1995 MTV Video Music Awards

1995 MTV Video Music Awards
Date	September 7, 1995
Venue(s)	Radio City Music Hall, New York City, New York
Host(s)	Dennis Miller
Network	MTV

The 1995 MTV Video Music Awards aired live on September 7, 1995, honoring the best music videos from June 16, 1994, to June 15, 1995. The show was hosted by Dennis Miller at Radio City Music Hall in New York City. David Sandlin was commissioned to design the program catalogue.

TLC and Weezer were the biggest winners of the night, with each taking home four awards. TLC, though, won the two main awards of the night—Viewer's Choice Award and Video of the Year—for "Waterfalls," while Weezer's video for "Buddy Holly" took home the two main technical awards: Best Direction and Breakthrough Video. Meanwhile, the sibling pair of Michael and Janet Jackson was right behind both groups in terms of wins, as their video for "Scream" earned them three moonmen.

As mentioned above, TLC's "Waterfalls" won both Video of the Year and Viewer's Choice, becoming the third and last video to accomplish this feat in a single year. Ironically, this occurred on the very first year that MTV decided to have different sets of nominees for these categories (as until 1994 the practice had been to have both categories have the exact same set of nominees). Curiously, though, the award for Breakthrough Video would end up having the same four nominees as Video of the Year in 1995, marking the only time this ever happened in VMA history.

In terms of nominations, the four videos and acts that were up for Video of the Year dominated the night. Michael and Janet Jackson's "Scream" was the most nominated video of the night, earning a grand total of eleven nominations, including a nomination in each of the seven professional categories. The night's big winner, TLC's "Waterfalls, was also the second most nominated video that night, earning ten nominations. Green Day's "Basket Case" came in third place with nine nominations, while Weezer's "Buddy Holly" came in fourth with five nominations. There would not be a situation similar to this one at the VMAs until the 2009 edition. In addition all four videos were nominated for the MTV Video Music Award for Best Direction. This award show is generally considered to be one of the toughest in terms of Video of the Year

Nominations

Winners are in bold text.

Video of the Year

• Green Day — "Basket Case"
• Michael Jackson and Janet Jackson — "Scream"
• TLC — "Waterfalls"
• Weezer — "Buddy Holly"

Best Male Video

• Chris Isaak — "Somebody's Crying"
• Elton John — "Believe"
• Lucas — "Lucas with the Lid Off"
• Tom Petty — "You Don't Know How It Feels"

Best Female Video

• Des'ree — "You Gotta Be"
• PJ Harvey — "Down by the Water"
• Annie Lennox — "No More I Love You's"
• Madonna — "Take a Bow"

Best Group Video

• Green Day — "Basket Case"
• The Rolling Stones — "Love Is Strong"
• Stone Temple Pilots — "Interstate Love Song"
• TLC — "Waterfalls"

Best New Artist in a Video

• Jeff Buckley — "Last Goodbye"
• Des'ree — "You Gotta Be"
• Filter — "Hey Man, Nice Shot"
• Hootie & the Blowfish — "Hold My Hand"
• Portishead — "Sour Times (Nobody Loves Me)"

Best Metal/Hard Rock Video

• Green Day — "Basket Case"
• Meat Puppets — "We Don’t Exist"
• Stone Temple Pilots — "Interstate Love Song"
• White Zombie — "More Human than Human"

Best R&B Video

• Boyz II Men — "Water Runs Dry"
• Michael Jackson and Janet Jackson — "Scream"
• Jade — "5-4-3-2 (Yo! Time Is Up)"
• Montell Jordan — "This Is How We Do It"
• TLC — "Waterfalls"

Best Rap Video

• Brandy (featuring MC Lyte, Queen Latifah & Yo-Yo) — "I Wanna Be Down"
• Da Bush Babees — "Remember We"
• Dr. Dre — "Keep Their Heads Ringin'"
• Craig Mack — "Flava in Ya Ear"
• Public Enemy — "Give It Up"
• Rappin' 4-Tay (featuring The Spinners) — "I'll Be Around"

Best Dance Video

• Paula Abdul — "My Love Is for Real"
• C+C Music Factory — "Do You Wanna Get Funky"
• Michael Jackson and Janet Jackson — "Scream"
• Montell Jordan — "This Is How We Do It"
• Madonna — "Human Nature"
• Salt-n-Pepa — "None of Your Business"

