1988 MTV Video Music Awards
The 1988 MTV Video Music Awards aired live on September 7, 1988, honoring the best music videos from May 2, 1987, to April 1, 1988. The show was hosted by Arsenio Hall at the Universal Amphitheatre in Los Angeles.
| 1988 MTV Video Music Awards | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Date | Wednesday, September 7, 1988 |
| Location | Universal Amphitheatre, Los Angeles |
| Country | United States |
| Hosted by | Arsenio Hall |
| Most awards | INXS (5) |
| Most nominations | INXS (9) |
| Television/radio coverage | |
| Network | MTV |
Australian group INXS was the night's biggest winner and nominee, taking home five awards out of nine nominations. The group's awards included Video of the Year and Viewer's Choice, making this the first of few times in which the same artist and video took home these two awards in the one night. INXS's nominations, meanwhile, totaled up to nine: eight for "Need You Tonight/Mediate" (making it the year's most nominated video) and one for "Devil Inside".
In the meantime, George Harrison and U2 were tied in for second place in terms of nominations, as each picked up eight nominations that year. Furthermore, both artists split their nominations between two different videos in 1988, and at least once both of their videos competed against one another in the same category (and so did INXS's videos).
Finally, this year's show saw the elimination of another category, as the award for Best Overall Performance in a Video was not handed out this year or ever again. At the same time, the category of Most Experimental Video was renamed "Breakthrough Video", a name that it still keeps (as of the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards).
Nominations
Winners are in bold text.
Video of the Year
Best Male Video
Prince – "U Got the Look"
Best Female Video
Suzanne Vega – "Luka"
Best Group Video
Best New Artist in a Video
Guns N' Roses – "Welcome to the Jungle"
- The Godfathers – "Birth, School, Work, Death"
- Buster Poindexter – "Hot, Hot, Hot"
- Swing Out Sister – "Breakout"
- Jody Watley – "Some Kind of Lover"
Best Concept Video
Best Video from a Film
Los Lobos – "La Bamba" (from La Bamba)
- The Bangles – "Hazy Shade of Winter" (from Less Than Zero)
- Bryan Ferry – "Kiss and Tell" (from Bright Lights, Big City)
- Peter Gabriel – "Biko" (from Cry Freedom)
- Bob Seger – "Shakedown" (from Beverly Hills Cop II)
Breakthrough Video
INXS – "Need You Tonight/Mediate"
- George Harrison – "When We Was Fab"
- Squeeze – "Hourglass"
- Suzanne Vega – "Luka"
- XTC – "Dear God"
Best Stage Performance in a Video
Prince – "U Got the Look"
- Aerosmith – "Dude (Looks Like a Lady)"
- Grateful Dead – "Touch of Grey"
- Elton John – "Candle in the Wind (live)"
- Roy Orbison – "Oh, Pretty Woman (live)"
- U2 – "Where the Streets Have No Name"
Best Direction in a Video
George Michael – "Father Figure" (Directors: Andy Morahan and George Michael)
- Eurythmics – "You Have Placed a Chill in My Heart" (Director: Sophie Muller)
- Pink Floyd – "Learning to Fly" (Director: Storm Thorgerson)
- R.E.M. – "The One I Love" (Director: Robert Longo)
- XTC – "Dear God" (Director: Nicholas Brandt)
Best Choreography in a Video
Janet Jackson – "The Pleasure Principle" (Choreographer: Barry Lather)
- Michael Jackson – "Bad" (Choreographers: Michael Jackson, Gregg Burge and Jeffrey Daniel)
- Michael Jackson – "The Way You Make Me Feel" (Choreographers: Michael Jackson and Vincent Paterson)
- Prince – "U Got the Look" (Choreographer: Cat Glover)
- Sting – "We'll Be Together" (Choreographer: Barry Lather)
Best Special Effects in a Video
Squeeze – "Hourglass" (Special Effects: Jim Francis and Dave Barton)
