94-550: The MTV Video Music Award for Best Rock was first given out in 1989 , one of the four original genre categories added to the VMAs that year. In its first year, the award was called Best Heavy Metal Video , and from 1990 to 1995, it was renamed Best Metal/Hard Rock Video . The category underwent a third, brief name change in 1996, when it was renamed Best Hard Rock Video . In 1997, the award acquired its most enduring name, Best Rock Video , which it retained until 2016. The following year,
188-477: A Caligula -esque set, with Prince dressed in a yellow mesh outfit which infamously exposed his buttocks. His trousers were parodied numerous times throughout the following year, on the sketch comedy TV series In Living Color , and even at the following year's VMAs by radio shock jock Howard Stern . It also marked the final TV appearance of Kiss with Eric Carr prior to Carr's death in November 1991. 1992 : in
282-533: A standing ovation from the audience and artists. For the second year in a row, the Backstreet Boys took the Viewer's Choice Award for " I Want It That Way ", a song they performed during the broadcast. Before presenting the final award, a group of drag queens paid tribute to Madonna wearing her most iconic outfits with a medley of her hit songs. Madonna herself then appeared onstage and remarked, "All I have to say
376-428: A "lifetime ban" from the network when he introduced Cher with some of his recently notorious nursery rhymes that contained vulgar language and references. After performing with Tom Petty , Guns N' Roses guitarist Izzy Stradlin was assaulted by Mötley Crüe lead singer Vince Neil , leading to a verbal battle between Neil and Guns N' Roses lead singer Axl Rose . Jon Bon Jovi and Richie Sambora turned out
470-462: A 13-episode video series called Midnights Mayhem with Me , where she announced the title of each Midnights track in a randomized order per episode. In each episode, Swift rolled a lottery cage containing 13 ping pong balls numbered from 1 to 13, each representing a track of the album, and when a ball dropped out, she disclosed the title of the corresponding track through a telephone. In the sixth episode, released on October 3, 2022, Swift announced
564-464: A 1970s-style suburban home kitchen at night, briefly surrounded by ghosts in tablecloths. She opens the front door, revealing a second version of herself with her early-2010s appearance and a tour dance outfit, and they drink shots and sing the chorus together. The "current" version plays the koi fish acoustic guitar that she used on the Speak Now World Tour , while the "younger" version smashes
658-519: A New York City-based firm. Since the 2006 ceremony , viewers are able to vote for their favorite videos in all general categories by visiting MTV's website. Taylor Swift is the most awarded solo artist in the history of the VMAs, having won 30 trophies between 2009 and 2024, which includes record-breaking five Video of the Year VMAs (" Bad Blood ", " You Need To Calm Down ", All Too Well: The Short Film , " Anti-Hero " and " Fortnight "). 1984 : at
752-429: A Prayer " video, she thanked Pepsi-Cola in her acceptance speech "for causing so much controversy". Pepsi-Cola had paid Madonna $ 5 million to appear in a commercial that would predominantly feature the world premiere of "Like a Prayer"; the commercial, titled "Make a Wish", depicted Madonna drinking Pepsi and watching a home video of her eighth birthday. The tone that the commercial sought to convey sharply contrasted with
846-401: A bottle of wine to the giant version, who happily accepts. The music video received generally positive reviews from critics. However, a brief scene in the video alluding to Swift's struggles with eating disorder received mixed reactions from some social media users, who accused Swift of fatphobia . The scene depicts a depressed Swift stepping on a bathroom scale , which reads "fat", making
940-420: A copy of it on the floor and criticizes the weight of the current version. A photograph of Swift's grandmother, Marjorie Finlay , is seen in the background during the bathroom scene. A third, giant version of Swift crawls into a neighbor's dinner party during the second verse, whereupon a guest unsuccessfully tries to subdue her by shooting her in the shoulder with a bow and arrow. The giant version of Swift gives
1034-560: A dramatic historical reinterpretation of "Vogue" as well as her dramatically becorseted breasts. 1991 : during the award show the MTV Video Vanguard Award was renamed to the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award from then on, in honor of his contributions to the culture of music videos by changing them from a mere promotional tool featuring musicians playing instruments and singing, to a "short film" with
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#17328554796681128-453: A hill" lyric as Swift's "impossibility of blending in as one of America's biggest cultural figures." John Murphy of MusicOMH regarded "Anti-Hero" as "a Taylor Swift classic in the making", naming it one of the best songs she has ever written. DIY said "Anti-Hero" is arguably Swift's best lead-single. GQ named "Anti-Hero" one of the best songs of 2022. In a less enthusiastic review, Mark Richardson of The Wall Street Journal said
