The 1999

MTV Video Music Awards The MTV Video Music Awards (commonly abbreviated as the VMAs) is an award show presented by the cable channel MTV to honour the best in the music video medium. Originally conceived as an alternative to the Grammy Awards (in the video category) ...

(stylized as 9999 MTV Video Music Awards) aired live on September 9, 1999, honoring the best music videos from June 13, 1998, to June 11, 1999. The show was hosted by

Chris Rock Christopher Julius Rock (born February 7, 1965) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, and filmmaker. Known for his work in comic film, television and stage, he has received multiple accolades, including three Grammy Awards for best come ...

at the Metropolitan Opera House in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. Ricky Martin was the most-awarded artist of the night, winning two primary awards for

Best Pop Video The MTV Video Music Award for Best Pop was first given out in under the name of Best Pop Video, as MTV began to put several teen pop acts in heavy rotation. Nominations, however, were not just limited to pop acts, as dance, R&B, pop/rock, and reg ...

and

Best Dance Video The MTV Video Music Award for Best Dance Video was first awarded in 1989, and it was one of the original four genre categories that were added to the MTV Video Music Awards that year. With a revamp of the awards in 2007, the category was cut out ...

, and three additional awards in the International Viewer's Choice categories for "

Livin' la Vida Loca "Livin' la Vida Loca" () is a song recorded by Puerto Rican singer Ricky Martin for his fifth studio album and English-language debut, ''Ricky Martin'' (1999). The song was written by Draco Rosa and Desmond Child, while the production was handl ...

". Martin and Korn were the most nominated artists of the night, both with 9 nominations for their songs, "Livin' la Vida Loca" and "

Freak on a Leash "Freak on a Leash" is a song by the American nu metal band Korn, featured on the group's 1998 studio album, ''Follow the Leader (Korn album), Follow the Leader''. After ''Follow the Leader''s release, the song was released as a single on February ...

", respectively. Martin was also the first Latin artist in history to receive a nomination in Video of the Year category, but lost to "

Doo Wop (That Thing) "Doo Wop (That Thing)" is a song recorded by American recording artist Lauryn Hill for her debut solo studio album ''The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill'' (1998). It was written and produced by Hill. The song was released as the lead single from ''Th ...

" by Lauryn Hill, which became the first Hip hop video to receive the award. Highlights of the show included

Diana Ross Diana Ross (born March 26, 1944) is an American singer and actress. She rose to fame as the lead singer of the vocal group the Supremes, who became Motown's most successful act during the 1960s and one of the world's best-selling girl groups o ...

jiggling

Lil' Kim Kimberly Denise Jones (born July 11, 1974), Those giving 1974 include: * * * * * better known by her stage name Lil' Kim, is an American rapper and reality television personality. Born and raised in Brooklyn, New York City, she lived much of he ...

's exposed breast in response to her outfit, which left her entire left breast uncovered, but for a small

pastie A pastie is a large to medium-sized battered deep-fried round of minced meat and vegetables common to Northern Ireland. Generally served with chips to form a "pastie supper" ("supper" in Northern Irish chip shops means something with chips), ...

on her nipple. The mothers of slain rappers

Tupac Shakur Tupac Amaru Shakur ( ; born Lesane Parish Crooks, June 16, 1971 – September 13, 1996), also known as 2Pac and Makaveli, was an American rapper. He is widely considered one of the most influential rappers of all time. Shakur is among the Li ...

and

The Notorious B.I.G. Christopher George Latore Wallace (May 21, 1972 – March 9, 1997), better known by his stage names the Notorious B.I.G., Biggie Smalls, or simply Biggie, was an American rapper. Rooted in East Coast hip hop and particularly gangsta ...

, Afeni Shakur and Voletta Wallace, came together to present the Best Rap Video Award. The

Beastie Boys Beastie Boys were an American rap rock group from New York City, formed in 1978. The group was composed of Mike D, Michael "Mike D" Diamond (vocals, drums), Adam Yauch, Adam "MCA" Yauch (vocals, bass), and Ad-Rock, Adam "Ad-Rock" Horovitz (voca ...

' Adam Horovitz made a plea for peace in the wake of the sexual assaults at Woodstock '99. Near the end of the night,

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

staged a tribute to

Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone (; ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Widely dubbed the " Queen of Pop", Madonna has been noted for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, songwriting, a ...

