For 44 years, MTV was more than just a cable channel — it was a cultural nerve center. It told us what was cool, what was next, and who mattered. It turned the concept of a “music video” into a worldwide art form and helped build the mythology of everyone from Michael Jackson to Nirvana to Madonna.
But all empires crumble eventually. In 2025, as MTV prepares to shut down its music channels once and for all, it feels like the end of a shared pop-cultural dream. Gone are the days when we’d sit glued to the TV waiting for the premiere of a new video, arguing over TRL rankings, or watching “120 Minutes” at 2 a.m. while pretending to understand avant-garde visuals.
So, to mark the final curtain call of MTV’s original mission — playing music videos — let’s honor it the only way that makes sense: by revisiting its most embarrassing moments. These are the 20 absolute worst music videos ever shown on MTV, ranked from bad to truly catastrophic.
Let’s count them down from #20 to #1 — a crash course in bad fashion, worse editing, and spectacular artistic misjudgment.
20. Eiffel 65 – “Blue (Da Ba Dee)” (1999)
Why it’s bad: Because early CGI should have stayed in video games.
“Blue (Da Ba Dee)” is an undeniably catchy Eurodance earworm — one that every millennial remembers whether they want to or not. But the music video? It’s like watching a PlayStation 1 cutscene that never ends.
The band members are awkwardly inserted into a digital alien world full of shimmering blue humanoids who look like rejected extras from Avatar: The Low-Budget Musical. Everything about it screams 1999 screensaver. The color palette is nuclear, the editing is frantic, and the “plot” — if there is one — involves aliens kidnapping the band before everyone dances like a bad motion-capture demo.
It’s charming in hindsight, but it’s also a testament to MTV’s late-’90s willingness to air anything that had a beat and some digital animation.
19. Pixies – “Velouria” (1990)
Why it’s bad: Because it’s literally just the band running down a hill in slow motion.
The Pixies were gods of the alt-rock underground, but their “Velouria” video looks like a college film project that ran out of ideas. No metaphor, no story — just Black Francis and the gang awkwardly sprinting down a quarry hill at one-sixth speed for nearly the entire runtime.
That’s it. That’s the video.
Apparently, the band made it this way because they were short on budget and time, but MTV still put it in rotation — which is hilarious considering how much effort went into other videos that same year. Watching it feels like performance art mocking the concept of music videos, except it wasn’t meant to be ironic. It’s just… dull.
18. Styx – “Music Time” (1984)
Why it’s bad: Because this is what happens when aging prog-rockers discover neon spandex.
By the mid-’80s, Styx were caught between their theatrical rock roots and MTV’s visual obsession. “Music Time” was supposed to be their playful embrace of the new era. Instead, it’s a sensory assault of goofy costumes, cheap set pieces, and mugging that makes Pee-wee Herman look subtle.
Everyone in the band looks like they’re in a different video: one’s pretending it’s Spaceballs, another thinks it’s Grease 2. It’s painful. Dennis DeYoung bounces around like a community-theater game show host. The result? A cringe-inducing relic that shows exactly why some bands should never try to be “hip.”
17. Starship – “We Built This City” (1985)
Why it’s bad: Because it’s the audio-visual definition of corporate rock excess.
Few songs are mocked as mercilessly as “We Built This City,” and the video deserves equal ridicule. It features Grace Slick and company lip-syncing atop skyscrapers, surrounded by CGI dice, flashing lights, and stock footage of traffic — as if someone just discovered green screens and said, “More is more!”
It’s gaudy, soulless, and proudly overproduced — like Times Square after six vodka Red Bulls. MTV played it endlessly, of course, because it was everything the network represented at the time: glossy, empty, and weirdly irresistible.
16. Queen – “Body Language” (1982)
Why it’s bad: Because Freddie Mercury couldn’t even save this sweaty fever dream.
Queen were always ahead of their time — except here. “Body Language” is all latex, fog, and torso close-ups, trying way too hard to be sexy. The problem? It’s not erotic — it’s awkward.
The whole thing looks like an aerobics class shot through a smoke machine. MTV even banned it for being too suggestive, which is funny considering it’s mostly shirtless dudes striking poses in bad lighting. The song slaps, but the visuals are pure early-’80s “let’s make a statement” nonsense that aged like curdled milk.
15. Kiss – “Psycho Circus” (1998)
Why it’s bad: Because 3D glasses can’t fix a bad idea.
Kiss reunited in the late ’90s with their trademark makeup and pyrotechnics, and MTV pushed their “Psycho Circus” video as a return to form. Instead, it looked like a Goosebumps intro gone wrong.
