Herbie Hancock was the show's most-awarded artist, taking home five awards, followed by
Michael Jackson, who won three.[3] The main award, Video of the Year, went to
The Cars for "
You Might Think".[4] This was the first instance of only a few in the show's history where the video of the year did not win any other awards. Hancock's "
Rockit" and
The Police's "
Every Breath You Take" were the most-nominated videos, receiving eight nominations apiece.[5][6]Cyndi Lauper was the most-nominated artist of the night, with nine overall for two of her videos: six for "
Girls Just Want to Have Fun", which eventually won the Moonman for Best Female Video, and three for "
Time After Time".[6][7]
MTV announced that it would host the first annual Video Music Awards in June 1984.[9]Don Ohlmeyer was hired to produce the ceremony in a similar energetic fashion to his work in sports broadcasting.[10]Dan Aykroyd and
Bette Midler were announced as the ceremony's hosts in mid-July 1984.[11] Nominees and winners were selected by 1,500 individuals representing the record industry.[10] Following its initial MTV airing, the ceremony was syndicated to broadcast television.[12]
Madonna's performance of "
Like a Virgin" has been referred to as one of the most "unforgettable" and "iconic" moments in both pop culture and VMA history for the singer's fashion and her "provocative moves".[16][17][18][19] She emerged from a 17-foot tall wedding cake wearing a "racy", "risque", see-through wedding dress and bustier, with a silver belt buckle that read "BOY TOY".[20][21] While descending the steps of the cake, one of her high heeled shoes slipped off, prompting her to dive to the floor and roll around to cover up the wardrobe malfunction.[22] Her attempt to retrieve the shoe inadvertently led to her flashing her underwear on live television[21]—Rolling Stone listed the moment as the sixth-most outrageous in MTV VMA history.[23] Madonna later told Billboard after the incident, "So I thought, 'Well, I'll just pretend I meant to do this,' and I dove onto the floor and I rolled around. And, as I reached for the shoe, the dress went up. And the underpants were showing".[22] In 2017, the outlet ranked her performance as the second-greatest award show performance of all time, saying that after her they "became the historical record; the way we remember stars at their most iconic, and the way they demonstrate their immortality".[24]
Presenters
Ed Koch – proclaimed that Radio City Music Hall would be renamed "Video City Music Hall" for the night before introducing hosts
Bette Midler and
Dan Aykroyd[21]
Cyndi Lauper – read the eligibility and voting rules in gibberish described as similar to "ancient Babylonian"[2]
Roger Daltrey – smashed a guitar onstage while presenting the award for Best Overall Performance in a Video[25]
^
abWendell, Eric (2018).
"Chapter 7: A Video Star Is Born". Experiencing Herbie Hancock: A Listener's Companion. United States: Rowman & Littlefield (published August 10, 2018). p. 128.
ISBN9781442258389. Retrieved October 8, 2020 – via
Google Books. Later that year, "Rockit" was nominated for eight awards at the first annual MTV Video Music Awards, ultimately winning five including Best Concept Video and Most Experimental Video.
^Kutner, Jon; Leigh, Spencer (2005).
"522 The Police Every Breath You Take". 1,000 UK Number One Hits. United Kingdom:
Omnibus Press (published May 26, 2010).
ISBN9780857123602. 'Every Breath You Take' was the first single released from the final studio album, Synchronici-ty... At the inaugural MTV Music Video Awards in 1984, it also won Best Cinematography Award.