MTV Video Music Award for Best Group

MTV Video Music Award
for Best Group
CountryUnited States
Presented byMTV
Formerly calledBest Group Video, Group of the Year
First awarded1984
Currently held bySeventeen
Most awardsBTS (4)
Most nominationsU2 (7)
WebsiteVMA website

The MTV Video Music Award for Best Group (also known as the MTV Video Music Award for Best Group Video and MTV Video Music Award for Group of the Year) is given to recording artists at the MTV Video Music Awards (VMAs). The award was introduced at the inaugural ceremony in 1984[1] by vocalist Ric Ocasek of the Cars. American rock band ZZ Top was the first act to receive the honor for its "Legs" music video.[2] Tim Newman, the video's director, accepted the award on behalf of the band.[3]

In 2007, a revamp of the ceremony saw the award renamed from Best Group Video to simply Best Group.[4][5] In 2008, the VMAs returned to their original format, but the award was not included.[6][7] It was brought back for the 2019 edition of the show, as one of three social-media voted categories, instead of being determined by industry personnel as in previous years.[8][9] In 2021, it was renamed from Best Group to Group of the Year, though it was changed back to Best Group in 2024.[10]

BTS is the most-awarded artist in this category, having won the award four times, and is the only nominee to win the award in consecutive years, from 2019 to 2022.[11] U2 is the most-nominated act, with seven of its videos receiving nominations in six different years between 1985 and 2005. TLC was the first girl group to win the award, doing so twice with their videos for "Waterfalls" (1995) and "No Scrubs" (1999). Blackpink is the most-nominated girl group, having received five nominations from 2019 to 2023, and was the second girl group after TLC to win the award in 2023.

  1. ^ Sendler, David; Youman, Roger; Smith, R.C.; Mills, Andrew; Crist, Judith; Davidson, Bill; Durslag, Melvin; MacKenzie, Robert; Joseph, Mancini, eds. (September 8, 1984). "Fall Preview". TV Guide. Vol. 32, no. 36. Los Angeles, California: Triangle Publications Inc. ISSN 0039-8543.
  2. ^ Black, Elizabeth (August 25, 2016). "A Look Back At The First Ever MTV VMAs: Bette Midler & Dan Aykroyd Co-Hosted, Herbie Hancock Swept The Awards". VH1. Archived from the original on August 31, 2016. Retrieved November 4, 2020.
  3. ^ "MTV Video Music Awards, The First Annual (TV)". Paley Center. Archived from the original on October 21, 2020. Retrieved October 20, 2020.
  4. ^ "The 2007 MTV Video Music Awards Nominees Announced". MovieWeb. August 7, 2007. Archived from the original on September 21, 2020. Retrieved November 4, 2020.
  5. ^ "AWARDS2007 MTV Video Music Awards: Winner Predictions". Slant Magazine. August 27, 2007. Archived from the original on November 4, 2020. Retrieved November 4, 2020.
  6. ^ Grein, Paul (August 19, 2022). "Will BTS Make It Four in a Row as Group of the Year at 2022 MTV VMAs?". Billboard. Archived from the original on August 19, 2022. Retrieved August 19, 2022.
  7. ^ Anitai, Tamar (July 18, 2008). "2008 VMA Nominees – Vote Or Die!". MTV.com. Archived from the original on October 7, 2020. Retrieved October 7, 2020.
  8. ^ Kim, Jae-ha (August 6, 2019). "BTS Wins First VMA in Controversial K-Pop Category". Variety. Archived from the original on August 29, 2019. Retrieved October 6, 2020. MTV wasn't unaware of the criticism. A few days ago, they announced a trio of trophies to be voted on by fans: Best Power Anthem, Song of Summer and Best Group.
  9. ^ Mantzouranis, Tom (August 28, 2015). "The Inside Story Of How The First MTV VMAs Created A Tradition Of Making Censors Sweat". UPROXX. Archived from the original on March 22, 2020. Retrieved October 8, 2020. The original VMAs were determined by a panel made up of record company execs, video producers and directors, and other industry stalwarts..."...a jury of [the artists'] peers. It didn't have a lot to do with what...the fans thought," Sykes said.
  10. ^ Blistein, Jon (6 August 2024). "Taylor Swift Dominates 2024 MTV Video Music Award Nominations". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 30 August 2024.
  11. ^ Grein, Paul (August 29, 2022). "Taylor Swift Is First Artist to Achieve This VMAs Feat, Plus Other 2022 Record Setters". Billboard. Archived from the original on August 29, 2022. Retrieved August 29, 2022.