, the most-nominated artist in VMA history, by presenting a host of male drag performers dressed as the singer in her past music videos. Rapper

DMX Earl Simmons (December 18, 1970 – April 9, 2021), known professionally as DMX, was an American rapper and actor. He began rapping in the early 1990s and released his debut album ''It's Dark and Hell Is Hot'' in 1998, to both critical acclaim ...

was scheduled to perform but was a no-show; as a result,

Jay-Z Shawn Corey Carter (born December 4, 1969), known professionally as Jay-Z, is an American rapper, record producer, entrepreneur, and founder of Manhattan-based conglomerate talent and entertainment agency Roc Nation. He is regarded as one of ...

's solo set was extended. Another moment of the ceremony was the debut of

Britney Spears Britney Jean Spears (born December 2, 1981) is an American singer. Often referred to as the " Princess of Pop", she is credited with influencing the revival of teen pop during the late 1990s and early 2000s. After appearing in stage productio ...

performing her debut single " ...Baby One More Time", and then,

NSYNC NSYNC (, ; also stylized as *NSYNC or 'N Sync) was an American boy band formed by Chris Kirkpatrick in Orlando, Florida, in 1995 and launched in Germany by BMG Ariola Munich. Their self-titled debut album was successfully released to European ...

, performed their song " Tearin' Up My Heart". As Backstreet Boys came up and accepted their award for Viewer's Choice, a stranger came onto the stage and said, "Wake up at 3". This person was later revealed to be John Del Signore, who crashed the ceremony in a failed attempt to sell Viacom a show idea. The awards show featured a line-up of sponsors and cross-promotions, most notably with

SEGA is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational video game and entertainment company headquartered in Shinagawa, Tokyo. Its international branches, Sega of America and Sega Europe, are headquartered in Irvine, California and London, r ...

, as the date of the show also coincided with the launch of their Dreamcast game console.

Background

After scouting locations in both New York and Los Angeles, MTV announced in May that the 1999 MTV Video Music Awards would be held at New York's Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center. (MTV's traditional New York venue, Radio City Music Hall, was closed for renovations at the time.) Comedian Chris Rock was announced as the ceremony's host on June 30. Nominations were announced at a press conference hosted by Rock, Carson Daly, and Ricky Martin and held at Lincoln Center on July 28. For the first time, the ceremony was promoted with a "VMA Week" on ''

Total Request Live ''Total Request Live'' (known commonly as ''TRL'') was an American television program broadcast on MTV that premiered on September 14, 1998. TRL featured popular music videos played during its countdown, and was also used as a promotion tool by ...

'', which would continue annually until that program's cancellation in 2008. The ceremony broadcast was preceded by the ''1999 MTV Video Music Awards Opening Act''. Hosted by

Kurt Loder Kurtis Loder (born May 5, 1945) is an American entertainment critic, author, columnist, and television personality. He served in the 1980s as editor at ''Rolling Stone'', during a tenure that ''Reason'' later called "legendary". He has contribute ...

and

Serena Altschul Serena Altschul (born October 13, 1970) is an American broadcast journalist, known for her work at MTV News and CBS. Early life and education Altschul was born in New York City, a daughter of author and botanist Siri von Reis and Arthur Altsch ...

with reports from Chris Connelly,

Carson Daly Carson Jones Daly (born June 22, 1973) is an American television host, radio personality, Television producer, producer, and celebrity, television personality. Prior to 2003, Daly was a VJ (media personality), VJ on MTV's ''Total Request Live'', ...

Ananda Lewis Ananda Lewis (born March 21, 1973) is an American television host, carpenter, former model, and social activist. She was an MTV veejay from the late 1990s until 2001, when she left the network to host her own broadcast syndicated television tal ...

, and John Norris, the broadcast featured red carpet interviews, a pre-taped interview with

Trent Reznor Michael Trent Reznor (born May 17, 1965) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, record producer, and composer. He serves as the lead vocalist, multi-instrumentalist, and principal songwriter of the industrial rock band Nine Inch Nails, wh ...

, pre-taped features on Britney Spears' outfit selection and testing various singers' vocal ability to shatter glass, and performances from

Smash Mouth Smash Mouth is an American rock band from San Jose, California. The band was formed in 1994, and was originally composed of Steve Harwell (lead vocals), Kevin Coleman (drums), Greg Camp (guitar), and Paul De Lisle (bass). With Harwell's depar ...

and Blink-182.

