The biggest all time snubs from the VMAs

Yes, perhaps the most iconic music video ever didn’t win Video of the Year. While history has not been kind to the King of Pop’s legacy, back in 1984 he was the biggest star in the world. “Thriller” was a massive event, and yet it was “You Might Think” by The Cars that took home the first Video of the Year.

“Right Now” by Van Halen is a famous video. People remember its bold-typed insights provided over images about political strife and the plight of the unfortunate, among other things. That got it Video of the Year. It’s also a middling Van Halen song from the Sammy Hagar era. “Smells Like Teen Spirit” changed popular music. It put Nirvana on the map. Even MTV called it the greatest music video of all time once. That’s a snub.

Is “Sabotage” the best music video ever? It has an argument. The video, a parody of cop shows, is funny and clever and just an overall delight. Instead, “Cryin” by Aerosmith won Video of the Year. It features Alicia Silverstone pretending to commit suicide by jumping off a bridge to spite her boyfriend.

OK, maybe “Buddy Holly” is the best video ever. Weezer puts itself into the world of “Happy Days,” which is great. Also, the song is super catchy. We’re not saying “Waterfalls” by TLC is bad. We are saying “Buddy Holly” is way better.

“Fell in Love With a Girl,” in addition to being a ripping song that rules, has an awesome video directed by Michel Gondry. It’s animated in Lego, and it looks amazing. Eminem’s “Without Me” won the big award for Video of the Year instead. That video features Elvis eating a sandwich out of the toilet.

Counting Crows won Best New Artist in 1994, thanks to the video for “Mr. Jones.” The band had a solid career, but the video for “Mr. Jones” isn’t that special. Beck was also nominated for this award, and he’s gone on to be a genre-hopping legend. He was up for “Loser” in 1994. That song, and video, blows the video for “Mr. Jones” out of the water.

Do you remember Tokio Hotel? Do you remember its song “Ready, Set, Go?” It’s OK if you don’t. The German rock band has been completely forgotten. You know who hasn’t. Taylor Swift, who was also up for Best New Artist against Tokio Hotel. She’s only gone on to be the biggest pop star in the world.

Britney Spears won Best Pop Video for her forgettable song “Womanizer.” While one of the songs she beat was “Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)” by Beyonce, that song won Video of the Year. You can’t call that video snubbed. So let’s turn to another hit song from a popular artist on the rise. “Poker Face” by Lady Gaga was snubbed.

Best Rock Video has gotten less and less “rock” over the years, but it was still pretty heavy back in 1995. White Zombie won for “More Human Than Human.” The song is for metalheads only, and the video is a little dull. “Basket Case” by Green Day stands the test of time. Most people couldn’t tell you a thing about “More Human Than Human.” Basically anybody who was alive in the ‘90s remembers “Basket Case.”

David Letterman once called “Everlong” his favorite song. The video is also super cool. It should have been up for Video of the Year, and it should have won Best Rock Video. Instead, “Pink” by Aerosmith won the latter, and that song is a total snooze.

Look, Limp Bizkit won Best Rock Video in 2000. We are very much operating under a policy of rewriting history to remove Limp Bizkit every chance we can get. Not only is Rage Against the Machine's “Sleep Now in the Fire” a force to be reckoned with sonically, but it’s also got politics on its mind. You can’t say that about Limp Bizkit’s inane “Break Stuff.”

It feels like 90 percent of soccer matches feature the fans chanting to the tune of “Seven Nation Army.” That puts it on the level of Queen’s “We Will Rock You.” Sure, it could have earned Best Rock Video. Instead, Linkin Park won for “Somewhere I Belong.” Linkin Park won the year prior, so did it really need this award?

Did you know MTV has an award for Song of Summer? Indeed, it's been given out since 2013. We can all agree “Get Lucky” was the song of the summer for 2013, right? Well, MTV apparently disagreed. Instead, “Best Song Ever” by One Direction won. Chalk that up to the boy band’s devoted fans stuffing the proverbial ballot box.

Oh, alternative rock. You had your time, and that time was the ‘90s. Best Alternative Video has not been given out since 1998, and that year Radiohead's “Karma Police” was nominated. It did not win. Instead, Green Day's “Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)” won. Perfect for high school graduations? Sure. A rocking song? Not in the slightest. Granted, “Karma Police” doesn’t “rock” much either, but it’s a way better song.

You know what song is unbearable? “My Humps” by The Black Eyed Peas. How did it win Best Hip-Hop? We have no clue. Any of the other nominees would have been a better choice, but we went with "Gold Digger" by Kanye West. For all his personality issues, the guy knew how to write a hit.

The “We Are The World” video is full of a ton of famous musicians. That being said, the song isn’t all that good, and USA for Africa isn’t a band. As such, this one winning Best Group Video feels weird. “Pride (In the Name of Love)” is a much better song, and it’s by an actual band as well. After all, no comedians ever dedicated a podcast to USA for Africa?

U2 is going from being snubbed to being the benefactor of the snub. The song “Even Better Than the Real Thing” is totally forgettable and doesn’t feel like a great choice for Best Group Video. On the other hand, “Under the Bridge” is an all-time music video. However, it found itself snubbed left and right. Let’s give it one award at least.

The life of Gnarls Barkley burned brief and bright. “Crazy” was a huge hit, it made the band super popular and then it faded away. The song is incredibly catchy, and the video is quite cool as well. “Crazy” would have been a worthy winner in the Best Group Video category. Instead, The All-American Rejects won. A couple of years later, this award was rendered defunct.

For several years, the VMAs had a Viewer’s Choice Award. That’s right. The people got to have their say. Weirdly, the viewers were big fans of “We Are the World.” Meanwhile, Tom Petty's “Don’t Come Around Here No More” has an insane video where Petty plays the Mad Hatter. Alice has pieces of cake cut out of her torso! That’s way more interesting than “We Are the World.”

Deee-lite was a one-hit wonder, but it was a fun hit. “Groove is in the Heart” was extremely catchy. In fact, it was down-right infectious; an earworm in the making. It couldn’t win Viewer’s Choice though. Instead, some song called “Silent Lucidity” by Queensryche won. That feels like fans of the heavy metal band flooding the phones to get the win. Good for them, but it certainly looks bad in the history books.