| 1999 MTV Video Music Awards | |
| Date: | Thursday, September 9, 1999 |
| Location: | Metropolitan Opera House, New York City |
| Country: | United States |
| Host: | Chris Rock |
| Most Awards: | Ricky Martin (5) |
| Most Nominations: | Ricky Martin and Korn (9 each) |
| Network: | MTV |
| Producer: | Salli Frattini Dave Sirulnick |
| Director: | Beth McCarthy |
| Previous: | 1998 |
| Next: | 2000 |
The 1999 MTV Video Music Awards (stylized as 9999 MTV Video Music Awards) aired live on September 9, 1999, honoring the best music videos from June 13, 1998, to June 11, 1999. The show was hosted by Chris Rock at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York City.[1] Ricky Martin was the most-awarded artist of the night, winning two primary awards for Best Pop Video and Best Dance Video, and three additional awards in the International Viewer's Choice categories for "Livin' la Vida Loca".[2] Martin and Korn were the most nominated artists of the night, both with 9 nominations for their songs, "Livin' la Vida Loca" and "Freak on a Leash", respectively. Martin was also the first Latin artist in history to receive a nomination in Video of the Year category,[3] but lost to "Doo Wop (That Thing)" by Lauryn Hill, which became the first Hip hop video to receive the award.[4] [5]
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.[6]
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.
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.[7] (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.[8] Nominations were announced at a press conference hosted by Rock, Carson Daly, and Ricky Martin and held at Lincoln Center on July 28.[9] 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.
| Artist(s) | Song(s) |
|---|---|
| Pre-show[10] | |
| Smash Mouth | "All Star" |
| Blink-182 | "What's My Age Again?" "All the Small Things" |
| Main show | |
| Kid Rock (featuring Run-DMC, Steven Tyler, Joe Perry and 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 (featuring DJ Clue and Amil) | "Jigga My Nigga" "Can I Get A..." "Hard Knock Life (Ghetto Anthem)" |
| Britney Spears and NSYNC | "...Baby One More Time" "Tearin' Up My Heart" |
| Eminem, Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg | "My Name Is" "Guilty Conscience" "Nuthin' But a "G" Thang" |
Winners are listed first and highlighted in bold.
| Video of the Year | Best Male Video | |
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| Best Female Video | Best Group Video | |
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| Best New Artist in a Video | Best Pop Video | |
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| Best Rock Video | Best R&B Video | |
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| Best Rap Video | Best Hip-Hop Video | |
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| Best Dance Video | Best Video from a Film | |
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| Breakthrough Video | Best Direction in a Video | |
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| Best Choreography in a Video | Best Special Effects in a Video | |
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| Best Art Direction in a Video | Best Editing in a Video | |
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| Best Cinematography in a Video | Best Artist Website | |
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| Viewer's Choice | International Viewer's Choice: MTV Australia | |
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| International Viewer's Choice: MTV Brasil | International Viewer's Choice: MTV India | |
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| International Viewer's Choice: MTV Korea | International Viewer's Choice: MTV Latin America (North) | |
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| International Viewer's Choice: MTV Latin America (South) | International Viewer's Choice: MTV Mandarin | |
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| International Viewer's Choice: MTV Russia | International Viewer's Choice: MTV Southeast Asia | |
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