Performances

Main show

Presenters

Pre-show

* Chris Connelly and

– announced the winners of the professional categories and presented Best R&B Video.

Main show

Moby Richard Melville Hall (born September 11, 1965), known professionally as Moby, is an American musician, songwriter, singer, producer, and animal rights activist. He has sold 20 million records worldwide. AllMusic considers him to be "among the ...

– DJed during the commercial breaks *

Janet Jackson Janet Damita Jo Jackson (born May 16, 1966) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and dancer. She is noted for her innovative, socially conscious and sexually provocative records, as well as elaborate stage shows. Her sound and choreog ...

– presented Best Dance Video *

Puff Daddy Puff may refer to: Science and technology * Puff, a small quantity of gas or smoke in the air ** Puff, a light gust of wind ** Exhalation ** Inhalation * Puff model, volcanic ash tracking model developed at the University of Alaska Fairbanks * PUF ...

and Denise Richards – presented Best Group Video * Tom Green – appeared in vignettes about Viewer's Choice voting procedures *

Wyclef Jean Nel Ust Wyclef Jean (; born October 17, 1969) is a Haitian rapper, musician, and actor. At the age of nine, Jean immigrated to the United States with his family. He first achieved fame as a member of the New Jersey hip hop group the Fugees, a ...

and

Charlotte Church Charlotte Maria Church (born Charlotte Maria Reed, 21 February 1986) is a Welsh singer-songwriter, actress, television presenter and political activist from Cardiff. Church rose to fame in childhood as a classical singer before branching i ...

– presented Best New Artist in a Video *

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...

– introduced Lauryn Hill *

Will Smith Willard Carroll Smith II (born September 25, 1968), also known by his stage name The Fresh Prince, is an American actor and rapper. He began his Will Smith filmography, acting career starring as Will Smith (The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air), a ...

– introduced Afeni Shakur and Voletta Wallace and presented Best Rap Video with them *

and

Pamela Anderson Pamela Denise Anderson (born July 1, 1967) is a Canadian-American actress and model. She is best known for her glamour modeling work in ''Playboy'' magazine and for her appearances on the television series ''Baywatch'' (1992–1997). Anders ...

– described balloting procedures, and introduced the Backstreet Boys * Gavin Rossdale and Susan Sarandon – presented Best Female Video * Christina Aguilera and

Tommy Lee Thomas Lee Bass (born October 3, 1962) is an American musician and founding member of the heavy metal band Mötley Crüe. As well as being the band's long-term drummer, Lee founded rap metal band Methods of Mayhem and has pursued solo musical ...

– presented Best Rock Video *

Janeane Garofalo Janeane Marie Garofalo ( ; born September 28, 1964) is an American comedian, actress, and former co-host on the now-defunct Air America Radio's ''The Majority Report''. Garofalo began her career as a stand-up comedian and became a cast member on ...

and

Method Man Clifford Smith, Jr. (born March 2, 1971), better known by his stage name Method Man, is an American rapper, songwriter, record producer, and actor. He is known as a member of the East Coast hip hop collective Wu-Tang Clan. He is also half of t ...

– presented Breakthrough Video * Mark McGrath and

Jennifer Lopez Jennifer Lynn Affleck (' Lopez; born July 24, 1969), also known as J.Lo, is an American singer, actress and dancer. In 1991, she began appearing as a Fly Girl dancer on the sketch comedy television series ''In Living Color'', where she rema ...

– presented Best Video From a Film *

Johnny Depp John Christopher Depp II (born June 9, 1963) is an American actor and musician. He is the recipient of multiple accolades, including a Golden Globe Award and a Screen Actors Guild Award, in addition to nominations for three Academy Award ...

– introduced

Nine Inch Nails Nine Inch Nails, commonly abbreviated as NIN and stylized as NIИ, is an American industrial rock band formed in Cleveland in 1988. Singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and producer Trent Reznor was the only permanent member of the band ...

Limp Bizkit Limp Bizkit is an American rap rock band from Jacksonville, Florida. Its lineup consists of lead vocalist Fred Durst, drummer John Otto, guitarist Wes Borland, turntablist DJ Lethal and bassist Sam Rivers. The band's music is marked by D ...