1222-450: A shocked and disbelieving look in response and glumly eats the guests' food alone. The dialogue portion of the video plays during the bridge, which describes Swift's dream of her own funeral, attended by her fictional sons Preston and Chad ( Mike Birbiglia and John Early ) and daughter-in-law Kimber ( Mary Elizabeth Ellis ), the latter of whom Chad, who arrived from Ibiza , implicates in the apparent murder of Swift. The narrator Swift, who
1316-450: A storyline. His video " Thriller " influenced and changed music videos into what it is like today. A conflict between Poison 's Bret Michaels and C.C. DeVille culminated in a fistfight at the 1991 MTV Video Music Awards . DeVille was fired and replaced by Pennsylvanian guitarist Richie Kotzen . Paul Reubens had his first public appearance, during the opening montage, following an arrest for lewd-conduct earlier that year. Taking
1410-515: A stripped-down acoustic performance of the Bon Jovi hits " Wanted Dead or Alive and " Livin' on a Prayer ", and in the process possibly provided the inspirational spark for MTV Unplugged . Paula Abdul was nominated for six awards, picking up four wins. She performed a seven-minute medley of her singles " Straight Up ", " Cold Hearted ", and " Forever Your Girl ". When Madonna won the Viewer's Choice Award (sponsored by Pepsi-Cola) for her " Like
1504-459: A theme) and ended with Trent Reznor screaming "Tried to save myself, but myself kept slipping away" and the word "ninetynine" in the trademark NIN reversed-N font. This was only shown once during the original broadcast, was edited out of all repeats. Geri Halliwell attended the event, one of her first public appearances since she left the Spice Girls . At the red carpet, actress Rose McGowan
1598-588: Is a pop rock and synth-pop song driven by a 1980s-inspired drum loop generated with a LinnDrum and retro synthesizers such as the Juno 6 and the Prophet 5 . Inspired by Swift's insecurities, the lyrics focus on self-loathing and the impact of fame on her wellbeing; the bridge narrates a nightmare where her daughter-in-law murders her for her last will. Republic Records released the song for download and streaming on October 21, 2022. Music critics generally praised
1692-547: Is a bad thing, but that she was made to believe that it was." The casket in the funeral scene from the music video is a direct-to-consumer model purchased from a company called Titan Casket , based in Bellevue, Washington , and Andover, Massachusetts . It received online attention and experienced a "huge spike in sales", according to the company. Upon the release of Midnights , "Anti-Hero" earned over 17.4 million plays in its first 24 hours on Spotify globally, becoming
1786-427: Is a sexy baby/ And I'm the monster on the hill/ Too big to hang out/ Slowly lurching towards your favorite city/ Pierced through the heart but never killed;" there were varied opinions about whether these lines conjectured an insult, a confession, or an exaggerated self-image, and some internet audiences said they potentially referred to the sitcom series 30 Rock . Lindsay Zoladz of The New York Times thought that
1880-469: Is exactly as stated. This leads to bickering over who capitalized on Swift's name the most, in ways such as Chad recording the funeral for his podcast or Kimber wearing Swift's dress from the Fearless Tour . The ceremony ends in a brawl after Chad accuses Kimber of killing Swift by pushing her off a balcony. The final scene of the video shows the first two versions of Swift sitting on the rooftop and offering
1974-459: Is invisible, peeks from inside her elder self's coffin before getting out. The three attendees learn that Swift's last will and testament leaves them each with 13 cents and bequeaths her assets, including a beach house, to her cats Benjamin, Meredith and Olivia. Believing their mother left a secret encoded message, because "that's what mom would always do", a reference to Swift's " Easter eggs ", her children keep reading but find out their inheritance
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#17328554796682068-551: Is that it takes a real man to fill my shoes." She then introduced Paul McCartney , who presented the Video of the Year to "some guy called Laurence Hill" ( Lauryn Hill ). Anti-Hero (song) " Anti-Hero " is a song by the American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift and the lead single from her tenth studio album, Midnights (2022). Swift wrote and produced the song with Jack Antonoff . It
2162-509: Is utilized to maximize the ceremony's ratings. The first VMA ceremony was held in 1984 at New York City 's Radio City Music Hall . The ceremonies are normally held in either New York City or Los Angeles . However, the ceremonies have also been hosted in Miami , Las Vegas , and Newark, New Jersey . The statue given to winners is an astronaut on the Moon, one of the earliest representations of MTV, and
2256-445: Is written in the key of E major in common time with a tempo of 97 beats per minute. It is driven by a 1980s rock -influenced drum loop that is coated in dense reverb . Critics described the synths as "simmering" and "buzzing". I don't think I've delved this far into my insecurities in this detail before. I struggle a lot with the idea that my life has become unmanageably sized, and not to sound too dark, I struggle with
