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 Arsenio Hall (born February 12, 1956) is an American comedian, actor and talk show host. He hosted the late-night talk show, ''The Arsenio Hall Show'', from 1989 until 1994, and again from 2013 to 2014. He has appeared in ''Martial Law'', '' Com ...

at the

Universal Amphitheatre Universal Amphitheatre (later known as Gibson Amphitheatre) was an indoor amphitheatre located in Los Angeles, California within Universal City. It was built as an outdoor venue, opening in the summer of 1972 with a production of ''Jesus Christ ...

in Los Angeles. This year 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,

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 ...

and

Paula Abdul Paula Julie Abdul (born June 19, 1962) is an American singer, dancer, choreographer, actress, and television personality. She began her career as a cheerleader for the Los Angeles Lakers at the age of 18 and later became the head choreographe ...

were the night's biggest winners with four awards each, while rock group

Living Colour Living Colour is an American rock band from New York City, formed in 1984. The band currently consists of guitarist Vernon Reid, lead vocalist Corey Glover, drummer Will Calhoun and bassist Doug Wimbish (who replaced Muzz Skillings in 1992). St ...

was the second biggest winner, taking home three moonmen that night. On the other hand,

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the " King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over ...

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", but only took home one award for Best Special Effects. The award for Video of the Year, went to

Neil Young Neil Percival Young (born November 12, 1945) is a Canadian-American singer and songwriter. After embarking on a music career in Winnipeg in the 1960s, Young moved to Los Angeles, joining Buffalo Springfield with Stephen Stills, Richie Fu ...

's controversial video for "This Note's for You", making this the first time since

The Cars The Cars were an American rock band formed in Boston in 1976. Emerging from the new wave scene in the late 1970s, they consisted of Ric Ocasek ( rhythm guitar), Benjamin Orr ( bass guitar), Elliot Easton ( lead guitar), Greg Hawkes ( keyboar ...

' win in

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...

that an act takes home the main award without winning any other one. Unlike

, though, Young's video did not have any other nominations that night except for Viewer's Choice, which until 1994 had exactly the same nominees as Video of the Year. The Viewer's Choice award, however, went to another video that also stirred up controversy:

Madonna's 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 ...

" Like a Prayer." The ceremony is notable for comedian

Andrew Dice Clay Andrew Dice Clay (born Andrew Clay Silverstein; September 29, 1957) is an American stand-up comedian and actor. He rose to prominence in the late 1980s with a brash, deliberately offensive persona known as "The Diceman". In 1990, he became the fi ...

's stand-up routine that included adult versions of

Mother Goose The figure of Mother Goose is the imaginary author of a collection of French fairy tales and later of English nursery rhymes. As a character, she appeared in a song, the first stanza of which often functions now as a nursery rhyme. This, howeve ...

nursery rhymes, leading MTV executives to ban him from ever appearing on the network again, and

Def Leppard Def Leppard are an English rock band formed in 1976 in Sheffield. Since 1992, the band has consisted of Rick Savage (bass, backing vocals), Joe Elliott (lead vocals), Rick Allen (drums, backing vocals), Phil Collen (guitar, backing vocals), ...

's performance of " Tear It Down" would be the last live appearance of

guitarist A guitarist (or a guitar player) is a person who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of guitar family instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themsel ...

Steve Clark ''yes'Steve is a masculine given name, usually a short form ( hypocorism) of Steven or Stephen Notable people with the name include: steve jops * Steve Abbott (disambiguation), several people * Steve Adams (disambiguation), several people * Steve ...

before his death on Tuesday January 8, 1991.

Background

MTV announced in mid-June that Arsenio Hall would host the 1989 Video Music Awards, which would be held on September 6 at the Universal Amphitheatre. Nominees were announced at a press conference held at the Saxon-Lee Gallery in Los Angeles on July 11. The addition of four "genre" categories was meant to reflect MTV's new programming strategy, which shifted away from freeform video rotation to specific shows dedicated to certain genres. Thus, Best Dance Video reflected the videos on ''

Club MTV ''Club MTV'' is a half hour television show modeled after ''American Bandstand'' that aired on MTV from August 31, 1987, to June 26, 1992. ''Club MTV'' was part of MTV's second generation of programming, as the channel was phasing out its origi ...

'', Best Heavy Metal Video reflected ''

Headbangers Ball ''Headbangers Ball'' is a music television program that consisted of heavy metal music videos airing on MTV and its global affiliates. The show began on MTV on April 18, 1987, playing heavy metal music videos from both well-known and more ob ...

