Top 10 Songs That Deserve a Music Video

Kendrick Lamar didn’t really need a music video for “M.A.A.D City” in order for the song to become a hit. The California native’s reputation as one of hip-hop’s most talented MCs was steadily rising around the time his second album, “Good Kid, M.A.A.D City” dropped in 2012. This title track, as a result, was anxiously awaited by Lamar’s fan base. They weren’t disappointed, either, and “M.A.A.D City” was streamed and downloaded in earnest. Music critics also responded in kind, and “M.A.A.D City” was a creative success for Lamar, without any sort of initial video accompaniment.

The world of film soundtracks can be a weird place for some artists. “Uninvited” by Alanis Morissette became a hit from the “City of Angels” soundtrack. This was despite there being no official video clip for the song, and for “Uninvited” not being released as a stand-alone single in the United States. Still, the song became notable at the time for being the first bit of new music released by Morissette since her smash-hit debut album, “Jagged Little Pill.” “Uninvited” also wasn’t the only song taken from the “City of Angels” soundtrack to become a hit, since “Iris” was absolutely a HUGE deal for the Goo Goo Dolls. This essentially meant that “Uninvited” became somewhat lost in the music video shuffle.

There’s a number of reasons why “Body Like a Back Road” by Sam Hunt didn’t receive a fully-fledged music video at the time of its release in 2017. For starters, there’s a general decline in importance with regard to the medium’s commercial efficacy. We just don’t consume music in the same way now as we did during the 1980s or ‘90s. That said, many artists continue to utilize the medium to promote their work, and “Body Like a Back Road” did receive a lyric video. Conversely, the world of radio actually retains a lot of power within the country music world, and they played the heck out of “Body Like a Back Road.” We’d still like to see this song receive the cinematic video treatment.

Not every song requires a video to break into the public consciousness. This sentiment goes double for Beyoncé, since the singer’s reputation pretty much precedes her in regard to both critical and commercial attention. So when Beyoncé released “Break My Soul” as a single in 2022, it instantly resonated with her fans, thanks to streaming music services like Spotify and Tidal. The song’s focus on a lengthy, dancefloor-friendly groove also worked well for the streaming world, and didn’t really need a filmed music video in order for it to become yet another success for Beyoncé. Instead, “Break My Soul” received a lyric video and a visualizer.

The music video medium was still relatively new when Sire/Warner Bros. released “Holiday” as a single back in 1983. Sure, music videos were exploding, but it also wasn’t a foregone conclusion that every single would receive this sort of treatment. Instead, Madonna went on a series of club dates to promote “Holiday,” while also consistently performing it on tour. This allowed the single to rise in the charts and achieve radio success for the Material Girl. “Holiday” is largely seen by Madonna fans today as a defining song for the artist’s early era, with armchair historians pointing out how the song probably should've been officially filmed for a video!

It took some time, initially at least, for “Redbone” by Childish Gambino to become a hit. The song was released as a single, and steadily gained popularity thanks to radio play and streaming. This was prior to the incendiary success of Childish Gambino’s video for “This Is America” in 2018. That clip made headlines due to its cinematic artistry and political content, while “Redbone” was simply a great song that plied its R&B trade in a super-successful manner. “Redbone” was also featured on the soundtrack to the Jordan Peele horror film “Get Out,” and this helped the tune reach even more ears.

The story of Michael Jackson’s “Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’” is similar to that of Madonna’s, with regards to the freshness of the music video medium. Some artists jumped on this train early, even during the 1970s, but “Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’ didn’t get a video back when it was released in 1983. This didn’t stop the tune from becoming a hit, of course, despite some initial controversy. “Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’” soared on commercial radio, but Jackson was accused of nicking his “mama-say mama-sa mama-coo-sa” vocal hook from jazz and funk legend Manu Dibango. Jackson settled out of court with Dibango, and “Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’” became a huge hit, with no video!

There’s been a wealth of interesting music videos released by Rihanna over the years. There are plenty of clips that sell both the sizzle and the steak of the singer’s infectious dance-pop sound. “Love on the Brain” was one of Rihanna’s songs that actually didn’t get this treatment, although this didn’t stop the song from becoming famous within her circle of fans. The song’s old school soul sound actually seems tailor-made for an equally evocative video clip, yet “Love on the Brain” remains a sort of “what if?” scenario for a lost creative opportunity.

There seems to be a running theme with regards to the career of Adele and the lack of music videos released to promote her work. Songs like ‘Rumour Has It” and “Turning Tables” became hits, despite a lack of video clips, and this trend continued with “Set Fire to the Rain.” All three songs were taken from Adele’s smash-hit sophomore effort, “21.” Adele had recently gone under the knife for vocal cord nodules, making it impossible for her to film clips to promote these songs. Not that it mattered much, because “Set Fire to the Rain” still proved to be yet another win for Adele. And while there is a live performance video, the original recording still lacks one.

It was probably the availability of Taylor Swift's "Eras Tour” that allowed for 2019’s album cut “Cruel Summer” to gain significant commercial traction. Casual fans and newcomers gravitated towards what Swifties already knew: that this song, alongside “Getaway Car,” was really good. This was despite neither song receiving a proper music video during their albums’ promotional cycles. The hunt for “deep cuts” or album tracks that are as good, if not better, than the released singles speaks to the power of today’s music fandom. And it’s this dedication to mining gold from an artist’s discography that makes being a music fan so much fun.

Is there any album song or single that YOU think deserves a music video? Let us know in the comments!