Rendered in bargain-bin CGI, the band appears as distorted carnival figures in a haunted 3D landscape. It’s supposed to be spooky; it’s just ugly. The technology wasn’t ready, the direction wasn’t there, and the final product looks like Gene Simmons’ computer crashed mid-edit.
14. Judas Priest – “Hot Rockin’” (1981)
Why it’s bad: Because heavy metal and gym shorts should never mix.
“Hot Rockin’” opens with Rob Halford and crew lifting weights, flexing, and showering together — like a lost YMCA commercial for leather enthusiasts. Then it cuts to concert footage where they’re inexplicably surrounded by flames.
The intent was to show how “hot” the band was, but it ends up looking like a fitness video for firemen on acid. The music rocks; the video burns — but not in a good way.
13. Journey – “Separate Ways (Worlds Apart)” (1983)
Why it’s bad: Because pretending to play invisible instruments on a dock is not cinematic.
Journey are rock legends, but “Separate Ways” gave us one of the most unintentionally funny videos of all time. The band stands by a shipping dock, passionately lip-syncing while miming instruments that aren’t there — invisible drums, air guitars, fake keyboards.
It’s so awkward it’s iconic. The acting is bad, the concept nonexistent, and the sexual tension between Steve Perry and the camera is genuinely unsettling. MTV played it nonstop, perhaps as an inside joke.
12. The Beach Boys – “Kokomo” (1988)
Why it’s bad: Because it feels like an advertisement for cruise ship buffets.
By 1988, The Beach Boys had transformed from surf rebels into cardiganed uncles, and “Kokomo” was their tropical comeback hit. The video is a montage of resort footage — ocean waves, cocktails, and Tom Cruise clips from Cocktail — interspersed with the band swaying in Hawaiian shirts.
It’s safe, lazy, and aggressively “vacation-core.” MTV aired it constantly, but watching it now feels like being stuck in a Sandals Resort commercial that never ends.
11. Helix – “Wild in the Streets” (1987)
Why it’s bad: Because the streets were never that wild.
Canadian hair metal band Helix tried to capture the rebellious energy of the era but ended up with a video that looks like it was shot behind a Kmart. Fake bikers, fake cops, and a lot of leather — none of it convincing.
Everything screams “we have $300 and a dream.” MTV gave it some airtime during the glam-metal boom, but even then it looked cheap and desperate, like Mötley Crüe’s hand-me-downs.
10. Alice Cooper – “Clones (We’re All)” (1980)
Why it’s bad: Because sci-fi horror and new wave shouldn’t mix in black and white.
Alice Cooper’s “Clones” is an early attempt at dystopian video art. It’s shot in sterile black and white with Alice wandering through laboratories and corridors, surrounded by identical faces.
The concept might’ve worked if it didn’t feel like a student film version of THX 1138. Instead, it’s confusing, dated, and visually dull. Cooper looks uncomfortable the whole time, as though even he wasn’t sure what message they were going for.
9. Rockwell – “Somebody’s Watching Me” (1984)
Why it’s bad: Because paranoia shouldn’t look like a Halloween house party.
This song is pure ’80s gold, complete with Michael Jackson on backing vocals — but the video ruins the vibe. Rockwell wanders through a haunted mansion while ghostly figures pop up in the background like a Scooby-Doo episode.
He overacts every lyric, staring wide-eyed at the camera like he just saw the electric bill. The makeup and effects are laughable, and the editing feels like it was done by someone who just learned what “crossfade” means. MTV loved it for the camp, but it’s more comedy than creepy.
8. Crispin Glover – “Clowny Clown Clown” (1992)
Why it’s bad: Because it’s art? Maybe? Probably not.
Crispin Glover — yes, the actor — decided to release a song and accompanying video that is, without exaggeration, one of the strangest things MTV ever aired. Picture Glover in clown makeup doing interpretive dance while shouting cryptic poetry over an offbeat track.
It’s unsettling, surreal, and feels like a therapy session caught on VHS. MTV aired it late at night, likely to fill airtime or dare viewers to stay awake. Watching it today, it’s hard to tell if it’s parody or breakdown. Probably both.
7. Eddie Murphy – “Party All the Time” (1985)
Why it’s bad: Because it’s a comedy sketch that doesn’t know it’s a comedy.
Produced by Rick James, “Party All the Time” is a surprisingly decent pop song. The problem is the video — it’s just Eddie in the studio pretending to record the track, grinning like a man who knows he shouldn’t be there.
Rick James pops up, hair blazing, clapping along like a proud uncle. There’s no plot, no atmosphere, no energy. It’s like watching a behind-the-scenes reel that someone accidentally released. MTV spun it hard, but it feels more Saturday Night Live than music television.