Best Alternative Video

• The Cranberries — "Zombie"
• Green Day — "Basket Case"
• Hole — "Doll Parts"
• Stone Temple Pilots — "Interstate Love Song"
• Weezer — "Buddy Holly"

Best Video From a Film

• Bryan Adams — "Have You Ever Really Loved a Woman?" (from Don Juan DeMarco)
• Jim Carrey — "Cuban Pete" (from The Mask)
• Seal — "Kiss from a Rose" (from Batman Forever)
• U2 — "Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me" (from Batman Forever)
• Urge Overkill — "Girl, You'll Be a Woman Soon" (from Pulp Fiction)

Breakthrough Video

• Green Day — "Basket Case"
• Michael Jackson and Janet Jackson — "Scream"
• TLC — "Waterfalls"
• Weezer — "Buddy Holly"

Best Direction in a Video

• Green Day — "Basket Case" (Director: Mark Kohr)
• Michael Jackson and Janet Jackson — "Scream" (Director: Mark Romanek)
• TLC — "Waterfalls" (Director: F. Gary Gray)
• Weezer — "Buddy Holly" (Director: Spike Jonze)

Best Choreography in a Video

• Paula Abdul — "My Love Is for Real" (Choreographers: Paula Abdul, Bill Bohl and Nancy O'Meara)
• Brandy — "Baby" (Choreographer: Fatima Robinson)
• Michael Jackson and Janet Jackson — "Scream" (Choreographers: LaVelle Smith Jnr, Tina Landon, Travis Payne, and Sean Cheeseman)
• Madonna — "Human Nature" (Choreographer: Jamie King)
• Salt-N-Pepa — "None of Your Business" (Choreographer: Randy Conners)

Best Special Effects in a Video

• Björk — "Army of Me" (Special Effects: BUF)
• Michael Jackson and Janet Jackson — "Scream" (Special Effects: Kevin Tod Haug, Alexander Frisch, Ashley Clemens, Richard 'Dr.' Baily, Jay Johnson and P. Scott Makela)
• The Rolling Stones — "Love Is Strong" (Special Effects: Fred Raimondi)
• TLC — "Waterfalls" (Special Effects: Peter Conn and Chris Mitchell)

Best Art Direction in a Video

• Michael Jackson and Janet Jackson — "Scream" (Art Director: Tom Foden)
• Madonna — "Take a Bow" (Art Director: Happy Massee)
• Jill Sobule — "I Kissed a Girl" (Art Director: Kelly Van Patter)
• TLC — "Waterfalls" (Art Director: Keith Burns)

Best Editing in a Video

• Green Day — "Basket Case" (Editor: Alan Chimenti)
• Michael Jackson and Janet Jackson — "Scream" (Editor: Robert Duffy)
• Jill Sobule — "I Kissed a Girl" (Editor: Jerry Behrens)
• TLC — "Waterfalls" (Editor: Johnathon Silver)
• Weezer — "Buddy Holly" (Editor: Eric Zumbrunnen)

Best Cinematography in a Video

• Boyz II Men — "Water Runs Dry" (Director of Photography: Daniel Pearl)
• Green Day — "Basket Case" (Director of Photography: Adam Beckman)
• Michael Jackson and Janet Jackson — "Scream" (Director of Photography: Harris Savides)
• The Rolling Stones — "Love Is Strong" (Directors of Photography: Gary Waller and Mike Trim)
• Stone Temple Pilots — "Interstate Love Song" (Director of Photography: Kevin Kerslake)
• TLC — "Waterfalls" (Director of Photography: Toby Phillips)

Viewer's Choice

• Green Day — "Basket Case"
• Hootie & the Blowfish — "Hold My Hand"
• Michael Jackson and Janet Jackson — "Scream"
• Live — "Lightning Crashes"
• R.E.M. — "What's the Frequency, Kenneth?"
• TLC — "Waterfalls"

International Viewer's Choice Awards

MTV Asia

• Alisha — "Made in India"
• Denada — "Sambutlah"
• Indus Creed — "Trapped"
• Jetrin — "Love Train"
• Kim Gun-mo — "Betrayed Love"

