1999 MTV Video Music Awards
| 1999 MTV Video Music Awards | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Date | Thursday, September 9, 1999 |
| Location | Metropolitan Opera House, New York City |
| Country | United States |
| Hosted by | Chris Rock |
| Most awards | Lauryn Hill (4) |
| Most nominations | Ricky Martin and Korn (9 each) |
| Website | http://www.mtv.com/vma/1999/  |
| Television/radio coverage | |
| Network | MTV |
| Produced by | Salli Frattini Dave Sirulnick |
| Directed by | Beth McCarthy |
The 1999 MTV Video Music Awards, which took place on September 9, 1999 (informally known as the 9/9/99 MTV Video Music Awards), honored the best music videos released between June 13, 1998, and June 11, 1999.[1] The ceremony was hosted by Chris Rock and held at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York City.[2] Lauryn Hill was the biggest winner of the night, earning four awards,[3][4] including the prestigious Video of the Year for "Doo Wop (That Thing)", making it the first hip-hop video to win in that category.[5][6] Ricky Martin won two competitive awards for "Livin’ la Vida Loca": Best Pop Video and Best Dance Video.[7] In addition, he received three International Viewer's Choice Awards, which were presented at the ceremony.[8] Other notable winners included Korn, TLC, and Eminem.
Highlights of the show included Diana Ross jiggling Lil' Kim's exposed breast in response to her outfit, which left her entire left breast uncovered, but for a small pastie on her nipple. The mothers of slain rappers Tupac Shakur and The Notorious B.I.G., Afeni Shakur and Voletta Wallace, came together to present the Best Rap Video Award. The Beastie Boys' Adam Horovitz made a plea for peace in the wake of the sexual assaults at Woodstock '99. Near the end of the night, MTV staged a tribute to Madonna, 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 was scheduled to perform but was a no-show; as a result, Jay-Z's solo set was extended. Another moment of the ceremony was the debut of Britney Spears performing her debut single "...Baby One More Time", and then, NSYNC, 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.[9]
The awards show featured a line-up of sponsors and cross-promotions, most notably with SEGA, as the date of the show also coincided with the launch of their Dreamcast game console.
Background
[edit]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.[10] (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.[11] Nominations were announced at a press conference hosted by Rock, Carson Daly, and Ricky Martin and held at Lincoln Center on July 28.[12] For the first time, the ceremony was promoted with a "VMA Week" on Total Request Live, 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 and Serena Altschul with reports from Chris Connelly, Carson Daly, Ananda Lewis, and John Norris, the broadcast featured red carpet interviews, a pre-taped interview with Trent Reznor, pre-taped features on Britney Spears' outfit selection and testing various singers' vocal ability to shatter glass, and performances from Smash Mouth and Blink-182.
Performances
[edit]Main show
[edit]| Artist(s) | Song(s) |
|---|---|
| Pre-show[13] | |
| Smash Mouth | "All Star" |
| Blink-182 | "What's My Age Again?" "All the Small Things" |
| Main show | |
| Kid Rock Run-DMC Steven Tyler Joe Perry Joe C. |
"King of Rock" "Rock Box" "Bawitdaba" "Walk This Way" |
| Lauryn Hill | "Lost Ones" "Everything Is Everything" |
| Backstreet Boys | "I Want It That Way" "Larger Than Life" |
| Ricky Martin | "She's All I Ever Had" "Livin' la Vida Loca" |
| Nine Inch Nails | "The Fragile" |
| TLC | "No Scrubs" |
| Fatboy Slim | "Praise You" |
| Jay-Z DJ Clue Amil |
"Jigga My Nigga" "Can I Get A..." "Hard Knock Life (Ghetto Anthem)" |
| Britney Spears NSYNC |
"...Baby One More Time" "Tearin' Up My Heart" |
| Eminem Dr. Dre Snoop Dogg |
"My Name Is" "Guilty Conscience" "Nuthin' But a "G" Thang" |
Presenters
[edit]Pre-show
[edit]- Chris Connelly and Ananda Lewis – announced the winners of the professional categories and presented Best R&B Video.[14]
