1996 MTV Video Music Awards

1996 MTV Video Music Awards
Date	September 4, 1996
Venue(s)	Radio City Music Hall, New York City, New York
Host(s)	Dennis Miller
Network	MTV

The 1996 MTV Video Music Awards aired live on September 4, 1996, honoring the best music videos from June 16, 1995, to June 14, 1996. The show was hosted by Dennis Miller at Radio City Music Hall in New York City.

Highlights of the show included a short-lived reunion of the four original members of Van Halen, who had not appeared together at that time for more than a decade, presenting the award for Best Male Video, as well as a live interlink with astronauts on the Mir space station. The show also marked Tupac Shakur's final public appearance before being shot on September 7.

The Smashing Pumpkins led the pack that night with nine nominations and seven wins. Of these, their video for "Tonight, Tonight" earned seven wins out of its eight nominations, including Video of the Year, thus making it the night's most nominated and biggest winning video. Furthermore, their video for "1979" earned the one Moonman it was nominated for: Best Alternative Video.

The next biggest nominee and winner that night was Canadian singer Alanis Morissette, who won three out of her six nominations for her video "Ironic." Tying with her in terms of nominations was Icelandic singer Björk, who also received six nominations; however, her video for "It's Oh So Quiet" only took home one Moonman for Best Choreography. Closely following with five nominations each were Coolio, the Foo Fighters, and Bone Thugs-n-Harmony. Out of these, though, only the former two ended up taking home some Moonmen for their videos. Coolio won three, as "Gangsta's Paradise" won two out of its three nominations, and "1, 2, 3, 4 (Sumpin' New)" won one out of its two nominations, while the Foo Fighters' "Big Me" took home one Moonman for Best Group Video. Bone Thugs-n-Harmony, meanwhile, went home empty-handed.

Nominations

Winners are in bold text.

Video of the Year

• Bone Thugs-n-Harmony — "Tha Crossroads"
• Foo Fighters — "Big Me"
• Alanis Morissette — "Ironic"
• The Smashing Pumpkins — "Tonight, Tonight"

Best Male Video

• Bryan Adams — "The Only Thing That Looks Good on Me Is You"
• Beck — "Where It's At"
• Coolio — "1, 2, 3, 4 (Sumpin' New)"
• R. Kelly (featuring Ernie Isley and Ronald Isley) — "Down Low (Nobody Has to Know)"
• Seal — "Don't Cry"

Best Female Video

• Björk — "It's Oh So Quiet"
• Tracy Chapman — "Give Me One Reason"
• Jewel — "Who Will Save Your Soul"
• Alanis Morissette — "Ironic"

Best Group Video

• Bone Thugs-n-Harmony — "Tha Crossroads"
• Foo Fighters — "Big Me"
• The Fugees — "Killing Me Softly"
• Hootie & the Blowfish — "Only Wanna Be with You"

Best New Artist in a Video

• Tracy Bonham — "Mother Mother"
• Garbage — "Stupid Girl"
• Jewel — "Who Will Save Your Soul"
• Alanis Morissette — "Ironic"

Best Hard Rock Video

• Alice in Chains — "Again"
• Marilyn Manson — "Sweet Dreams"
• Metallica — "Until It Sleeps"
• Rage Against the Machine — "Bulls on Parade"

Best R&B Video

• Toni Braxton — "You're Makin' Me High"
• Mariah Carey and Boyz II Men — "One Sweet Day"
• D'Angelo — "Brown Sugar"
• The Fugees — "Killing Me Softly"

Best Rap Video

• 2Pac (featuring Dr. Dre and Roger Troutman) — "California Love"
• Bone Thugs-n-Harmony — "Tha Crossroads"
• Coolio (featuring L.V.) — "Gangsta's Paradise"
• LL Cool J — "Doin It"

Best Dance Video

• Coolio — "1, 2, 3, 4 (Sumpin' New)"
• Everything but the Girl — "Missing"
• La Bouche — "Be My Lover"
• George Michael — "Fastlove"

Best Alternative Video

• Bush — "Glycerine"
• Everclear — "Santa Monica"
• Foo Fighters — "Big Me"
• The Smashing Pumpkins — "1979"