2350-678: The Billboard Hot 100 , where it spent eight weeks at number one, and made her the first artist to have a number-one single on Radio Songs in the 2000s, 2010s, and 2020s decades. According to the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry , it was the ninth-most-streamed song of 2023 worldwide. Swift wrote and directed the song's music video , which depicts her fears, insecurities, and eating disorder , using three different incarnations of her. The video also reenacts
2444-417: The 1992 show , MTV requested Nirvana perform " Smells Like Teen Spirit ", while the band itself had indicated it preferred to play new songs " Rape Me " and " tourette's ". Network executives continued to push for "Teen Spirit" but finally offered the band a choice to play either "Teen Spirit" or " Lithium ", which the band appeared to accept. At the performance, Nirvana began to play, and Kurt Cobain played
2538-426: The 1995 MTV Video Music Awards , Hole perform the song " Violet " from their major-label debut album Live Through This . This was one of the first major televised performances given by frontwoman Courtney Love following the death of her husband Kurt Cobain and the death of her band's bassist Kristen Pfaff in 1994. Before beginning the song, Love dedicated the performance to her husband and different people in
2632-448: The 1997 MTV Video Music Awards , Pat Smear announced that he was leaving Foo Fighters halfway through their performance and presented his replacement, Franz Stahl , who had been a member of the band Scream with Dave Grohl . The Spice Girls , who won the best dance video award to the for their music video " Wannabe ", who wore a black strap on their left arms as a sign of grief because of Diana, Princess of Wales 's death prior to
2726-524: The 1998 MTV Video Music Awards , during the original broadcast of the show, a commercial faded in the Nine Inch Nails NIN logo on a black screen while playing a combination of music that started as a solo piano piece and morphed into an electronic/industrial beat (which would later found out to be the songs "La Mer" and " Into the Void ", which share many melodic components and can be considered variations on
2820-465: The 1999 MTV Video Music Awards with an entire breast exposed and only a small pasty over the nipple. Kim's outfit became even more controversial later when she appeared on stage with Diana Ross and Mary J. Blige to present the Best Hip-Hop Video award, and Ross reached over, cupped her hand under Kim's exposed breast and jiggled it while Kim laughed. During the following acceptance speech by
2914-569: The Adult Contemporary chart dated March 25, 2023, to mark Swift's eighth number-one on the chart—the most for any artist in the 21st-century. In Australia, "Anti-Hero" charted at number one on both the ARIA Singles and Airplay charts. It marked Swift's ninth number-one song in Australia, and became the first song ever to debut atop the airplay chart. It has spent six consecutive weeks atop
MTV Video Music Award for Best Rock Video - Misplaced Pages Continue
3008-482: The Beastie Boys , group member Ad-Rock addressed the instances of rape and sexual assault that occurred in the crowd at the recent Woodstock 1999 concert event. He pleaded to other musicians in the room to make a change in the way they treat fans at concerts; to pledge to talk with promoters and security to ensure "the safety of all the girls and the women who come to our shows". Afeni Shakur and Voletta Wallace,
3102-510: The Juno 6 and the Prophet-5 . Speaking with Time , Antonoff said that he built upon " Out of the Woods ", which he produced for 1989. For the synth sounds, he used an OB-8 , which created a sound that he compared to "an old organ in a baseball stadium". He created the drum sounds by applying a tremolo onto a LinnDrum beat. The end product is a pop rock and synth-pop song. The song
3196-503: The Super Bowl for youth, an acknowledgment of the VMA ceremony's ability to draw millions of youth from teens to 20-somethings each year. By 2001, the VMA had become a coveted award. The annual VMA ceremony occurs before the end of summer and held either in late August or mid-September, and broadcast live on MTV, along with a "roadblock" simulcast across MTV's sister networks since 2014, which
3290-482: The ballad " November Rain " won the MTV Video Music Award for best cinematography. During the show, the band performed "November Rain" with singer Elton John . Because of the dispute Rose had with Cobain, moments before the "November Rain" performance, Cobain spat on the keys of what he thought was Axl's piano. Cobain later revealed that he was shocked to see Elton John play on the piano he had spat on. During
3384-417: The bridge , Swift describes a nightmare in which her daughter-in-law murders her to inherit her fortune and sees herself having gone to hell for not being as earnest as she appeared to. Some critics commented that the production complemented the lyrics. According to The New Yorker ' s Lauren Michele Jackson, the verses are "bisected": the lyrics are sung "aloft and lilting on one phrase and near monotonic