Main show
[edit]- Moby – DJed during the commercial breaks
- Janet Jackson – presented Best Dance Video
- Puff Daddy and Denise Richards – presented Best Group Video
- Tom Green – appeared in vignettes about Viewer's Choice voting procedures
- Wyclef Jean and Charlotte Church – presented Best New Artist in a Video
- David Bowie – introduced Lauryn Hill
- Will Smith – introduced Afeni Shakur and Voletta Wallace and presented Best Rap Video with them
- Carson Daly and Pamela Anderson – described balloting procedures, and introduced the Backstreet Boys
- Gavin Rossdale and Susan Sarandon – presented Best Female Video
- Christina Aguilera and Tommy Lee – presented Best Rock Video
- Janeane Garofalo and Method Man – presented Breakthrough Video
- Mark McGrath and Jennifer Lopez – presented Best Video From a Film
- Johnny Depp – introduced Nine Inch Nails
- Limp Bizkit (Fred Durst and Wes Borland) and Heather Locklear – presented Best Pop Video
- Prince – introduced TLC
- Mira Sorvino and Freddie Prinze Jr. – presented Best Male Video
- Regis Philbin – introduced Fatboy Slim, 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 Jay-Z
- Buddy Hackett, Heather Donahue, Joshua Leonard and Michael C. Williams – presented Best Direction in a Video
- Mary J. Blige and Lil' Kim – introduced Diana Ross and presented Best Hip-Hop Video with her
- Rebecca Romijn-Stamos, Heidi Klum and Tim Robbins – presented Viewer's Choice
- Lars Ulrich – introduced Eminem
- Madonna – introduced Paul McCartney and presented Video of the Year with him
Winners and nominees
[edit]Winners are listed first and highlighted in bold.
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ Longman, Haley (2013-09-09). "OK! Old School: Happy September 9! The Best Moments From the 9/9/99 MTV VMAs". OK Magazine. Retrieved 2025-03-10.
- ^ Queen, Alexis (December 25, 2023). "Why the 1999 MTV Video Music Awards Were the Death of the '90s". Throwback Pop. Archived from the original on February 1, 2024. Retrieved March 9, 2024.
- ^ "Why the '99 MTV VMAs Are the Best VMAs". www.vh1.com. Retrieved 2025-03-10.
- ^ Katz, Richard (1999-09-10). "Hill tops MTV awards, takes home four nods". Variety. Retrieved 2025-03-10.
- ^ Weingarten, Christopher R. (August 25, 2018). "Flashback: See Lauryn Hill Perform Lush Version of 'Lost Ones' at MTV VMAs". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on August 26, 2018. Retrieved March 21, 2021.
- ^ Anthony, Kiyonna (September 10, 2021). "5 Best Hip Hop Moments From The 1999 MTV Video Music Awards". iHeartRadio. Archived from the original on September 11, 2021. Retrieved September 11, 2021.
- ^ Kaufmang, Gil (September 10, 1999). "Ricky Martin, Lauryn Hill Dominate at MTV Video Music Awards". MTV News. Archived from the original on June 26, 2020. Retrieved May 24, 2021.
- ^ "Lauryn Hill takes home four MTV VMAs". EW.com. Retrieved 2025-03-10.
- ^ Del Signore, John (November 6, 2009). "Bite Me, Kanye! I Bum-Rushed the MTV Video Music Awards, Ten Years Ago This Week". The Awl. Archived from the original on March 28, 2013. Retrieved August 25, 2013.
- ^ Petrozzello, Donna (May 27, 1999). "MTV awards come home to N.Y." New York Daily News – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Chris Rock takes the mic for Video Music Awards". MTV News. June 30, 1999. Archived from the original on November 15, 2020. Retrieved January 4, 2022.
- ^ "Korn, Ricky Martin, Will Smith, TLC lead 1999 Video Music Award nominees; Martin, Backstreet Boys, TLC to perform". MTV News. July 28, 1999. Archived from the original on June 18, 2016. Retrieved January 4, 2022.
- ^ Basham, Dave (September 9, 1999). "Smash Mouth Brave Rain While Blink 182 Enjoy Perfect Weather At VMA Opening Act - MTV". mtv.com. Archived from the original on February 3, 2017. Retrieved May 27, 2021.
- ^ MTV Video Music Awards Pre-Show (Television broadcast). United States: MTV. September 9, 1999. Archived from the original on 2021-12-15. Retrieved October 5, 2020.
- ^ "Kids ThinkLink - CultureLink". Archived from the original on 2011-10-07. Retrieved 2009-06-30.