1993 MTV Video Music Awards
The 1993 MTV Video Music Awards aired live on September 2, 1993, honoring the best music videos from June 16, 1992, to June 15, 1993. The show was hosted by Christian Slater at the Gibson Amphitheatre in Los Angeles. This would be Kurt Cobain's final VMA appearance.
| 1993 MTV Video Music Awards | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Date | Thursday, September 2, 1993 |
| Location | Gibson Amphitheatre, Los Angeles, California |
| Country | United States |
| Hosted by | Christian Slater |
| Television/radio coverage | |
| Network | MTV |
This year marked the introduction of yet another new category with the addition of Best R&B Video ballot. However, this would be the first time that a new award was added to the list of genre categories, a move that was mainly propelled by the success and popularity of MTV Jams.
The night's biggest winner was Pearl Jam, whose video for "Jeremy" earned four awards that night, including Video of the Year. Closely following were En Vogue with three Moonmen and Madonna and Peter Gabriel with two awards apiece. All other winners took one award each.
Meanwhile, in terms of nominations R&B group En Vogue and their video for "Free Your Mind" were the most nominated act and video (respectively) that night, receiving a total of eight nominations. The second most nominated artists of the night were Peter Gabriel, Aerosmith, and R.E.M., who received six nominations that night. Gabriel split his six nominations evenly between his videos for "Digging in the Dirt" and "Steam." All of R.E.M.'s nominations went to their video for "Man on the Moon." Lastly, Aerosmith, the winners of the Viewer's Choice award, received six nominations for their clip "Livin' on the Edge."
Winners and nominations
Winners are in bold text.
Video of the Year
Best Male Video
Best Female Video
k.d. lang – "Constant Craving"
- Neneh Cherry – "Buddy X"
- Janet Jackson – "That's the Way Love Goes"
- Annie Lennox – "Walking on Broken Glass"
Best Group Video
- Depeche Mode – "I Feel You"
- En Vogue – "Free Your Mind"
- R.E.M. – "Man on the Moon"
Best New Artist in a Video
- Tasmin Archer – "Sleeping Satellite"
- Belly – "Feed the Tree"
- Porno for Pyros – "Pets"
Best Metal/Hard Rock Video
- Aerosmith – "Livin' on the Edge"
- Helmet – "Unsung"
- Nine Inch Nails – "Wish"
Best R&B Video
- Mary J. Blige – "Real Love"
- Boyz II Men – "End of the Road"
- Prince and The New Power Generation – "7"
Best Rap Video
Best Dance Video
- Janet Jackson – "That's the Way Love Goes"
- RuPaul – "Supermodel"
- Stereo MCs – "Connected"
Best Alternative Video
- 4 Non Blondes – "What's Up?"
- Belly – "Feed the Tree"
- Porno for Pyros – "Pets"
- Stone Temple Pilots – "Plush"
Best Video from a Film
Alice in Chains – "Would?" (from Singles)
- Arrested Development – "Revolution" (from Malcolm X)
- Boy George – "The Crying Game" (from The Crying Game)
- Paul Westerberg – "Dyslexic Heart" (from Singles)
Breakthrough Video
Los Lobos – "Kiko and the Lavender Moon"
- Aerosmith – "Livin' on the Edge"
- Terence Trent D'Arby – "She Kissed Me"
- Green Jellÿ – "Three Little Pigs"
- George Michael – "Killer/Papa Was a Rollin' Stone"
- Porno for Pyros – "Pets"
Best Direction in a Video
Pearl Jam – "Jeremy" (Director: Mark Pellington)
- En Vogue – "Free Your Mind" (Director: Mark Romanek)
- Los Lobos – "Kiko and the Lavender Moon" (Director: Ondrej Rudavsky)
- R.E.M. – "Man on the Moon" (Director: Peter Care)
Best Choreography in a Video
En Vogue – "Free Your Mind" (Choreographers: Frank Gatson, LaVelle Smith Jnr and Travis Payne)
- Mary J. Blige – "Real Love" (Choreographer: Leslie Segar)
- Janet Jackson – "That's the Way Love Goes" (Choreographer: Tina Landon)
- Michael Jackson – "Jam" (Choreographer: Barry Lather)
Best Special Effects in a Video
Peter Gabriel – "Steam" (Special Effects: Real World Productions and (Colossal) Pictures)
- Aerosmith – "Livin' on the Edge" (Special Effects: Cream Cheese Productions)
- Terence Trent D'Arby – "She Kissed Me" (Special Effects: Michel Gondry)
