Brown — "On Our Own"
• Def Leppard — "Tear It Down"
• Tone-Loc — "Wild Thing"
• The Cult — "Fire Woman"
• Paula Abdul — "Straight Up"/"Cold Hearted"/"Forever Your Girl"
• Jon Bon Jovi and Richie Sambora — "Livin' on a Prayer"/"Wanted Dead or Alive"
• The Cure — "Just Like Heaven"
• Cher — "If I Could Turn Back Time"
• The Rolling Stones — "Mixed Emotions"
• Axl Rose and Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers — "Free Fallin'"/"Heartbreak Hotel"