| 1999 MTV Video Music Awards | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Date | Thursday, September 9, 1999 | |||
| Location | Metropolitan Opera House,New York City | |||
| Country | United States | |||
| Hosted by | Chris Rock | |||
| Most awards | Lauryn Hill (4) | |||
| Most nominations | Ricky Martin andKorn (9 each) | |||
| Website | http://www.mtv.com/vma/1999/  | |||
| Television/radio coverage | ||||
| Network | MTV | |||
| Produced by | Salli Frattini Dave Sirulnick | |||
| Directed by | Beth McCarthy | |||
| ||||
The1999MTV Video Music Awards, which took place onSeptember 9, 1999 (informally known as the9/9/99 MTV Video Music Awards), honored the best music videos released between June 13, 1998, and June 11, 1999.[1] The ceremony was hosted byChris Rock and held at theMetropolitan Opera House in New York City.[2]Lauryn Hill was the biggest winner of the night, earning four awards,[3][4] including the prestigiousVideo of the Year for "Doo Wop (That Thing)", making it the first hip-hop video to win in that category.[5][6]Ricky Martin won two competitive awards for "Livin’ la Vida Loca":Best Pop Video andBest Dance Video.[7] In addition, he received threeInternational Viewer's Choice Awards, which were presented at the ceremony.[8] Other notable winners includedKorn,TLC, andEminem.
Highlights of the show includedDiana Ross jigglingLil' Kim's exposed breast in response to her outfit, which left her entire left breast uncovered, but for a smallpastie on her nipple. The mothers of slain rappersTupac Shakur andThe Notorious B.I.G.,Afeni Shakur and Voletta Wallace, came together to present theBest Rap Video Award. TheBeastie Boys'Adam Horovitz made a plea for peace in the wake of the sexual assaults atWoodstock '99. Near the end of the night,MTV staged a tribute toMadonna, the most-nominated artist in VMA history, by presenting a host of maledrag performers dressed as the singer in her past music videos. RapperDMX was scheduled to perform but was a no-show; as a result,Jay-Z's solo set was extended. Another moment of the ceremony was the debut ofBritney Spears performing her debut single "...Baby One More Time", and then,NSYNC, performed their song "Tearin' Up My Heart".
AsBackstreet Boys came up and accepted their award forViewer's Choice, a stranger came onto the stage and said, "Wake up at 3". This person was later revealed to be John Del Signore, who crashed the ceremony in a failed attempt to sell Viacom a show idea.[9]
The awards show featured a line-up of sponsors and cross-promotions, most notably withSEGA, as the date of the show also coincided with the launch of theirDreamcast game console.
After scouting locations in both New York and Los Angeles, MTV announced in May that the 1999 MTV Video Music Awards would be held at New York's Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center.[10] (MTV's traditional New York venue, Radio City Music Hall, was closed for renovations at the time.) Comedian Chris Rock was announced as the ceremony's host on June 30.[11] Nominations were announced at a press conference hosted by Rock, Carson Daly, and Ricky Martin and held at Lincoln Center on July 28.[12] For the first time, the ceremony was promoted with a "VMA Week" onTotal Request Live, which would continue annually until that program's cancellation in 2008. The ceremony broadcast was preceded by the1999 MTV Video Music Awards Opening Act. Hosted byKurt Loder andSerena Altschul with reports fromChris Connelly,Carson Daly,Ananda Lewis, andJohn Norris, the broadcast featured red carpet interviews, a pre-taped interview withTrent Reznor, pre-taped features on Britney Spears' outfit selection and testing various singers' vocal ability to shatter glass, and performances fromSmash Mouth andBlink-182.
Winners are listed first and highlighted inbold.
| Wins | Artist |
|---|---|
| 5 | Ricky Martin |
| 4 | Lauryn Hill |
| 3 | Fatboy Slim |
| 2 | Korn |