6. Don Johnson – “Heartbeat” (1986)
Why it’s bad: Because Miami Vice doesn’t translate to pop-star gravitas.
Riding high on Miami Vice fame, Don Johnson tried to reinvent himself as a rock god. The video for “Heartbeat” is full of dramatic stares, helicopters, and Johnson posing shirtless on a beach, pretending he’s Springsteen.
It’s self-serious to the point of parody. The cinematic ambition is there, but it’s drowned in ego. MTV played it constantly because, well, Don Johnson was hot. But watching it now is like witnessing pure ’80s hubris in motion — moody lighting, meaningless plot, and a man convinced his cheekbones could sell records.
5. U2 – “Numb” (1993)
Why it’s bad: Because it’s a migraine disguised as avant-garde art.
The early ’90s were U2’s experimental phase, and “Numb” is proof that not every risk pays off. The video features The Edge sitting motionless while bizarre visuals — feet, flames, televisions — flash across the screen. Bono barely appears.
It’s meant to represent sensory overload in the modern world. Instead, it’s sensory torture. MTV gave it heavy airplay because, well, it’s U2. But viewers mostly changed the channel halfway through, confused and slightly dizzy.
4. Warrant – “Cherry Pie” (1990)
Why it’s bad: Because it’s everything wrong with hair metal distilled into one video.
Let’s be clear: “Cherry Pie” is a fun, dumb anthem. But the video? A sexist, over-the-top carnival of whipped cream, cleavage, and double entendres. Jani Lane swings a guitar around while models lick pies and car hoods.
It’s campy to the point of absurdity. MTV adored it, but even Lane later admitted he regretted how the song and video defined them. Watching it now is like staring directly into the sun of 1990’s glam-metal excess — loud, shiny, and utterly ridiculous.
3. David Hasselhoff – “Hooked on a Feeling” (1997)
Why it’s bad: Because no human should ever be that confident in CGI pants.
Hasselhoff’s cover of “Hooked on a Feeling” is legendary — for all the wrong reasons. The video is a fever dream of green-screen absurdity: the Hoff flying through space, riding a motorcycle on a planet, turning into a giant head, then dancing with tribal warriors.
It’s like if Baywatch met Power Rangers at a karaoke bar and drank too much tequila. MTV aired it as a novelty, but it quickly became a cult favorite for how bad it is. It’s the ultimate “so bad it’s good” video — the kind of thing that makes you respect and pity the man simultaneously.
2. David Bowie & Mick Jagger – “Dancing in the Street” (1985)
Why it’s bad: Because two legends shouldn’t look this goofy.
It’s almost unfair to put Bowie and Jagger on any “worst” list, but here we are. “Dancing in the Street” was recorded for charity, and the video looks like they made it in ten minutes behind a warehouse.
The two icons strut, prance, and gyrate in what can only be described as unintentional camp. Their chemistry is weirdly awkward, their movements chaotic. It’s mesmerizingly bad — proof that even the gods can stumble. MTV aired it constantly, making it one of the most unintentionally funny videos of all time.
1. Billy Squier – “Rock Me Tonite” (1984)
Why it’s the worst: Because one video destroyed a career.
Billy Squier was on top of the world in 1984. He had platinum albums, sold-out tours, and killer songs. Then came “Rock Me Tonite.”
The video opens with Squier waking up in silk sheets, dancing awkwardly in pink satin, tearing his clothes off, and prancing around a pastel apartment like a man possessed by a Solid Gold dancer. It’s painfully un-rock-and-roll. The choreography is so bizarre it became a punchline overnight.
MTV aired it heavily at first — then stopped after fans revolted. The backlash was brutal. Concert attendance plummeted, radio cooled, and his career never recovered. It’s the rare case where one bad video literally ended a rock star’s run.
“Rock Me Tonite” isn’t just MTV’s worst video — it’s the ultimate cautionary tale of how image can kill momentum.
The Curtain Falls
As MTV shuts down its music channels after 44 years, we remember both the glory and the garbage. For every “Thriller,” there was a “Rock Me Tonite.” For every masterpiece, there was a head-scratcher.
But that’s what made MTV special — it was the wild west of visual music. It gave us brilliance and disasters, innovation and indulgence. It was messy, brave, and sometimes gloriously dumb.
Now that it’s ending, all we can do is raise a toast to the network that changed pop culture forever — and laugh one last time at the disasters that made it human.
Goodnight, MTV. You rocked us, you rolled us, and sometimes… you really, really embarrassed us.
