Country United States Other ceremonies 1991, 1993 | Date 9 September 1992 | |
![]() | ||
Location Pauley Pavilion, Los Angeles, California, United States |
The 1992 MTV Video Music Awards aired live on September 9, 1992, honoring the best music videos from June 16, 1991, to June 15, 1992. The show was hosted by Dana Carvey at UCLA's Pauley Pavilion in Los Angeles.
Contents
- Nominations
- Video of the Year
- Best Male Video
- Best Female Video
- Best Group Video
- Best New Artist in a Video
- Best MetalHard Rock Video
- Best Rap Video
- Best Dance Video
- Best Alternative Video
- Best Video from a Film
- Breakthrough 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
- MTV Asia
- MTV Australia
- MTV Brasil
- MTV Europe
- MTV Internacional
- Video Vanguard Award
- Performances
- Pre show
- Main show
- References

The night's biggest winners were Van Halen and the Red Hot Chili Peppers, as each group earned three moonmen that night. Particularly, Van Halen's video for "Right Now" took home the main award of the night, Video of the Year, and received seven nominations, making it the most nominated video of the night. The Red Hot Chili Peppers, meanwhile, won the award for Viewer's Choice and received a total of nine nominations for two of their videos, becoming the most nominated act of the night. Six of the Peppers' nominations were for "Give It Away," and the remaining three went to "Under the Bridge."
The show was notable for a feud between Axl Rose and members of Nirvana as well as Courtney Love. It began backstage before the awards show, when Love jokingly offered to make Rose the godfather of Frances Bean Cobain. Rose threatened Cobain if he didn't quiet his wife, and barbs were exchanged between Love and Rose's then-girlfriend Stephanie Seymour. Bassists Krist Novoselic and Duff McKagan almost came to blows over the incident, just before Nirvana were to take the stage. The spat went public onstage immediately after Nirvana's performance of "Lithium", as drummer Dave Grohl taunted Rose. Cobain then raised the dispute in post-show interviews at the VMA.

Along with Nirvana and Guns N' Roses, the night's performers included the likes of Bryan Adams, En Vogue, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Pearl Jam, and Eric Clapton, among others. Also, there was a special performance by U2 via satellite, with host Dana Carvey playing the drums for them from the Pauley Pavilion. English band The Cure was slated to perform, too, but they had to cancel their appearance, citing illness and exhaustion from the band.

Nominations
Winners are in bold text.
Video of the Year
Van Halen – "Right Now"
Best Male Video
Eric Clapton – "Tears in Heaven (Performance)"

Best Female Video
Annie Lennox – "Why"

Best Group Video
U2 – "Even Better Than the Real Thing"
Best New Artist in a Video
Nirvana – "Smells Like Teen Spirit"
Best Metal/Hard Rock Video
Metallica – "Enter Sandman"
Best Rap Video
Arrested Development – "Tennessee"
Best Dance Video
Prince and the New Power Generation – "Cream"
Best Alternative Video
Nirvana – "Smells Like Teen Spirit"
Best Video from a Film
Queen – "Bohemian Rhapsody" (from Wayne's World)
Breakthrough Video
Red Hot Chili Peppers – "Give It Away"
Best Direction in a Video
Van Halen – "Right Now" (Director: Mark Fenske)
Best Choreography in a Video
En Vogue – "My Lovin' (You're Never Gonna Get It)" (Choreographers: Frank Gatson, Travis Payne and LaVelle Smith Jnr)
Best Special Effects in a Video
U2 – "Even Better Than the Real Thing" (Special Effects: Simon Taylor)
Best Art Direction in a Video
Red Hot Chili Peppers – "Give It Away" (Art Directors: Nick Goodman and Robertino Mazati)
Best Editing in a Video
Van Halen – "Right Now" (Editor: Mitchell Sinoway)
Best Cinematography in a Video
Guns N' Roses – "November Rain" (Directors of Photography: Mike Southon and Daniel Pearl)
Viewer's Choice
Red Hot Chili Peppers – "Under the Bridge"
MTV Asia
Christina – "Jing Mai Klua"
MTV Australia
Diesel – "Man Alive"
MTV Brasil
Nenhum de Nós – "Ao Meu Redor"
MTV Europe
The Cure – "Friday I'm in Love"
MTV Internacional
El General – "Muévelo"
Video Vanguard Award
Guns N' Roses