Top 10 Music Videos That Are More Popular Than the Song

Miley Cyrus
It was the controversial Terry Richardson who was behind the director’s chair for “Wrecking Ball” by Miley Cyrus. The visual aesthetic is a striking homage to Sinead O’Connor’s “Nothing Compares 2 U” alongside equally memorable sequences featuring Cyrus with a sledgehammer and, yes, a wrecking ball. The song itself is great, but the lighting and framing of “Wrecking Ball” created a number of images that went on to become indelibly linked with Cyrus’ early success as an artist. And Miley’s fans probably never forgot the first or hundredth time they watched this video.

Gorillaz
The very fact that Gorillaz is a virtual, animated band probably destined their music videos to become equally imaginative and strange. The clips for both “Stylo” and their breakthrough hit “Clint Eastwood” represent the creativity of Gorillaz in a huge way. There’s a lot of clever references to classic horror cinema, from “Dead Alive” and “Resident Evil” to George A. Romero’s original “Dawn of the Dead.” There’s a seemingly endless amount of ideas the Gorillaz have employed over the course of their over fifteen-year career, but “Clint Eastwood” was, for many, their first taste of this weird and wild world.

Jamiroquai
The music video medium is designed to capture our attentions and imaginations, while also selling us on the music at hand. Jamiroquai are still going, but many fans of a certain age will always associate this British group with their groundbreaking video for “Virtual Insanity.” The kinetic energy of the clip is captured by singer Jay Kay’s endless motion on a series of travelators. His running, walking, and dancing are front and center and impossible to ignore. It’s the sort of music video that instantly makes its mark, as if it knew it was destined to break the mold.

Lady Gaga feat. Beyoncé
The late 2000s and early 2010s saw the rise of Gaga and the return of the music video as high concept art. Videos for both “Bad Romance” and “Telephone” were minimovies during an era where the continued relevance of the music video was being called into question. Director Jonas Åkerlund was no stranger to this medium, either, having helmed music videos for artists as varied as Madonna and Robbie Williams to Metallica and Satyricon. “Telephone,” as a result, is psychedelic and technicolored camp at its finest. Homages to the women-in-prison exploitation film genre are juxtaposed against Gaga and Beyoncé’s rockstar swagger. Honestly? We challenge just about anyone to separate the “Telephone” music video from the song.

Blink-182
The boy band era was at its apex around the time pop-punk stars Blink-182 released their music video for “All the Small Things.” The group’s videos have always been known for their irreverent nature, and this one is no exception. “All the Small Things” delights in parodying all of the pop star cliches and stereotypes of the day, although the video stops just shy of feeling malicious or mean-spirited. It all feels like harmless fun at the end of the day, although “All the Small Things” is almost too funny. The video was so popular that it overshadowed the memorable hooks and cheeky lyrics in the tune.

Psy
The K-Pop subculture is obviously big business these days, but it was also a cult sensation when Psy hit it big with “Gangnam Style” back in 2012. There was a sort of curiosity attached to the video, which went viral and exposed itself (pun intended) to a lot of people who lived outside of K-Pop’s immediate sphere of influence. Psy was destined to be a one-hit wonder in areas like North America, but what a hit “Gangnam Style” was, right? Diehard and casual pop fans alike couldn’t escape this video. They liked it, shared it, and talked about it, due at least in part to the accompanying dance craze.

Beyoncé
Do we blame the “Single Ladies” hand dance for overshadowing any other physical gesture associated with this Beyoncé song? Maybe, and the tune admittedly does stand on its own, alongside the singer’s numerous other hits. That said, the internet was much more obsessed with the video of “Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)” rather than the song’s melodies or hooks. Heck, former First Lady Michelle Obama even famously did the “Single Ladies” dance alongside James Corden during an episode of his “Carpool Karaoke” series! It’s easy, fun, and nobody ever has to worry about the audience not understanding the reference.

OK Go
The prevalence of people dancing on the internet is inescapable these days. From impressively choreographed line dances to cringeworthy TikTok nonsense, social media is chock full of dancin’ fools. OK Go were sort of ahead of the curve in this regard, specifically with their music videos for songs like “Upside Down & Inside Out” and especially “Here It Goes Again.” The latter in particular was designed to be shared online, since the treadmill dance routine just has to be seen to be believed. The single-shot, one-take clip took OK Go seventeen tries to get right, but the end results went on, for better or worse, to define their career as a pop act.

a-ha
It can be tough living ahead of your time. Norway’s a-ha earned international acclaim with the then-revolutionary rotoscoping effects featured in their second video for “Take On Me.” This extremely popular video made the rounds on MTV, and was a-ha’s break in America. The narrative here is simple, yet effective, and captures the song’s kinetic energy. “Take On Me” actually featured an earlier, more direct band performance video, but it was this second one that would forever symbolize a-ha’s international success. The group would continue to earn acclaim abroad, but North American fans will probably never be able to separate “Take On Me” from this iconic video.

Before we name our number one pick, here are a few honorable mentions!

Hype Williams’ Visuals & That Blow-Up Suit

A Beautifully Melancholic Video Makes Us Forget About Nine Inch Nails

This Band Was Always Cinematic, but “Always” Goes for Broke

Memed to Death!

Fatboy Slim
Norman Quentin Cook, a.k.a. Fatboy Slim, has nothing to prove with regards to his cult music taste. His knowledge of groovy music influenced hits like “Weapon of Choice.” However, the average MTV viewer back in 2001 probably didn’t have a clue about Fatboy Slim’s career or pedigree. All we knew was that “Weapon of Choice” was the music video that featured Christopher Walken dancing. The video was yet another example of Spike Jonze’s brilliance, as he guides a lighter-than-air Walken around a hotel lobby. “Weapon of Choice” was certainly strange, but it helped earn Fatboy Slim another hit.

How important are music videos in the modern day? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!