Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award

Michael Jackson
Video Vanguard Award
Awarded forOutstanding contributions and influence on music video and popular culture
CountryUnited States
Presented byMTV
Formerly calledVideo Vanguard Award
Lifetime Achievement Award
First awarded1984
Last awarded2024
Most recent winner(s)Katy Perry (2024)
WebsiteVMA website

The Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award, also known as the Video Vanguard Award or the Lifetime Achievement Award, is a merit given to recording artists and music video directors at the MTV Video Music Awards (VMAs), a ceremony that was established in 1984. It is presented by MTV for "outstanding contributions" and "profound impact" on music videos and popular culture.[1][2][3] As the ceremony's special category, the trophy is a gold-plated "moonman" rather than the silver ones of the other VMA categories.[4] The Beatles and director Richard Lester were honored with the Video Vanguard Award at the inaugural VMAs for "essentially inventing the music video."[5] David Bowie also received the award at the same ceremony. Two years later, Madonna became the first female recipient. In 1991, the award was renamed after Michael Jackson, who had previously won the 1988 trophy.

It was presented as the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2003 VMAs to Duran Duran, and in 2006 as the Video Vanguard Award to director Hype Williams. Following Jackson's death, the award returned with his name restored in 2011. According to MTV, his name was attached to the award due to "Jackson's groundbreaking work as a video artist".[6] This naming again caused controversy after the release of Leaving Neverland (2019), a documentary about alleged child sexual abuse by Jackson.[7][8][9] As in previous ceremonies, MTV did not explicitly display Jackson's name on the television broadcast of the 2019 VMAs, although its website MTV.com still called it Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award.[10] The year's recipient, Missy Elliott, did mention Jackson in her speech,[11] as did Nicki Minaj in her 2022 speech.[12] Katy Perry is the most recent recipient of the award at the 2024 MTV Video Music Awards.[13]

Since its inception, the Video Vanguard Award has been awarded to 35 acts, with most of them being of American or British origin, except Russell Mulcahy (1985, Australian), Zbigniew Rybczyński (1986, Polish), U2 (2001, Irish), Rihanna (2016, Barbadian), Nicki Minaj (2022, Trinidadian), and Shakira (2023, Colombian). Out of all the winners, nine acts have also won the VMAs' biggest prize, Video of the Year,[14][15] including Peter Gabriel and Justin Timberlake, who both earned the two awards in the same night. Since 2013, recipients have been invited to perform a medley of hits leading up to their acceptance speech.[16]

  1. ^ Rabideau, Camryn (August 28, 2016). "Rihanna Redefines Sporty Chic at VMAs Rehearsal". InStyle. Archived from the original on April 7, 2020. Retrieved April 8, 2020.
  2. ^ Baker, Steven; Effron, Lauren (August 30, 2011). "Meet 'Dr. Luke,' the Man Behind Britney Spears' Award-Winning 'Till the World Ends'". ABC News. Archived from the original on March 26, 2020. Retrieved April 8, 2020.
  3. ^ Fabian, Renée (August 15, 2017). "Pink: 2017 VMAs Video Vanguard Award Honoree". Grammy Awards. Retrieved April 8, 2020.
  4. ^ Wandel, Becky (July 26, 2017). "A Look Back at the Winners of the MTV VMAs Video Vanguard Award". Elite Daily. Archived from the original on April 8, 2020. Retrieved April 8, 2020.
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference timeout was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ Anderson, Kyle (June 26, 2009). "Michael Jackson's Video Vanguard Award, In MJ's Top MTV Moments". MTV News. Archived from the original on January 2, 2015. Retrieved April 8, 2020.
  7. ^ Grein, Paul (September 3, 2019). "Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award Teaches MTV the Risks of Naming an Award After a Celebrity: Analysis". Billboard. Archived from the original on April 8, 2020. Retrieved April 8, 2020.
  8. ^ "Michael Jackson's name removed from MTV's Video Vanguard Award". Gulf News. August 29, 2019. Archived from the original on April 8, 2020. Retrieved April 8, 2020.
  9. ^ Corry, Kristin (August 15, 2019). "It's Time for MTV to Rename the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award". Vice. Archived from the original on March 30, 2020. Retrieved April 8, 2020.
  10. ^ Roth, Madeline (August 12, 2019). "Missy Elliott, Culture-Shifting Visionary, Is Your 2019 VMA Video Vanguard". MTV News. Archived from the original on August 9, 2022. Retrieved August 9, 2022.
  11. ^ "Video Vanguard Award". MTV. Archived from the original on June 30, 2020. Retrieved August 30, 2020.
  12. ^ Langston, Keith (August 28, 2022). "Nicki Minaj honors Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston in VMAs Video Vanguard Award speech". EW. Retrieved September 13, 2023.
  13. ^ Aswad, Jem (August 28, 2023). "Shakira to Receive MTV's Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award at VMAs". Variety. Retrieved August 28, 2023.
  14. ^ Montgomery, James (August 21, 2013). "VMA Video of the Year Showdown: Who Will Win Night's Biggest Prize?". MTV News. Archived from the original on April 8, 2020. Retrieved April 8, 2020.
  15. ^ Arnold, Chuck (August 22, 2017). "Ranking Every MTV VMAs Video of the Year". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on April 8, 2020. Retrieved April 8, 2020.
  16. ^ Cite error: The named reference timberlake was invoked but never defined (see the help page).