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1991 MTV Video Music Awards

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1991 MTV Video Music Awards
DateThursday, September 5, 1991
LocationUniversal Amphitheatre, Los Angeles
CountryUnited States
Hosted byArsenio Hall
Most awardsR.E.M. (6)
Most nominationsR.E.M. (11)
Television/radio coverage
NetworkMTV
Produced byDoug Herzog
Judy McGrath
Gregory Sills
Directed byBruce Gowers
← 1990 · MTV Video Music Awards · 1992 →

The 1991 MTV Video Music Awards aired live on September 5, 1991, honoring the best music videos from June 2, 1990, to June 15, 1991. The show was hosted by Arsenio Hall at the Universal Amphitheatre in Los Angeles.

This year saw the introduction of a new category, Best Long Form Video; however, this category would not be handed out again until the 2016 ceremony where it was renamed Breakthrough Long Form Video. Meanwhile, the award for Best Post-Modern Video was renamed Best Alternative Video, and The Video Vanguard Award was renamed the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award in honor of Michael Jackson′s contributions to the culture of music videos.

R.E.M. led the night both in awards and in nominations. Their video for "Losing My Religion" not only won Video of the Year, but it also took home a total of six awards, making them the biggest winners of the night. Furthermore, R.E.M.'s ten nominations also made them the most nominated artist that night and "Losing My Religion" the most nominated video of the night.

Pee Wee Herman

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At the 1991 MTV Video Music Awards, Paul Reubens made his first public appearance after his arrest at an adult movie theater. Taking the stage in costume as Pee-wee, he asked the audience, "Heard any good jokes lately?" and received a standing ovation. Reubens responded with, "Ha, that's so funny I forgot to laugh!"

Background

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MTV announced on July 8 that the 1991 Video Music Awards would be held on September 5 at the Universal Amphitheatre in Los Angeles, with Arsenio Hall returning as host.[1] Nominations were announced at a press conference hosted by Arsenio Hall on July 17.[2] The ceremony broadcast was preceded by the 1991 MTV Video Music Awards Opening Act. Hosted by Kurt Loder and Tabitha Soren, the broadcast featured red carpet interviews and marked the first use of the Opening Act branding for the pre-show, which would continue through 2003. Following its initial MTV airing, the ceremony was syndicated to broadcast television.[1]

Performances

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List of musical performances in order of appearance
Artist(s) Song(s) Ref.
Van Halen "Poundcake"
C+C Music Factory Medley
"Things That Make You Go Hmmm..."
"Here We Go (Let's Rock & Roll)"
"Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now)"
Poison "Talk Dirty to Me"
Mariah Carey "Emotions"
EMF "Unbelievable"[a]
Paula Abdul "Vibeology"
Queensrÿche "Silent Lucidity"
LL Cool J "Mama Said Knock You Out"
Metallica "Enter Sandman"
Don Henley "The Heart of the Matter"
Guns N' Roses "Live and Let Die"[b]
Prince and The New Power Generation "Gett Off"
  1. ^ live from the Town and Country Club in London
  2. ^ live from Wembley Stadium in London

In addition, Was (Not Was) served as the house band.

Presenters

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Winners and nominees

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Nominations and winners, except for the Viewer's Choice awards, were selected by a panel of approximately 1,000 members of the music industry.[2][3]

Winners are in bold text.

Video of the Year Best Male Video
Best Female Video Best Group Video
Best New Artist in a Video Best Metal/Hard Rock Video
Best Rap Video Best Dance Video
Best Alternative Video Best Video from a Film
Best Long Form Video Breakthrough Video
Best Direction in a Video Best Choreography in a Video
Best Special Effects in a Video Best Art Direction in a Video
Best Editing in a Video Best Cinematography in a Video
Viewer's Choice International Viewer's Choice: MTV Asia
  • Cui Jian – "Wild in the Snow"
    • Kenny Bee – "Be Brave to Love"
    • Bird – "Prik Kee Noo"
    • Chris Ho – "Fictional Stuff"
International Viewer's Choice: MTV Australia International Viewer's Choice: MTV Brasil
International Viewer's Choice: MTV Europe International Viewer's Choice: MTV Internacional
International Viewer's Choice: MTV Japan
Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award
Bon Jovi
Wayne Isham

References

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  1. ^ a b Jolson-Colburn, Jeffrey (July 10, 1991). "Hall hosts L.A.'s MTV music awards". The Tennessean. The Hollywood Reporter – via Newspapers.com.
  2. ^ a b "R.E.M. leads MTV award nominations". The Fresno Bee. Associated Press. July 18, 1991 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ Szczepanski, Josephine (September 14, 1991). "MTV Awards: And the winner is ... not the winner". Times Leader – via Newspapers.com.
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