Best Video from a Film

• Brandy — "Sittin' Up in My Room" (from Waiting to Exhale)
• Bush — "Machinehead" (from Fear)
• Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen, Jr. — "Theme from Mission: Impossible" (from Mission: Impossible)
• Coolio (featuring L.V.) — "Gangsta's Paradise" (from Dangerous Minds)

Breakthrough Video

• Björk — "It's Oh So Quiet"
• Busta Rhymes — "Woo Hah!! Got You All in Check"
• Foo Fighters — "Big Me"
• Garbage — "Queer"
• Radiohead — "Just"
• The Smashing Pumpkins — "Tonight, Tonight"

Best Direction in a Video

• Björk — "It's Oh So Quiet" (Director: Spike Jonze)
• Foo Fighters — "Big Me" (Director: Jesse Peretz)
• Alanis Morissette — "Ironic" (Director: Stéphane Sednaoui)
• The Smashing Pumpkins — "Tonight, Tonight" (Directors: Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris)

Best Choreography in a Video

• Björk — "It's Oh So Quiet" (Choreographer: Michael Rooney)
• Janet Jackson — "Runaway" (Choreographer: Tina Landon)
• George Michael — "Fastlove" (Choreographers: Vaughan and Anthea)
• Quad City DJ's — "C'mon N' Ride It (The Train)" (Choreographers: Quad City DJ's)

Best Special Effects in a Video

• The Beatles — "Free as a Bird" (Special Effects: Johnny Senered, Kristen Johnson and Ben Gibbs)
• Bone Thugs-n-Harmony — "Tha Crossroads" (Special Effects: Cameron Noble)
• Green Day — "Walking Contradiction" (Special Effects: Jefferson Wagner and Brian Boles)
• The Smashing Pumpkins — "Tonight, Tonight" (Special Effects: Chris Staves)

Best Art Direction in a Video

• Björk — "It's Oh So Quiet" (Art Director: Teri Whitaker)
• The Cranberries — "Salvation" (Art Director: William Abelo)
• R.E.M. — "Tongue" (Art Director: Clam Lynch)
• The Smashing Pumpkins — "Tonight, Tonight" (Art Directors: K. K. Barrett and Wayne White)

Best Editing in a Video

• Beck — "Where It's At" (Editor: Eric Zumbrunnen)
• Alanis Morissette — "Ironic" (Editor: Scott Grey)
• Red Hot Chili Peppers — "Warped" (Editor: Hal Honigsberg)
• The Smashing Pumpkins — "Tonight, Tonight" (Editor: Eric Zumbrunnen)

Best Cinematography in a Video

• Brandy (featuring Wanya Morris) — "Brokenhearted" (Director of Photography: Martin Coppen)
• Eric Clapton — "Change the World" (Directors of Photography: Peter Nydrle and Marco Mazzi)
• Madonna — "You'll See" (Director of Photography: Adrian Wilde)
• The Smashing Pumpkins — "Tonight, Tonight" (Director of Photography: Declan Quinn)

Viewer's Choice

• Bone Thugs-n-Harmony — "Tha Crossroads"
• Bush — "Glycerine"
• Coolio (featuring L.V.) — "Gangsta's Paradise"
• Metallica — "Until It Sleeps"
• Alanis Morissette — "Ironic"
• The Smashing Pumpkins — "Tonight, Tonight"

International Viewer's Choice Awards

MTV Asia

• Dewa 19 — "Cukup Siti Nurbaya"
• IE — "Chan Tang Jai"
• Put3Ska — "Manila Girl"
• Seo Taiji & Boys — "Come Back Home"

MTV Brasil

• Fernanda Abreu — "Veneno da Lata"
• Baba Cósmica — "Sábado de Sol"
• Barão Vermelho — "Vem Quente Que Eu Estou Fervendo"
• Chico Science & Nação Zumbi — "Manguetown"
• Engenheiros do Hawaii — "A Promessa"
• Os Paralamas do Sucesso — "Lourinha Bombril"
• Pato Fu — "Qualquer Bobagem"
• Raimundos — "Eu Quero Ver o Oco"
• Renato Russo — "Strani Amori"
• Sepultura — "Roots Bloody Roots"
• Skank — "Garota Nacional"
• Titãs — "Eu Não Aguento"

MTV Europe

• Björk — "It's Oh So Quiet"
• Die Fantastischen Vier — "Sie Ist Weg"
• Jovanotti — "L'Ombelico del Mondo"
• George Michael — "Fastlove"
• Pulp — "Disco 2000"

