At this year’s MTV Video Music Awards, all hailed Queen Bey. After a chart-shattering year filled with surprise albums, world tours, adorable Blue Ivy photos and “surfborts,” MTV finally presented Beyoncé with the Video Vanguard Award. The honor is reserved for popular music’s most innovative contributors whose visuals have left an unmistakable mark on our culture. The winner’s circle includes David Bowie, The Beastie Boys, both Janet and Michael Jackson (whom the award was renamed for in 1991), The Beatles, Madonna, LL Cool J, Britney Spears, and director Hype Williams. And after the year she’s had, it’s only right that Mrs. Carter take home the award herself. While it’s hard to choose between her extensive body of work, you can read on to relive some of her most iconic music videos to date. And let us know which is your favorite!
Let’s start at the beginning. Like her Video Vanguard predecessor Justin Timberlake, Beyoncé wouldn’t be the powerhouse she is today without her backup singers, er, group, Destiny’s Child. Their color-coded video for “Say My Name” had it all: two new band members, a PVC-clad dance break, and those precious blonde cornrows. (I may or may not still reenact the stop-and-pose choreography when this song comes on.)
When Destiny’s Child announced they would be splitting up in 2002, it was unclear which of their individual careers would flourish and which would flounder. “Crazy In Love” left no doubt. The vid was incredibly sexy; there were burning cars, opened fire hydrants and signature booty pops. And when Jay-Z showed up to deliver his guest verse, rumors of romance began brewing.
Bey has always loved a good dance anthem, and the extended version of “Get Me Bodied,” from her second album had more than enough moves. In addition to a DC reunion, the ’60s-inspired video gave us such moves as the weave-pat, the scissor-leg and the tick-fight. And if you didn’t pull a muscle while dropping down low and sweeping the floor wit’ it, you weren’t doing it right.
“Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It)” might be Beyoncé’s paramount production. The simple, black-and-white video had British flash mobbers, diapered babies, and SNL castmates alike donning black leotards and heels and hitting the choreography. And, when Taylor Swift won the “Best Female Video” award at the 2009 VMAs, a Hennessy-filled Kanye West took to the mic to declare it “the best video of all time.”
Beyoncé is no stranger to the alter-ego. Like many pop stars, she juggles a variety of identities, including Sasha Fierce and 3rd Ward Trill. But my personal favorite is the pinup-inspired B. B. Homemaker. In the video for “Why Don’t You Love Me,” B. B. is an emotional housewife (think Betty Draper, but thick). She washes dishes, does laundry, swills martinis, and dusts off her many Grammys, all while making runny mascara look chic.
Unlike many celebs (ahem, Kim Kardashian West), Queen Bey is relatively private about her marriage to Jay. Not Kerry Washington private, of course. But, save for the pictures she posts on her site, her song lyrics, a few tabloid rumors, and a pesky elevator video, we don’t know much. To this day, we’ve only seen snippets of the wedding. So, the “Best Thing I Never Had” video gave fans a glimpse at what she might have looked like as a blushing bride.
The visuals for “Run The World (Girls)” played like the dystopian thriller we’ve all been waiting to see: policemen with riot gear freaking out as an army of fierce, cape-wearing women terrorize them with jungle cats and synchronized moves. Beyoncé also dances alongside Tofo Tofo, a dance group from Mozambique, who adorably had no idea who she was before making the video.
“Countdown,” from Bey’s 2011 album, 4, received mixed reviews. While some hailed the brightly colored vid for its playful, vintage feel, others accused the Queen of stealing from various works. (Those people have apparently never heard of an homage.) But the crowd was unanimous in their love for Ton Do-Nguyen, a sixteen year-old from Pennsylvania who did a shot-for-shot remake, all while wearing a Snuggie.
In between diamond cream facials and six-star pimp suites (“Upgrade U,” anyone?), Mrs. Carter loves to embrace her inner ratchet. The video for her summer jam “Party” was set in a trailer park, and looked like a cross between House Party and “My Name Is Earl.” Still, despite the silly string, hair foils, and plastic kiddie pools, Beyoncé, Kelly, and Solange looked flawless.
Because each song on her most recent album was accompanied by a music video, it’s hard to choose which ones are the most memorable. But the visuals for “Yoncé” look like they were torn from the cover of Vogue (or maybe Maxim). Bey teamed up with Victoria’s Secret models Joan Smalls, Chanel Iman, and Jourdan Dunn for one of her sexiest videos yet.
The “Partition” video, which follows “Yoncé” on the track list, is equally sexy. The cabaret-themed production centers around Bey trying to show her man something new, and features a handful of stripper poles, a few barely-there lingerie sets, a brief cameo from Mr. Carter himself, and an especially acrobatic routine on that famous chaise lounge chair.
The most theatrical video on the visual album, the after school special-like “Pretty Hurts” was gritty and heartbreaking. In it, Beyoncé attempted to pull back the curtain on her world by comparing the crushing pressures of the public eye to a beauty pageant. We see her and other contestants battle with eating disorders, low self-esteem, and even each other, all for the sake of a crown.