'', Best Rap Video reflected ''

Yo! MTV Raps ''Yo! MTV Raps'' is an American two-hour television music video program, which first aired on MTV Europe from 1987 to mid-90s and on MTV US from August 1988 to August 1995. The American version of the program (created by Ted Demme and Peter Doug ...

'', and Best Post-Modern Video reflected '' Post-Modern MTV''. For the first time, the ceremony was broadcast via satellite on MTV's international affiliates, leading to the introduction of the International Viewer's Choice awards. The ceremony broadcast was preceded by ''Ken & Kevin on the Road to the 1989 MTV Video Music Awards'', hosted by

Ken Ober Ken Ober (July 3, 1957 – November 15, 2009) was an American game show host, comedian, and actor. Early life and career Born Kenneth Oberding in Brookline, Massachusetts, he was raised in a suburb of Hartford, Connecticut, where his fir ...

and

Kevin Seal Kevin Seal is an American television presenter and voice actor. Biography Seal was an MTV VJ in the late 1980s, the host of the pilot of '' Club MTV'' (according to an MTV special) and one of the hosts of the influential alternative-music prog ...

Performances

Presenters

Christina Applegate Christina Applegate (born November 25, 1971) is an American actress. As a child actress, she gained recognition for starring as Kelly Bundy in the Fox sitcom '' Married... with Children'' (1987–1997). Applegate established a successful film a ...

and

Alice Cooper Alice Cooper (born Vincent Damon Furnier, February 4, 1948) is an American rock singer whose career spans over five decades. With a raspy voice and a stage show that features numerous props and stage illusions, including pyrotechnics, guilloti ...

– presented Best Group Video *

Mick Jagger Sir Michael Philip Jagger (born 26 July 1943) is an English singer and songwriter who has achieved international fame as the lead vocalist and one of the founder members of the rock band the Rolling Stones. His ongoing songwriting partnershi ...

– presented the Best Group Video Moonman to

during their acceptance segment via satellite from

Three Rivers Stadium Three Rivers Stadium was a multi-purpose stadium located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, from 1970 to 2000. It was home to the Pittsburgh Pirates of Major League Baseball (MLB) and the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL). Buil ...

Corbin Bernsen Corbin Dean Bernsen (born September 7, 1954) is an American actor and film director. He appeared as divorce attorney Arnold Becker on the NBC drama series '' L.A. Law'',

and

Downtown Julie Brown Julie Dorne Brown, better known as Downtown Julie Brown, is an English-born actress, television personality, SiriusXM DJ and former MTV VJ. Brown is best known as the host of the television music show ''Club MTV'', which ran from 1987 until 1 ...

– presented Best Dance Video * Richard Lewis – introduced

Jasmine Guy Jasmine Guy (born March 10, 1962) is an American actress, director, singer and dancer. She is known for her role as Dina in the 1988 film ''School Daze'' and as Whitley Gilbert-Wayne on the NBC ''The Cosby Show'' spin-off ''A Different World'', ...

and "Weird" Al Yankovic – presented Best Video from a Film *

Mötley Crüe Mötley Crüe is an American heavy metal band formed in Los Angeles in 1981. The group was founded by bassist Nikki Sixx, drummer Tommy Lee, lead guitarist Mick Mars and lead singer Vince Neil. Mötley Crüe has sold over 100 million albu ...

– presented Best Heavy Metal Video *

Jody Watley Jody Vanessa Watley (born January 30, 1959) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and artist,USA Today (February 16, 1996), Best Bets: Albums Jody Watley Greatest Hits, "Few singers fired up the disco like Jody Watley who set trends ...

and

Lou Diamond Phillips Louis Diamond Phillips ( born Upchurch; February 17, 1962) is a Filipino-American actor and film director. His breakthrough came when he starred as Ritchie Valens in the biographical drama film '' La Bamba'' (1987). For ''Stand and Deliver'' (19 ...

– presented Best Choreography in a Video and Best Stage Performance in a Video * Robert Townsend – introduced the International Viewer's Choice Award winners * VJs

Daisy Fuentes Daisy Fuentes (born November 17, 1966) is a Cuban-American actress, comedian, model, television host and former weather presenter. Fuentes broke barriers as MTV's first Latina VJ (signed to MTV and MTV Latin America simultaneously) and as Revlon ...

(Internacional), Sayo Morita (

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the n ...