( Fred Durst and

Wes Borland Wesley Louden Borland (born February 7, 1975) is an American rock musician. He is best known as the current guitarist and backing vocalist of the rap metal band Limp Bizkit, the lead vocalist and guitarist of the alternative and industrial rock ...

) and

Heather Locklear Heather Deen Locklear (born September 25, 1961) is an American actress famous for her role as Amanda Woodward on ''Melrose Place'' (1993–1999), for which she received four consecutive Golden Globe nominations for Best Actress – Television ...

– presented Best Pop Video *

Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. Th ...

– introduced

TLC TLC may refer to: Arts and entertainment Television * ''TLC'' (TV series), a 2002 British situational comedy television series that aired on BBC2 * TLC (TV network), formerly the Learning Channel, an American cable TV network ** TLC (Asia), an As ...

* Mira Sorvino and

Freddie Prinze Jr. Frederick James Prinze Jr. (born March 8, 1976) is an American actor, television & film producer and screenwriter. He has starred in films such as ''I Know What You Did Last Summer'' (1997) and its sequel ''I Still Know What You Did Last Summer' ...

– presented Best Male Video * Regis Philbin – introduced

Fatboy Slim Norman Quentin Cook (born Quentin Leo Cook, 31 July 1963), also known by his stage name Fatboy Slim, is an English musician, DJ, and record producer who helped to popularise the big beat genre in the 1990s. In the 1980s, Cook was the bassist f ...

, Richard Koufey and the Torrance Community Dance Group * Renée Zellweger and Jay Mohr – introduced the International Viewer's Choice Awards winners * Stone Cold Steve Austin – introduced

* Buddy Hackett,

Heather Donahue Rei Hance (born Heather Donahue; December 22, 1974) is an American writer, businesswoman, and retired actress. She is known for her roles as Heather in the 1999 film ''The Blair Witch Project'' and Mary Crawford in the miniseries '' Taken.'' Hanc ...

Joshua Leonard Joshua Granville Leonard (born June 17, 1975) is an American actor, writer, and director, known for his role in ''The Blair Witch Project'' (1999). He has since starred in films such as '' Madhouse'' (2004), '' The Shaggy Dog'' (2006), '' Higher G ...

and

Michael C. Williams Michael C. Williams (born July 25, 1973) is an American actor, best known for his role (using his own name) in the movie ''The Blair Witch Project''. Williams also acted in the television program '' Law & Order'' during February 2000 as a man wh ...

– presented Best Direction in a Video *

Mary J. Blige Mary Jane Blige ( ; born January 11, 1971) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Often referred to as the " Queen of Hip-Hop Soul" and " Queen of R&B", Blige has won nine Grammy Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, four American Music Award ...

and

– introduced

and presented Best Hip-Hop Video with her *

Rebecca Romijn-Stamos Rebecca Alie O'Connell (née Romijn ; born November 6, 1972) is an American actress and former model. She is known for her role as Mystique in the original trilogy (2000–2006) of the ''X-Men'' film series, as Joan from ''The Punisher'' (2 ...

Heidi Klum Heidi Klum (; born 1 June 1973) is a German-American model, television host, producer, and businesswoman. She appeared on the cover of the ''Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue'' in 1998 and was the first German model to become a Victoria's Secre ...

and

Tim Robbins Timothy Francis Robbins (born October 16, 1958) is an American actor and filmmaker. He is known for portraying Andy Dufresne in the film ''The Shawshank Redemption ''(1994), and has won an Academy Award and two Golden Globe Awards for his role ...

– presented Viewer's Choice *

Lars Ulrich Lars Ulrich (; ; born 26 December 1963) is a Danish musician best known as the drummer and co-founder of American heavy metal band Metallica. The son and grandson respectively of tennis players Torben and Einer Ulrich, he played tennis in his ...

– introduced

Eminem Marshall Bruce Mathers III (born October 17, 1972), known professionally as Eminem (; often stylized as EMINƎM), is an American rapper and record producer. He is credited with popularizing hip hop in middle America and is critically acclai ...

– introduced

Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained worldwide fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John Lennon. One ...

and presented Video of the Year with him

Winners and nominees

Winners are listed first and highlighted in bold.

References

External links

Official MTV site
{{MTV Video Music Awards

1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shootin ...

Background

Performances

Main show

Presenters

Pre-show

Main show

Winners and nominees

See also

References

External links