3478-507: The first MTV Video Music Awards in 1984 , Madonna performed her hit " Like a Virgin " wearing a combination bustier / wedding gown , including her trademark "Boy Toy" belt. During the performance, she rolled around on the floor, revealing lace stockings and a garter . Cyndi Lauper spoke in " Exorcist -esque gibberish" to explain the VMA rules right before winning the Best Female video for " Girls Just Want to Have Fun ". David Bowie ,
3572-433: The "sexy baby" lyric demonstrated the fetishization of female youth in the music industry. Swift then makes fun of her public display of charitable acts with the lines, "Did you hear my covert narcissism/ I disguise as altruism/ Like some kind of congressman?" The chorus has Swift identifying herself as the source of her problems: "It's me, hi/ I'm the problem, it's me/ At teatime, everybody agrees/ I'll stare directly at
3666-534: The Beatles and director Richard Lester were rewarded with the first ever Video Vanguard Awards for their work in pioneering the music video . The Cars' " You Might Think " won the very first video of the year, beating out Michael Jackson 's "Thriller" and Herbie Hancock 's "Rockit". 1987 : At the 1987 MTV Video Music Awards , Peter Gabriel won ten awards, including the Video Vanguard Award and Video of
3760-587: The Best R&;B Video award with Dr. Dre and George Clinton . At the time, Snoop was wanted in connection with the week-old drive-by murder of an L.A. gang member. Janet Jackson closed the show with her performance of " That's the Way Love Goes " & " If ". 1994 : at the 1994 MTV Video Music Awards on September 8, months after a profanity-laced appearance on the Late Show with David Letterman , Madonna
3854-450: The Hot 100, Streaming Songs , and Digital Songs charts simultaneously. The single spent a total of eight weeks at the top spot of the Hot 100, surpassing " Blank Space " (2014) as Swift's longest-running number-one song. It remained atop the Hot 100 for six consecutive weeks, paving way for Mariah Carey 's " All I Want for Christmas Is You " (1994) to top the chart for the next four weeks during
MTV Video Music Award for Best Rock Video - Misplaced Pages Continue
3948-531: The UK after "Look What You Made Me Do"; both debuted atop the UK Singles Chart . Swift became the first woman since Miley Cyrus in 2013 ( Bangerz and " Wrecking Ball ") to simultaneously debut atop the albums and singles chart, following the number-one debut of Midnights as well. "Anti-Hero" spent six consecutive weeks atop the chart, surpassing "Look What You Made Me Do" to become her longest-running number one on
4042-491: The Year for his video " Sledgehammer ", holding the VMA record for most Moonmen in a single night. 1988 : At the 1988 MTV Video Music Awards , Michael Jackson appeared for the first time. A pre-recorded live performance of Bad was shown." He was also awarded the Video Vanguard Award , which was later renamed in his honor. 1989 : Comedian Andrew Dice Clay appeared at the 1989 Video Music Awards to promote his new movie, The Adventures of Ford Fairlane , earning
4136-414: The Year , Song of the Year , and Best Pop Solo Performance at the 66th Annual Grammy Awards . At the 2022 MTV Video Music Awards on August 28, 2022, Taylor Swift announced a new studio album, slated for release on October 21. After the show, Swift revealed the album title Midnights on her social media. Using the video-sharing platform TikTok , from September 21 to October 7, 2022, she released
4230-537: The band Bleachers was released for limited-time download onto Swift's website on November 7, and for general streaming and download the following day. The single was supported by remixes produced by the DJs Roosevelt , Kungs , Jayda G , and Illenium . In total, 10 versions of "Anti-Hero" were released: the original mix, an acoustic version, an instrumental version, the Bleachers versions ( explicit and clean ),
4324-624: The beginning of Billie Jean". This performance was voted by the public as the Best VMA Pop Performance and Most Iconic VMA Performance in 2011 with more than half the votes. TLC was the big winner of the night won four awards, including "Viewer's Choice", "Best Group Video", and "Video of the Year" (Waterfalls). 1996 : at the 1996 MTV Video Music Awards , the four original members of Van Halen received 20-second standing ovation when they made their first public appearance together since their break-up in 1985 . Several weeks later,
4418-475: The best song on Midnights . He commended its "wondrously scathing self-examination", " sardonic masterstrokes", and Antonoff's "sleek, shiny" production. The Observer critic Kitty Empire picked "Anti-Hero" as one of the most "fascinating" tracks of the album, because of its "darkest self-flagellation". Carl Wilson of Slate highlighted the lyrics, praising "the image of a touring superstar as an unrelatable monster" and Evermore -inspired " vignette " in
4512-521: The best-selling song of the year, with a total 436,000 digital downloads sold. "Anti-Hero" spent 28 weeks in the Hot 100 top ten, surpassing " Shake It Off " as Swift's longest-running top-ten single. The single was also Swift's first wide success on US radio formats since " Delicate " (2018), topping several airplay charts. "Anti-Hero" debuted at number 13 on the Radio Songs chart, a personal best for Swift, and eventually became her seventh number-one on
