Both television and the internet feature a hodgepodge of videos advertised and uploaded by millions of individuals and organizations around the world. It is through the media that people get to watch a broad range of user-generated amateur video blogs, short original videos and educational videos, as well as video content such as video clips, television clips and music videos. Since video sharing sites like YouTube were launched, several artists were able to rise to fame after gaining much attention from the public. Though most of the videos that can be watched on music television shows and the internet are featured by individuals, there are also several media corporations such as CBS, BBC, Vevo and Hulu that offer some of their materials through the said media. Music television shows and video sharing sites that feature music videos of different artists have been so popular among television watchers and internet users as millions of people around the world are naturally music lovers. The popularity of these sites and shows even heightened as they launched their own weekly charts, which track the popularity of music videos that they feature. Since then, the popularity of music videos on video sharing sites like YouTube and music television shows has caused much influence in the position of songs on charts. And as far as one can tell, it seems that most artists today use controversial music videos as a way of inciting curiosity in their singles and in gaining more attention from the public. Here is a list of the 10 most controversial music videos of all time:
10. The Thunder Rolls- Garth Brooks (1991)
Video Source: www.youtube.com
Released in 1991, the music video of this song by Garth Brooks is about a cheating and abusive husband who gets his comeuppance when his wife kills him. The element of abuse in the music video is far more evident than in the lyrics of the song, so it gained much attention not just from the watching public but also from music critics. The latter part of the music video gives a picture of the third verse of the song, and it wraps up so violently as it gives an end to the tale. Because of the very dark theme of this music video, it got banned from CMT and TNN in 1991. Despite that, it bagged the CMA Music Video of the Year Award that year.
9. Call on Me- Eric Prydz (1982)
Video Source: www.youtube.com
A 2004 song performed by Swedish DJ and producer Eric Prydz, Call on Me comes with one of the most controversial music videos of all time. The music video of this song was directed by Huse Monfaradi and features an aerobics class of women wearing 1980s styled outfits. In the video, these women perform sexy gym routines led by Deanne Berry, who drew the attention of the sole man in the group, played by artist Juan Pablo Di Pace. Several politicians and family groups at the time pushed for the banning of the video but it was not banned. In fact, it reached the No. 1 spot on the Singles Chart of UK, Germany and the Republic of Ireland. It is also known as the highest-downloaded music video of all time in Australia.
8. Like a Prayer –Madonna (1989)
Video Source: www.youtube.com
When Madonna’s music video for her song entitled Like a Prayer was released in 1989, the Pope was pissed off by her appropriation of Catholic iconography in her video. According to music critics, this music video appears almost quaint compared to contemporary standards. Back in 1989, however, it was widely criticized for several reasons, including its inclusion of the burning crosses imagery, the scene where the artist has stigmata and the part where she gets it on with a saint. Those who were not so familiar with the saint in question named Martin de Porres thought that the music video actually depicted Jesus Christ when it did not. Following the scandal, Madonna lost her big project with Pepsi after the company had cancelled a commercial starring her.
7. Criminal- Fiona Apple (1997)
Video Source: www.youtube.com
Fiona Apple’s music video for her 1997 single Criminal featured herself slowly taking her clothes off as she crooned the line “I am a bad, bad girl.” Surrounded by seemingly tranquilized models, Apple was described as being similar to that of an “underfed Calvin Klein model” in the music video. Despite being criticized for promoting “heroin chic” as well as tinges of indecency, Apple won the MTV Music Award for Best New Artist that year.
6. Born Free- M.I.A. (2010)
Video Source: vimeo.com
Despite positive critical reception, the music video of M.I.A. for its song Born Free was banned by Youtube because of its morbid content. Directed by Romain Gavra, the music video featured red-headed adolescents who were rounded up and executed, their bodies exploding as the video reached its finale. A few months after the controversy, the group released another controversial video that tackled campaigns by Saudi Arabian women to gain equal rights.
5. Window Seat- Erykah Badu (2010)
Video Source: www.youtube.com
Released in 2010, the Window Seat music video featured Erykah Badu walking along Elm Street in Dallas, taking off her clothing one by one as the song progressed until she was completely stripped. By the end of the song, she fell down in Dealey Plaza near which President John F. Kennedy was assassinated. The music video was meant to serve as a protest against groupthink, but it turned out to be one of the most controversial music videos that year due to display of disorderly conduct. What made it even more controversial was that the music video itself was found out to be illegal because Badu did not secure a permit to film it.
4. Heart Shaped Box- Nirvana
Video Source: www.youtube.com
Directed by Dutch filmmaker Anton Corbjin, the music video of Heart Shaped Box by Nirvana sparked controversies among various groups and inspired former music video collaborator Kevin Kerslake to push a lawsuit against the band after allegedly “stealing” his ideas. The music video of the song featured the jarring Wizard of Oz, Ku Klux Klan, drugs and Christian symbolisms, as well as unborn babies hanging from trees.
3. Jeremy- Pearl Jam (1992)
Video Source: vimeo.com
This music video by Pearl Jam shows a boy mercilessly teased by his classmates and ignored by his parents. By the end of the video, the boy is depicted strolling into class with a gun and ultimately raising his arm. Before the video came to a close, students in the class are shown sitting completely still and spattered in blood. According to Pearl Jam, the song took its main inspiration from Jeremy Wade Delle who shot himself in front of his English class in Richardson High School in 1991. Both MTV and VH1 banned the music video that is why it is very rarely seen today.
2. Worlock- Skinny Puppy
Video Source: www.youtube.com
The band members of Skinny Puppy have always been known for their outspoken activism. In the late 1980’s, after the band was arrested for torturing a dog in one of its performances under its VIVIsectVI tour, Skinny Puppy released its follow-up album entitled Rabies which challenged censorship in the United States yet again. The music video of Worlock was said to have borrowed scenes from several violent horror films, including Deep Red, Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer and From Beyond. The controversial music video was banned by TV stations worldwide.
1. Closer- Nine Inch Nails (1994)
Video Source: vimeo.com
This song became Nine Inch Tail’s biggest hit because of the controversy surrounding its profane content. Directed by Mark Romanek, the music video of this song first aired in May 1994 and showed events that dealt with religion, animal cruelty, profanity, politics and terror. It became controversial because of its imagery, including a nude woman with a crucifix mask, a monkey tied to a cross, and a pig’s head spinning on a machine.