| 2003 MTV Video Music Awards | |
| Date: | Thursday, August 28, 2003 |
| Location: | Radio City Music Hall, New York, New York |
| Country: | United States |
| Host: | Chris Rock |
| Most Awards: | Beyoncé, Coldplay & Justin Timberlake (3 each) |
| Most Nominations: | Missy Elliott (8) |
| Network: | MTV |
| Producer: | Alex Coletti Salli Frattini Dave Sirulnick |
| Director: | Beth McCarthy-Miller |
| Previous: | 2002 |
| Next: | 2004 |
The 2003 MTV Video Music Awards aired live on August 28, 2003, honoring the best music videos from June 1, 2002, to June 9, 2003. The show was hosted by Chris Rock at the Radio City Music Hall in New York City. The ceremony is best remembered for Madonna kissing Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera during the show's opening performance.
MTV announced on June 25 that the 2003 Video Music Awards would be held on August 28 at Radio City Music Hall and hosted by Chris Rock.[1] Nominees were announced on July 24.[2] The ceremony broadcast was preceded by the 2003 MTV Video Music Awards Opening Act. Hosted by Kurt Loder and SuChin Pak with reports from John Norris, Iann Robinson, Sway, and Gideon Yago, the broadcast featured red carpet interviews, pre-taped features on the career of Johnny Cash and a comparison between Eminem and 50 Cent, and performances from Sean Paul and Black Eyed Peas.
This was the final year to present International Viewers' Choice Awards representing MTV's international affiliates.
| Artist(s) | Song(s) | |
|---|---|---|
| Pre-show | ||
| "Like Glue" "Get Busy" "Gimme the Light" | ||
| "Where Is the Love?" | ||
| Main show | ||
| "Like a Virgin" (Spears and Aguilera only) "Hollywood" "Work It" (featuring Missy Elliott) | ||
| "The Anthem" | ||
| "Dirrty" (Aguilera and Redman) "Fighter" (Aguilera and Navarro) | ||
| "P.I.M.P." | ||
| "All I Need" (Blige only) "Love @ 1st Sight" (Blige and Method Man) "Ooh!" (Blige and 50 Cent) "Family Affair" (Blige only) | ||
| "The Scientist" | ||
| "Baby Boy" (Beyoncé only) "Crazy in Love" | ||
VMA 20th Anniversary Medley
"Frantic" | ||
Nominees were selected by a group of approximately 5,000 viewers and members of the music industry.[3] Winners in general and professional categories were selected by a group of 500 members of the music industry.[4] Winners of the Viewer's Choice award and the MTV2 Award were selected by viewers. Voting for the MTV2 Award and Viewer's Choice award was conducted on MTV's website and, in the case of the latter award, through phone voting that continued through the ceremony broadcast.
Winners are in bold text.
| 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 | MTV2 Award | |
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| Viewer's Choice | International Viewer's Choice: MTV Australia | |
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| International Viewer's Choice: MTV Brasil | ||
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| Lifetime Achievement Award | ||
| Duran Duran | ||