4606-585: The biggest opening day for a song in the platform's history. The single debuted atop the Billboard Global 200 and Global Excl. US charts, marking Swift's second number-one song on both the charts since their inception in 2020. In the United States, "Anti-Hero" debuted atop the Billboard Hot 100 as Swift's ninth number-one song in the country, with 59.7 million streams, 13,500 digital downloads sold, and an airplay audience of 32 million. Swift became
4700-412: The bridge about her future children. Wilson also admired Swift's "expanded" vocal tones, such as a "fantasy-European elevation reminiscent of Kate Bush " and "a very Yankee drawl". Calling "Anti-Hero" the "musical and emotional heart" of Midnights , Rick Quinn of PopMatters praised its "infectious" beat, "earworm" rhythm, Swift's enunciation, and Antonoff's production. He interpreted the "monster on
4794-469: The catchy production and strong vocals of "Anti-Hero"; they deemed its lyricism candid and honest that showcased Swift at her most self-critical. Many publications ranked the song among the best releases of 2022. The single peaked a top the Billboard Global 200 and charted in the top 10 in many territories across the Americas, Europe, and Asia-Pacific. In the United States, it was Swift's ninth chart topper on
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#17328554796684888-836: The chart, and spent 15 non-consecutive weeks in the top ten, surpassing "Shake It Off" to become her longest-running top-ten hit, later surpassed by "Cruel Summer". It debuted atop the Irish Singles Chart , marking her third chart-topper in Ireland, and formed a Chart Double with Midnights ' debut atop the Irish Albums Chart . The song was number-one in Ireland for six consecutive weeks. Elsewhere, "Anti-Hero" scored Swift her first top-ten song on Germany's Top 100 Songs chart since "Look What You Made Me Do", debuting at number eight and later peaking at number seven whilst charting for 70 weeks, becoming Swift's longest-running single on
4982-549: The chart, making Swift the first artist to score a chart-topper in the 2000s, 2010s and 2020s decades separately. It peaked atop the Pop Airplay chart for three non-consecutive weeks and became her 10th number one on the chart and her first since "Delicate"; marked her ninth number-one on the Adult Top 40 chart, which it ruled for nine consecutive weeks to surpass "Shake It Off" as Swift's longest-running number-one single; and topped
5076-623: The chart. "Anti-Hero" charted at number one in Belgium and Latvia, for six and three non-consecutive weeks, respectively. It broke the all-time records for the most streams for a song by an international artist in a week and day on Spotify Brazil and Canada. It received a gold certification from Music Canada within its first five days. "Anti-Hero" also topped the Canadian Hot 100 for five weeks, and marked her ninth number-one song in Canada. "Anti-Hero"
5170-482: The commercial break, the Alien 3 Pepsi commercial was shown. Radio host Howard Stern appeared as Fartman , Stern's radio superhero, wearing a buttocks-exposing costume obviously inspired by Prince's outfit from the previous year. Stern was a presenter for best hard rock/metal performance with actor Luke Perry (after several other celebrities turned him down). 1993 : at the 1993 MTV Video Music Awards , Madonna opened
5264-540: The critique she was making with this scene". Georgi also said that Swift was "boldly" demonstrating "the damage the rhetoric of valuing thinness and demonizing larger bodies has done to her", and that "it's not an easy thing to unlearn. I am still unlearning it. Thousands of people across the gender spectrum are still unlearning it." Tomás Mier of Rolling Stone wrote Swift "had to water down her artistic expression and how she chose to portray her lived experience" and concluded, "Simply put: It's not that [Swift] thinks being fat
5358-466: The entertainment industry who had recently died: "This is for Kurt, and Kristen, and River , and Joe , and today Joni Abbott, this is for you." Abbott worked in the Talent Relations department at MTV and had recently committed suicide. The song ended with Love throwing her guitar, knocking the microphone stand into the crowd and pushing over speaker-boxes with bandmate Eric Erlandson before exiting
5452-402: The event. While accepting the MTV Video Music Award for Best New Artist Video that year for " Sleep to Dream ", Fiona Apple appealed to her audience not to be enamored of celebrity culture . She proclaimed, "this world is bullshit" and quoted Maya Angelou , saying "go with yourself". Though her comments were generally greeted with cheers and applause at the awards ceremony, the media backlash
5546-457: The first artist to simultaneously occupy the top 10 spots of the Billboard Hot 100 chart; the first artist to debut atop the Hot 100 with solo songs five times; the female artist with the most top-10 entries (40), surpassing Madonna (38); the first artist to debut atop both the Billboard 200 and Hot 100 simultaneously as many as four times; and the first artist to occupy the entire top-ten of