MTV Brasil

• Barão Vermelho — "Daqui por Diante"
• Marisa Monte — "Segue o Seco"
• Os Paralamas do Sucesso (featuring Djavan) — "Uma Brasileira"
• Nando Reis — "Me Diga"
• Skank — "Te Ver"
• Viper — "Coma Rage"

MTV Europe

• Björk — "Army of Me"
• Clawfinger — "Pin Me Down"
• The Cranberries — "Zombie"
• Oasis — "Whatever"
• U2 — "Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me"

MTV Japan

• Chage and Aska — "Something There"
• Hal from Apollo '69 — "Sweet Thing"
• The Mad Capsule Markets — "HI-SIDE (High-Individual Side)"
• Towa Tei — "Technova"
• TRF — "Overnight Sensation"

MTV Latin America

• Café Tacuba — "La Ingrata"
• Fito Páez — "Circo Beat"
• Santana — "Luz Amor y Vida"
• Todos Tus Muertos — "Mate"
• Los Tres — "Déjate Caer"

MTV Mandarin

• Dou Wei — "The Black Dream"
• Dadawa — "Sister Drum"
• Tracy Huang — "Spring"
• Faye Wong — "Chess"
• Xin Xiao Qi — "Understanding"

Video Vanguard Award

• R.E.M.

Performances

Pre-show

• Silverchair — "Tomorrow"/"Pure Massacre"

Main show

• Michael Jackson (featuring Slash) — "Medley" ("Don't Stop 'til You Get Enough"/"The Way You Make Me Feel"/"Scream"/"Beat It"/"Thriller"/"Black or White"/"Billie Jean"/"Dangerous"/"Smooth Criminal"/"You Are Not Alone")
• Live — "I Alone"
• TLC — "CrazySexyMedley" ("Ain't 2 Proud 2 Beg"/"Kick Your Game"/"Creep"/"Waterfalls")
• R.E.M. — "The Wake-Up Bomb"
• Red Hot Chili Peppers — "Warped"
• Bon Jovi — "Helter Skelter"/"Something for the Pain" (live from Times Square)
• Alanis Morissette — "You Oughta Know"
• Hootie & the Blowfish — "Only Wanna Be with You"
• Hole — "Violet"
• Green Day — "Stuck with Me" (live from Stockholm)
• White Zombie — "More Human than Human"

Appearances

• Rod Stewart — presented Best Male Video
• Kennedy — appeared in commercial vignettes about the show
• Tim Robbins — introduced Live
• Patrick Swayze and Wesley Snipes — presented Best Video from a Film
• Bill Bellamy and Monica Seles — appeared in a pre-commercial vignette about previous Viewer's Choice winners and voting procedures
• Lenny Kravitz and Sheryl Crow — presented Best New Artist in a Video
• Chris Hardwick — interviewed New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani and First Lady Donna Hanover Giuliani and appeared in vignettes about the show and Viewer's Choice voting
• The Notorious B.I.G. and Bill Bellamy — presented Best Dance Video
• Kevin Bacon and Liv Tyler — presented Best Direction in a Video
• Grant Hill and Ricki Lake — presented Best R&B Video
• Natalie Merchant — introduced R.E.M.
• Kennedy and Claire Danes — appeared in a pre-commercial vignette about Viewer's Choice voting
• Madonna — presented Best Rap Video
• Mike Tyson — introduced the Red Hot Chili Peppers
• Drew Barrymore — presented the Video Vanguard award
• Seal and Des'ree (jokingly introduced by Dennis Miller as "Seal Koslowski" and "Desiree Finkelstein") — introduced the International Viewer's Choice Award winners
• VJs <?> (Asia), Cuca Lazarotto (Brasil), Ingo Schmoll (Europe), Keiko Yamada (Japan), Alfredo Lewin (Latin America) and <?> (Mandarin) — announced their respective region's Viewer's Choice winner
• George Clooney — presented Best Female Video
• Bryan Adams — presented Viewer's Choice
• Dennis Rodman and Christopher Walken — presented Best Alternative Video
• Bobby Brown and Whitney Houston — presented Video of the Year

External links

• Official MTV site