- Billy Idol – "Shock to the System" (Special Effects: Stan Winston)
Best Art Direction in a Video
Madonna – "Rain" (Art Director: Jan Peter Flack)
- Aerosmith – "Livin' on the Edge" (Art Director: Vance Lorenzini)
- Faith No More – "A Small Victory" (Art Director: Tyler Smith)
- Lenny Kravitz – "Are You Gonna Go My Way" (Art Director: Nigel Phelps)
- k.d. lang – "Constant Craving" (Art Director: Tom Foden)
- R.E.M. – "Man on the Moon" (Art Director: Jan Peter Flack)
- Sting – "If I Ever Lose My Faith in You" (Art Director: Mike Grant)
Best Editing in a Video
Peter Gabriel – "Steam" (Editor: Douglas Jines)
- Tasmin Archer – "Sleeping Satellite" (Editors: Jeff Panzer, Doug Kluthe and Evan Stone)
- Billy Idol – "Shock to the System" (Editor: Jim Gable)
- R.E.M. – "Man on the Moon" (Editor: Robert Duffy)
Best Cinematography in a Video
Madonna – "Rain" (Director of Photography: Harris Savides)
- Duran Duran – "Ordinary World" (Director of Photography: Martin Coppen)
- En Vogue – "Free Your Mind" (Director of Photography: Thomas Kloss)
- k.d. lang – "Constant Craving" (Director of Photography: Marc Reshovsky)
- Sting – "If I Ever Lose My Faith in You" (Director of Photography: Ivan Bartos)
Viewer's Choice
Aerosmith – "Livin' on the Edge"
- En Vogue – "Free Your Mind"
- Peter Gabriel – "Digging in the Dirt"
- Pearl Jam – "Jeremy"
- R.E.M. – "Man on the Moon"
International Viewer's Choice Awards
MTV Asia
Indus Creed – "Pretty Child"
- Beyond – "The Great Wall"
- Jerry Huang – "The Love March"
- Mai – "Sia-Jai-Dai-Yin-Mai"
- Tang Dynasty – "A Dream Return to Tang Dynasty"
MTV Brasil
Titãs – "Será Que É Isso o Que Eu Necessito?"
- Deborah Blando – "Decadence Avec Elegance"
- Capital Inicial – "Kamikase"
- Engenheiros do Hawaii – "Parabólica"
- Nenhum de Nós – "Jornais"
MTV Europe
MTV Internacional
Luis Miguel – "América, América"
- Café Tacuba – "María"
- Juan Luis Guerra y 440 – "El Costo de la Vida"
- Mecano – "Una Rosa Es una Rosa"
Performances
- Madonna – "Bye Bye Baby"
- Lenny Kravitz (with John Paul Jones) – "Are You Gonna Go My Way"
- Sting – "If I Ever Lose My Faith in You"
- Soul Asylum, Peter Buck and Victoria Williams – "Runaway Train"
- Aerosmith – "Livin' on the Edge"
- Naughty By Nature – "Hip Hop Hooray"
- R.E.M. – "Everybody Hurts"/"Drive"
- Spin Doctors – "Two Princes"
- Pearl Jam – "Animal"/"Rockin' in the Free World" (with Neil Young)
- The Edge – "Numb"
- Janet Jackson – "That's the Way Love Goes"/"If"
Appearances
- Michael Richards – presented Best Alternative Video
- Dr. Dre, Snoop Doggy Dogg and George Clinton – presented Best R&B Video
- Kennedy and John Norris – appeared in a backstage vignette about Viewer's Choice voting
- Peter Gabriel and Natalie Merchant – presented Best Group Video
- Lyle Lovett and Arrested Development – presented Best New Artist in a Video
- Dan Cortese, Bill Bellamy and Steven Tyler – appeared in a backstage vignette about Viewer's Choice voting
- Christian Slater (host) – introduced the winners of previously announced categories
- Shaquille O'Neal and Cindy Crawford – presented Best Dance Video
- Martin Lawrence – presented Best Rap Video
- Beavis and Butt-head – presented Best Metal/Hard Rock Video
- John Walsh – appeared in a video vignette about Viewer's Choice voting
- VJs Sophiya Haque (Asia), Simone Angel (Europe), Daisy Fuentes (Internacional) and Gastão Moreira (Brasil) – announced their respective region's Viewer's Choice winner
- Milton Berle and RuPaul – presented Viewer's Choice
- Sharon Stone – presented Best Direction in a Video
- Whoopi Goldberg – introduced The Edge
- Keanu Reeves – presented Best Female Video and Best Male Video
- Tony Bennett and the Red Hot Chili Peppers (Anthony Kiedis and Flea) – presented Video of the Year
- Heather DeLoach (as "Bee Girl") – tap-danced for the audience during the show's closing
References
- Sandler, Adam (July 22, 1993). "MTV vid awards come into Vogue – Entertainment News, Music News, Media – Variety". Archived from the original on August 11, 2009. Retrieved August 5, 2009.