5640-552: The first female solo act to win this male-dominated category. MTV Video Music Award " Anti-Hero " " Fortnight " The MTV Video Music Awards (commonly abbreviated as the VMAs ) is an award show presented by the cable channel MTV to honor the best in the music video medium. Originally conceived as an alternative to the Grammy Awards (in the video category), the annual MTV Video Music Awards ceremony has often been called
5734-406: The first few chords of the song, "Rape Me", much to the horror of MTV execs, before continuing their regular performance of "Lithium". Near the end of the song, frustrated that his amplifier had stopped functioning, bassist Krist Novoselic decided to toss his bass into the air for dramatic effect. He misjudged the landing, and the bass ended up bouncing off of his forehead, forcing him to stumble off
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#17328554796685828-555: The four remixes, and an extended Kungs remix. Swift wrote and produced "Anti-Hero" with Jack Antonoff , who had produced songs for all of Swift's past albums starting from 1989 in 2014. Antonoff recorded the song with the engineer Laura Sisk, assisted by Megan Searl, Jon Sher, and John Rooney, at Rough Customer Studio in Brooklyn and Electric Lady Studios in New York City. Bobby Hawk played additional violin, and his performance
5922-436: The graveyard shift/ All the people I've ghosted stand there in the room"), she looks back on her difficult past. According to The Washington Post ' s Emily Yahr, these lines allude to Swift's past celebrity controversies, including the events in 2016 that made Swift think her career was over. The second verse has Swift discussing how her fame hinders her from having real, meaningful connections: "Sometimes I feel like everyone
6016-512: The holiday season, and returned to the top spot for two additional weeks in January 2023. "Anti-Hero" is the 10th song in Hot 100 history to spend its first six weeks at number one, and sold 327,000 digital downloads in its third week in the US, achieving the biggest digital downloads week for any song since her own " Look What You Made Me Do " (2017) sold 353,000 in its first week. The song finished 2022 as
6110-426: The idea of not feeling like a person. [...] This song really is a real guided tour throughout all of the things I tend to hate about myself. Swift on "Anti-Hero" "Anti-Hero" explores Swift's publicity, fame, and personal issues; it marks a return to the autobiographical songwriting that she deviated from on the 2020 albums Folklore and Evermore . In a self-recorded video posted onto Instagram , Swift said it
6204-401: The line "everybody agrees", "the song snaps back into place, its pep suddenly restored". "Anti-Hero" received critical acclaim. Some picked it as a highlight on Midnights and lauded it as a great lead single for its lyricism, including Harvilla, Exclaim! 's Megan LaPierre, Rolling Stone 's Brittany Spanos, and The Independent 's Helen Brown. Olivia Horn of Pitchfork described
6298-469: The mothers of the recently deceased Tupac Shakur and The Notorious B.I.G. , met for the first time at the ceremony. Britney Spears made her debut appearance on the show, performing her single " ...Baby One More Time " and later introducing NSYNC for " Tearin' Up My Heart ". Ricky Martin took the stage of the ceremony to perform his singles " She's All I Ever Had " and " Livin' la Vida Loca ". TLC won Best Group Video for " No Scrubs ", receiving
6392-591: The music video. When Pepsi executives saw the video, they yanked the advertisement after only two airings, in an attempt to dissociate themselves from Madonna. She also gave one of the most memorable performances of her hit " Express Yourself ", as a preview of what would become her Blond Ambition World Tour . 1990 : at the 1990 MTV Video Music Awards , Madonna performed her single " Vogue ", which featured Madonna and her backup dancers dressed in an 18th-century French theme, with Madonna bearing great resemblance to Marie Antoinette . The performance consisted of both
6486-511: The music was "overstuffed" and the lyrics were "awkwardly overwritten". On October 16, Swift posted a short video on her social media accounts that depicted an itinerary of the events scheduled for the album launch, entitled Midnights Manifest . It specified a music video release for "Anti-Hero" the same day as the album. Excerpts from the video were shown in a teaser trailer for the album's visuals during Amazon Prime Video 's broadcast of Thursday Night Football on October 20. Besides Swift,
6580-406: The names of the cast of the song's music video— Mike Birbiglia , John Early , and Mary Elizabeth Ellis —also appeared in the trailer. The music video for "Anti-Hero", written and directed by Swift, premiered via her Vevo channel on YouTube at 08:00 Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) on October 21, eight hours after the song's and album's release. The video opens with Swift singing the first verse in
6674-455: The next". Jackson said that this delivery made it seem as if Swift backed up each confessional lyric with a rebuttal afterwards. As the song ends, Swift repeats the chorus multiple times as the instrumental halts. Variety 's Chris Willman described her vocals in the last choruses as "out of breath", and The Ringer 's Rob Harvilla characterized them as "flustered, stammering". Jackson wrote that she sounded "weary" and, after she "[hisses]"
