Sorry, Drake! The 2018 MTV VMA Nominations Are Nothing Compared to These Old-School Best Video Winners

Beyoncé, Madonna and Pearl Jam set the bar high. Can Drake and Camila Cabello keep up?

Chrysalis

The nominees for the 2018 MTV Video Music Awards are out, and the past winners of the Video of the Year category are asking: Do their videos really have what it takes?

All right, full disclosure: We’re asking that.

Will this year’s crop of contenders –– Camila Cabello and Young Thug, Bruno Mars and Cardi B, the Carters (aka Beyoncé and Jay-Z), Childish Gambino, Drake and Ariana Grande –– produce a winning clip that’ll stand the test of time and inspire future generations to wonder in awe: How did that guy in Jamiroquai scoot across the floor like that?

Here’s a look at 10 classic Video of the Year-winning videos from the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s –– cuts from Peter Gabriel to the pre-Carters Beyoncé, from Madonna to Missy Elliott. These videos hold up visually, musically and don’t seem at all retroactively creepy. (Sorry, the Cars’ “You Might Think.)

 

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