- Grateful Dead – "Touch of Grey" (Special Effects: Gary Gutierrez)
- George Harrison – "Got My Mind Set on You" (Special Effects: John McCallum)
- George Harrison – "When We Was Fab" (Special Effects: Chris Lyons)
- INXS – "Need You Tonight/Mediate" (Special Effects: Lynn Maree Milburn)
Best Art Direction in a Video
Squeeze – "Hourglass" (Art Directors: Clive Crotty and Mick Edwards)
- George Harrison – "When We Was Fab" (Art Director: Sid Bartholomew)
- INXS – "Need You Tonight/Mediate" (Art Director: Lynn Maree Milburn)
- George Michael – "Faith" (Art Director: Bryan Jones)
- Bruce Springsteen – "Tunnel of Love" (Art Directors: Howard Cummings and Beth Rubino)
Best Editing in a Video
INXS – "Need You Tonight/Mediate" (Editor: Richard Lowenstein)
- INXS – "Devil Inside" (Editor: Steve Purcell)
- Loverboy – "Notorious" (Editor: Jim Haygood)
- Prince – "U Got the Look" (Editor: Charley Randazzo and Steve Purcell)
- Bruce Springsteen – "Tunnel of Love" (Editor: Greg Dougherty)
Best Cinematography in a Video
Sting – "We'll Be Together" (Director of Photography: Bill Pope)
- George Michael – "Father Figure" (Director of Photography: Peter Mackay)
- Pink Floyd – "Learning to Fly" (Director of Photography: Gordon Minard)
- Robert Plant – "Heaven Knows" (Director of Photography: Steve Tickner)
- Suzanne Vega – "Luka" (Director of Photography: Dariusz Wolski)
Viewer's Choice
Video Vanguard Award
Performances
- Rod Stewart – "Forever Young"
- Jody Watley – "Some Kind of Lover"
- Aerosmith – "Dude (Looks Like a Lady)"
- Elton John – "I Don't Wanna Go on with You Like That" (live from Miami)
- Depeche Mode – "Strangelove"
- Crowded House – "Better Be Home Soon"
- Michael Jackson – "Bad" (live from London)
- Cher – "Main Man"
- The Fat Boys (featuring Chubby Checker) – "Louie Louie"/"The Twist"
- Guns N' Roses – "Welcome to the Jungle"
- INXS – "New Sensation"
Appearances
- David Coverdale and Tawny Kitaen – presented Best Group Video
- Jim Turner (as "Randee of the Redwoods") and Kevin Seal – appeared in pre-commercial vignettes about Viewer's Choice voting procedures
- Ken Ober – appeared in a couple of pre-commercial segments telling viewers what was 'coming up' on the show
- Paul Reiser – performed a brief stand-up routine and introduced Jody Watley
- Eric Roberts and Teri Garr – presented Best Video from a Film
- Bryan Ferry and Melanie Griffith – presented Breakthrough Video
- Crowded House – presented Best New Artist in a Video
- Bobby McFerrin – sang the eligibility and voting rules for the 1988 VMAs
- Elvira, Mistress of the Dark, and Magic Johnson – presented Best Concept Video
- DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince and Justine Bateman – presented Best Stage Performance in a Video
- Jim Turner (as "Randee of the Redwoods") – appeared in a pre-commercial segment telling viewers what was 'coming up' on the show
- Peter Gabriel – presented the Video Vanguard award to Michael Jackson during his acceptance segment in London
- Adam Curry and Kevin Seal – introduced the winners of the professional categories (both also appeared in pre-commercial segments about what was 'coming up' on the show)
- Suzanne Vega and Robert Downey, Jr. – presented Best Direction in a Video
- Sam Kinison – performed a stand-up routine and introduced Guns N' Roses
- Julie Brown and Downtown Julie Brown – presented Best Choreography in a Video (both also appeared in pre-commercial segments about what was 'coming up' on the show)
- The Bangles – presented Best Male Video
- Penn & Teller – performed a magic routine
- Cyndi Lauper and Rod Stewart – presented Viewer's Choice
- Aerosmith – presented Best Female Video
- Cher – presented Video of the Year (alongside host Arsenio Hall)