6768-416: The nightmare mentioned in the lyrics, starring Mike Birbiglia , John Early , and Mary Elizabeth Ellis as Swift's fictional sons and daughter-in-law. "Anti-Hero" won many awards including a People's Choice Award , two iHeartRadio Music Awards , and six MTV Video Music Awards including Video of the Year , making Swift the first artist to win the award two consecutive years. It was nominated for Record of
6862-563: The other, happier Swift shake her head in disapproval. An op-ed from The Cut said the scene "reinforces the idea of being 'fat' as bad". Several other social media users defended Swift. Op-eds from publications such as The Guardian , The Independent and The Daily Telegraph , and television shows like The View also sided with Swift, arguing that context is important, and given her history with an eating disorder, she should not have to "sanitize" her psychological trauma to make her art "digestible" for audiences. They highlighted that
6956-513: The others that had been retired in 2007. Aerosmith is the most frequent winner of this award, with a total of four wins between 1990 and 1998. The Foo Fighters are the most nominated acts in this category, having received ten nominations. Closely following them are Aerosmith and Linkin Park , with eight nominations. In 1995, White Zombie 's bassist Sean Yseult became the first woman to win this award, while in 2014, New Zealand singer Lorde became
7050-411: The point of "Anti-Hero" and its video is to illustrate "the warped workings of her brain back when she was in the throes of an eating disorder". Nevertheless, the video was later edited to remove the specific shot of the scale. The removal of the scene also sparked criticism. Maya Georgi of NBC News questioned why Swift has "once again, let criticism control her actions" and why "did she not stand by
7144-528: The public learned that Van Halen would not reunite with Roth. Roth released a statement apologizing to fans, stating that he was an unwitting participant in a publicity stunt to sell more copies of the greatest hits album, Best Of Vol. 1 , and that he had been led to believe that he was rejoining Van Halen. The following day, Eddie and Alex Van Halen released a statement, stating that they had been honest with Roth, and never led him to believe that he had been re-hired. During British band Oasis ' performance at
7238-467: The show in a gender-bending performance of her song " Bye Bye Baby ", in which Madonna and her two backup singers, dressed in tuxedos and top hats, danced with women in corsets in a choreographed, highly sexual routine. RuPaul and Milton Berle , who had conflicts backstage, presented an award together. When Berle touched RuPaul's breasts, RuPaul ad-libbed the line "So you used to wear gowns, but now you're wearing diapers." Rapper Snoop Dogg presented
7332-525: The show, lead vocalist Liam Gallagher made rude gestures at brother Noel as he was playing his guitar solo, then spat beer all over the stage before storming off. Alanis Morissette performed "Your House", a hidden track from her bestseller album " Jagged Little Pill ". The recently reunited Kiss closed the show with a special concert aired from the Brooklyn Bridge . Tupac Shakur made his final public appearance before his murder. 1997 : at
7426-513: The single as an amalgamation of Swift's past albums, including "the lacquered synth-pop of 1989 , the neurotic image analysis of Reputation , the dense lyricism of Folklore and Evermore ". Horn added that the lyrics were full of surprising twists that deserved attention, and Rob Sheffield said the song was "like Season Two of ' The Man ' full of killer lines". The production also received positive comments; Lindsay Zoladz of The New York Times called it "infectious", and Willman said that
7520-532: The singles chart, with its first five weeks alongside Midnights' number-one run atop the albums chart—a record "Chart Double" streak. "Anti-Hero" debuted atop New Zealand's singles chart as well, and spent nine consecutive weeks atop the Billboard Philippines Songs chart, the longest for an international artist. In the United Kingdom, "Anti-Hero" marked Swift's second number-one single in
7614-439: The stage in a daze. Backstage and before the show, Guns N' Roses vocalist Axl Rose challenged Cobain to a fight after he, his wife, Hole lead singer Courtney Love , and Nirvana bandmates Krist Novoselic and Dave Grohl egged him on. At the end of Nirvana's performance, while Cobain was trashing the band's equipment, Dave Grohl ran to the microphone and shouted "Hi, Axl! Where's Axl?" repeatedly. Guns N' Roses' video for
7708-404: The stage in costume as Pee-wee Herman , he received a standing ovation, after which he asked the audience, "Heard any good jokes lately?". After his appearance, Van Halen made their television debut, performing " Poundcake ". Metallica was another highlight of the performances with " Enter Sandman ". Prince and The New Power Generation performed their sexually charged song " Gett Off " on
