Country United States Date 5 September 1986 | Other ceremonies 1985, 1987 | |
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Hosted by Downtown Julie BrownMark GoodmanAlan HunterMartha Quinn andDweezil Zappa |
The 1986 MTV Video Music Awards aired live on September 5, 1986, honoring the best music videos from May 2, 1985, to May 1, 1986. The show was hosted by MTV VJs Downtown Julie Brown, Mark Goodman, Alan Hunter, Martha Quinn, and Dweezil Zappa, and it emanated primarily from both The Palladium in New York City and the Universal Amphitheatre in Los Angeles. Other parts of the show, however, took place in various locations such as London, Miami, and New Haven, Connecticut.
Contents
- Nominations
- Video of the Year
- Best Male Video
- Best Female Video
- Best Group Video
- Best New Artist in a Video
- Best Concept Video
- Most Experimental Video
- Best Stage Performance in a Video
- Best Overall Performance in a Video
- Best Direction in a Video
- Best Choreography in a Video
- Best Special Effects in a Video
- Best Art Direction in a Video
- Best Editing in a Video
- Best Cinematography in a Video
- Viewers Choice
- Video Vanguard Award
- Special Recognition Award
- Performances
- Appearances
- References
The night's biggest winner and one of the year's two most nominated artists was Norwegian group a-ha, which won eight out of eleven awards it was in contention for. Their video for "Take on Me" earned six awards out of eight nominations, including Viewer's Choice, while "The Sun Always Shines on T.V." won two awards out of three nominations.

The other most nominated artist was rock group Dire Straits, whose video for "Money for Nothing" also earned eleven nominations and won two awards, including Video of the Year. Thus, "Money for Nothing" was also the most nominated video at the 1986 VMAs.

Nominations
Winners are in bold text. [1]
Video of the Year
Dire Straits – "Money for Nothing"

Best Male Video
Robert Palmer – "Addicted to Love"

Best Female Video
Whitney Houston – "How Will I Know"
Best Group Video
Dire Straits – "Money for Nothing"
Best New Artist in a Video
a-ha – "Take on Me"

Best Concept Video
a-ha – "Take on Me"

Most Experimental Video
a-ha – "Take on Me"
Best Stage Performance in a Video
Bryan Adams and Tina Turner – "It's Only Love"
Best Overall Performance in a Video
David Bowie and Mick Jagger – "Dancing in the Street"
Best Direction in a Video
a-ha – "Take on Me" (Director: Steven Barron)
Best Choreography in a Video
Prince and The Revolution – "Raspberry Beret" (Choreographer: Prince)
Best Special Effects in a Video
a-ha – "Take on Me" (Special Effects: Michael Patterson and Candace Reckinger)
Best Art Direction in a Video
ZZ Top – "Rough Boy" (Art Director: Ron Cobb)
Best Editing in a Video
a-ha – "The Sun Always Shines on T.V." (Editor: David Yardley)
Best Cinematography in a Video
a-ha – "The Sun Always Shines on T.V." (Director of Photography: Oliver Stapleton)
Viewer's Choice
a-ha – "Take on Me"
Video Vanguard Award
Madonna
Zbigniew Rybczyński
Special Recognition Award
Bill Graham
Jack Healey (Executive Director, Amnesty International) [2]