) and Maiken Wexø (

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

) – announced Viewer's Choice winners for their respective regions *

Ray Cokes Ray Cokes (born Raymond Christopher Cokes on 24 February 1958) is an English television presenter. Career Early life Ray's father was an officer in the Royal Navy, who was stationed at various navy bases around the world. When Ray was 15 the ...

– briefly introduced international winners

Chayanne Elmer Figueroa Arce (born June 28, 1968), better known under the stage name Chayanne, is a Puerto Rican Latin pop singer and actor. As a solo artist, Chayanne has released 21 albums and sold over 50 million records worldwide, making him one of ...

and

Kome Kome Club is a Japanese pop rock band formed in 1982 which achieved commercial success by blending soul and funk musical styles. They also use the style of '' rakugo''. History 1982–1997: Commercial success Kome Kome Club was founded in 1982 by vocalist ...

before a commercial break and told viewers what was 'coming up' on the show *

James Woods James Howard Woods (born April 18, 1947) is an American actor. He is known for his work in various film, stage, and television productions. He started his career in minor roles on and off- Broadway. In 1972, he appeared in ''The Trial of the ...

– presented Best Direction in a Video *

Ione Skye Ione Skye Lee ( ; Ione Skye Leitch; born September 4, 1970) is a British-born American actress and the daughter of singer Donovan. She made her film debut in the thriller '' River's Edge'' (1986) before gaining mainstream exposure for her sta ...

and

Christian Slater Christian Michael Leonard Slater (born August 18, 1969) is an American actor and producer. He made his film debut with a leading role in ''The Legend of Billie Jean'' (1985) and gained wider recognition for his breakthrough role as Jason "J.D." D ...

– presented Best New Artist in a Video *

– presented the Video Vanguard Award *

Neneh Cherry Neneh Mariann Karlsson (born 10 March 1964), better known as Neneh Cherry, is a Swedish singer-songwriter, rapper, occasional DJ and broadcaster. Her musical career started in London in the early 1980s, where she performed in a number of punk an ...

and

Fab Five Freddy Fred Brathwaite (born August 31, 1959), more popularly known as Fab 5 Freddy, is an American visual artist, filmmaker, and hip hop pioneer. He is considered one of the architects of the street art movement. Freddy emerged in New York's downtown ...

– presented Best Rap Video *

(host) – introduced the winners of the professional categories and announced the winners of Breakthrough Video and Best Post-Modern Video *

– introduced

Cher Cher (; born Cherilyn Sarkisian; May 20, 1946) is an American singer, actress and television personality. Often referred to by the media as the Honorific nicknames in popular music, "Goddess of Pop", she has been described as embodying female ...

and

Colin Quinn Colin Edward Quinn (born June 6, 1959) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, and writer. Quinn first gained widespread attention for his work as a cast member and writer for the NBC sketch comedy series '' Saturday Night Live'' from 1995 to 2 ...

– presented Viewer's Choice *

Julie Brown Julie Ann Brown (born August 31, 1958) is an American actress, comedian, screen/television writer, singer-songwriter, and television director. Brown is known for her work in the 1980s, where she often played a quintessential valley girl charac ...

and

Richard Marx Richard Noel Marx (born September 16, 1963) is an American adult contemporary and pop rock singer-songwriter. He has sold over 30 million albums worldwide. Marx's self-titled debut album went triple-platinum in 1987, and his first single, " D ...

– presented Best Male Video and Best Female Video * Michael Hutchence – presented Video of the Year

Winners and nominees

Winners are listed first and highlighted in bold.

Other appearances

– appeared in a couple of pre-commercial segments telling viewers what was 'coming up' on the show * Richard Lewis – performed a brief stand-up routine *

– appeared in a pre-commercial segment telling viewers what was 'coming up' on the show *

– appeared in a series of taped vignettes before some commercial breaks *

Adam Curry Adam Clark Curry (born September 3, 1964) is an American podcaster, announcer, Internet entrepreneur and media personality, known for his stint as a VJ on MTV and being one of the first celebrities to personally create and administer Web site ...

– appeared in a couple of pre-commercial segments telling viewers what was 'coming up' on the show * Daisy Fuentes – appeared in a pre-commercial segment telling viewer's what was 'coming up' on the show * Andrew Dice Clay – performed a brief stand-up routine * Ken Ober and Colin Quinn – appeared in segments about Viewer's Choice voting procedures throughout the show

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:1989 MTV Video Music Awards

1989 File:1989 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Cypress Street Viaduct, Cypress structure collapses as a result of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, killing motorists below; The proposal document for the World Wide Web is submitted; The Exxo ...

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) ...