7802-494: The stage. Love also caused a stir when she interrupted a post-ceremony interview with Kurt Loder and Madonna by throwing her make-up compacts at the singer as they broadcast outside the awards venue. Michael Jackson performed for over 15 minutes to a medley of his main songs, including " Scream ", and danced his signature moves, including the robot, moonwalk and the relatively unknown " Bankhead Bounce ". While Slash accompanied Jackson and played guitar on " Black or White and
7896-401: The sun but never in the mirror/ It must be exhausting, always rooting for the anti-hero"; some critics said that these lines constituted the song's hook . American Songwriter ' s Jacob Uitti said these lyrics reflected the song's central theme: taking responsibility, or a lack thereof. Uitti added that these lyrics cautioned the listeners to not look to pop stars like Swift as "saviors". In
7990-419: The title of the third track: "Anti-Hero". "Anti-Hero" is the lead single from Midnights . On October 21, 2022, it was released for download onto Swift's website, exclusively to American customers, and to Italian radio by Universal Music Group . Republic Records released the song to the US hot adult contemporary radio on October 24, and contemporary hit radio on October 25. A duet remix featuring
8084-498: The track had an " earworm hook" and praised Swift's delivery of the final refrains as confident and a display of a "master of tragicomic dramaturgy". The Guardian critic Alexis Petridis stated "Anti-Hero" offers "a litany of small-hours self-loathing", but sensed "an appealing confidence" in Swift's approach—that she "no longer feels she has to compete on the same terms as her peers." Billboard journalist Jason Lipshutz ranked it as
8178-403: The word "Video" was removed from all genre categories at the VMAs (despite nominations still going to specific videos), giving this award its current name: Best Rock . Like all other genre categories at the VMAs, this category was retired briefly in 2007 , when the VMAs were revamped and most original categories were eliminated. In 2008, though, MTV brought back this award, along with several of
8272-526: Was announced to present the award for Best Video of the Year. She came out, arm-in-arm with an unannounced David Letterman , to a wild ovation. At the microphone, Letterman told her "I'll be in the car. Watch your language", and left. Recently betrothed couple Michael Jackson and Lisa Marie Presley received a standing ovation as they walked on stage hand-in-hand. After turning to the audience and proclaiming, "And just think, nobody thought this would last", Jackson grabbed Presley and kissed her. 1995 : at
8366-446: Was colloquially called a "moonman", though it has been called a "moon person" by MTV since the 2017 ceremony . The statue was conceived by Manhattan Design , who were also designers of the original MTV logo, based on the 1981 Top of the Hour animation created by Fred Seibert and produced by Alan Goodman and Buzz Potamkin at Buzzco Associates . The statue is now made by Society Awards ,
8460-402: Was huge. Some considered her remarks to be hypocritical, however she was unapologetic: "When I have something to say, I'll say it." Shock-rocker Marilyn Manson performed the song " The Beautiful People ", as the grand finale, and the video for this song was nominated for "Best Rock Video" and "Best Special Effects", marking one of the most significant performances for the band. 1998 : at
8554-444: Was one of the most honest songs she had written. The lyrics contain cryptic allusions to Swift's public image and personal life that generated diverse interpretations. The track starts with Swift examining her flaws: "I have this thing where I get older but just never wiser", which Carl Wilson from Slate described as a reflection on her early fame. In the first verse ("Midnights become my afternoons, when my depression works
8648-623: Was recorded by John Gautier at Sound Hound Studios in Lakeland, Florida . "Anti-Hero" was mixed by Serban Ghenea at MixStar Studios in Virginia Beach, Virginia , and mastered by Randy Merrill at Sterling Sound in Edgewater, New Jersey . According to the liner notes of Midnights , Antonoff programmed the track and played instruments including percussions , drums, acoustic guitars, Mellotron , Wurlitzer , and analog synthesizers including
8742-423: Was the ninth-most-streamed song of 2023 according to the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI), with an equivalent of 1.31 billion global subscription streams. The hook "It's me, Hi, I'm the problem, it's me" turned into a meme . The single won and was nominated for various accolades. At the 2023 MTV Video Music Awards , Swift received 11 nominations, becoming the most nominated artist of
8836-465: Was wearing a see-through dress, no bra, and a thong, while Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston poked fun at their rumored rift by wearing lookalike chocolate brown dresses by Vera Wang . In an attempt to outdo each other, the singers tore off pieces of their dresses to reveal minidresses then staged a faux catfight that left the audience in disbelief. "People thought Whitney and I had some kind of beef", explained Carey. 1999 : Lil' Kim showed up at
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