MTV India

• Asha Bhosle — "Piya Tu Ab To Aaja"
• Biddu — "Boom Boom"
• Colonial Cousins — "Sa Ni Dha Pa"
• Indus Creed — "Sleep"
• Shaan and Style Bhai — "Roop Tera Mastana"

MTV Japan

• Ken Ishii — "Extra"
• Toshinobu Kubota — "Funk It Up"
• Kuroyume — "Pistol"
• The Mad Capsule Markets — "Walk!"
• Seiko — "Let's Talk About It"

MTV Latin America

• Los Fabulosos Cadillacs — "Mal Bicho"
• Illya Kuryaki and the Valderramas — "Abarajame"
• Maldita Vecindad y los Hijos del 5to. Patio — "Don Palabras"
• Eros Ramazzotti — "La Cosa Más Bella"
• Soda Stereo — "Ella Usó Mi Cabeza Como un Revólver"

MTV Mandarin

• Dou Wei — "Outside the Window"
• Andy Lau — "Truly Forever"
• Eric Moo — "Love Is So Heavy"
• Nana Tang — "Freedom"
• Regina Tseng — "From Dark to Light"

Video Vanguard Award

• Not presented this year

Performances

Pre-show

• Beck — "Where It's At"
• No Doubt — "Spiderwebs"/"Just a Girl"

Main show

• The Smashing Pumpkins — "Tonight, Tonight"
• The Fugees (featuring Nas) — "Medley" ("Killing Me Softly," "Fu-Gee-La," "Ready or Not" and "If I Ruled the World (Imagine That)")
• Metallica — "Until It Sleeps"
• LL Cool J — "Doin It"
• Neil Young — "The Needle and the Damage Done" (live from the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland)
• Hootie & the Blowfish — "Sad Caper"
• Alanis Morissette — "Your House"
• Bush — "Machinehead"
• The Cranberries — "Salvation"
• Oasis — "Champagne Supernova"
• Bone Thugs-N-Harmony — "Tha Crossroads"
• Kiss — "Rock and Roll All Nite" (live from beneath the Brooklyn Bridge)

Appearances

Main show

• Mariah Carey — presented Best Group Video
• Kevin Bacon and Rosie O'Donnell — presented Best New Artist in a Video
• Claudia Schiffer and Red Hot Chili Peppers (Anthony Kiedis and Flea) — presented Best Dance Video
• Béla Károlyi — appeared in several backstage vignettes with Lars Ulrich and Hootie & the Blowfish
• Toni Braxton and Dennis Rodman — presented Breakthrough Video
• Norm Macdonald (as Bob Dole) — appeared in a pre-commercial vignette about Viewer's Choice voting
• Beck and Chris Rock — presented Best R&B Video
• Michael Buffer — introduced LL Cool J
• Geena Davis — presented Best Direction in a Video
• Cosmonauts Valery Korzun and Aleksandr Kaleri — interviewed by host Dennis Miller live via satellite from the Mir space station
• Jenny McCarthy and Damon Wayans — presented Best Rap Video
• 2Pac and Snoop Doggy Dogg — presented Best Hard Rock Video
• Seal — introduced Alanis Morissette
• Darrell Hammond (as Bill Clinton) — appeared in a pre-commercial vignette about Viewer's Choice voting
• Beavis and Butt-head — introduced the International Viewer's Choice Award winners
• VJs Rahul Khanna (India), George Williams (Japan), Eden Harel (Europe), Sabrina Parlatore (Brasil), Edith Serrano (Latin America), Mike Kasem (Asia) and Stacy Hsu (Mandarin) — announced their respective region's Viewer's Choice winner
• Tim Robbins — presented Best Alternative Video
• Janeane Garofalo — introduced The Cranberries
• Gwyneth Paltrow — introduced the winners of the professional categories
• Aerosmith (Steven Tyler and Joe Perry) — presented Viewer's Choice
• Ewan McGregor and Ewen Bremner — introduced Oasis
• Van Halen — presented Best Male Video
• Susan Sarandon — presented Best Female Video
• Jay Leno — appeared in a "coming up" vignette hyping the Video of the Year award and the Kiss performance
• Sharon Stone — presented Video of the Year

Post-show

• John Norris and Alison Stewart — presented Best Video from a Film

External links

• Official MTV site