It's not too late to give these songs a music video. Welcome to MsMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for popular or hit songs that have not received a proper video clip.
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00:00Welcome to Ms. Mojo, and today we're counting down our picks for popular or
00:09hit songs that have not received a proper video clip.
00:18Number 10.
00:19Mad City.
00:20Kendrick Lamar.
00:21Kendrick Lamar didn't really need a music video for Mad City
00:24in order for the song to become a hit.
00:27The California native's reputation as one of hip-hop's most talented MCs was steadily
00:34rising around the time his second album, Good Kid, Mad City, dropped in 2012.
00:40This title track, as a result, was anxiously awaited by Lamar's fanbase.
00:45They weren't disappointed either, and Mad City was streamed and downloaded in earnest.
00:57Music critics also responded in kind, and Mad City was a creative success for Lamar
01:03without any sort of initial video accompaniment.
01:10Number 9.
01:11Uninvited.
01:12Alanis Morissette.
01:13The world of film soundtracks can be a weird place for some artists.
01:25Uninvited by Alanis Morissette became a hit from the City of Angels soundtrack.
01:30This was despite there being no official video clip for the song,
01:33and for Uninvited not being released as a standalone single in the United States.
01:44Still, the song became notable at the time for being the first bit of new music released
01:53by Morissette since her smash hit debut album, Jagged Little Pill.
01:57Uninvited also wasn't the only song taken from the City of Angels soundtrack to become a hit,
02:02since Iris was absolutely a huge deal for the Goo Goo Dolls.
02:14This essentially meant that Uninvited became somewhat lost in the music video shuffle.
02:27Number 8.
02:28Body Like a Backroad.
02:29Sam Hunt.
02:30There's a number of reasons why Body Like a Backroad by Sam Hunt didn't receive a
02:35fully-fledged music video at the time of its release in 2017.
02:44For starters, there is a general decline in importance with regard to the medium's
02:50commercial efficacy. We just don't consume music in the same way now as we did during the 1980s
02:56or 90s. That said, many artists continue to utilize the medium to promote their work,
03:02and Body Like a Backroad did receive a lyric video.
03:05Conversely, the world of radio actually retains a lot of power within the country music world,
03:18and they played the heck out of Body Like a Backroad.
03:21We'd still like to see this song receive the cinematic video treatment.
03:32Number 7.
03:33Break My Soul.
03:34Beyonce.
03:35Not every song requires a video to break into the public consciousness.
03:47This sentiment goes double for Beyonce, since the singer's reputation pretty much precedes her
03:52in regard to both critical and commercial attention. So when Beyonce released Break
03:57My Soul as a single in 2022, it instantly resonated with her fans, thanks to streaming
04:03services like Spotify and Tidal.
04:15The song's focus on a lengthy, dance-floor-friendly groove also worked well for the streaming world,
04:21and didn't really need a filmed music video in order for it to become yet another success
04:25for Beyonce. Instead, Break My Soul received a lyric video and a visualizer.
04:33Number 6.
04:42Holiday.
04:42Madonna.
04:43The music video medium was still relatively new when Sire slash Warner Brothers released
04:48Holiday as a single back in 1983.
04:58Sure, music videos were exploding, but it also wasn't a foregone conclusion that
05:02every single would receive this sort of treatment. Instead, Madonna went on a
05:06series of club dates to promote Holiday, while also consistently performing it on tour.
05:19This allowed the single to rise in the charts and achieve radio success for the material girl.
05:24Holiday is largely seen by Madonna fans today as a defining song for the artist's early era,
05:29with armchair historians pointing out how the song probably should've been
05:33officially filmed for a video.
05:44Number 5.
05:46Redbone.
05:46Childish Gambino.
05:48It took some time, initially at least, for Redbone by Childish Gambino to become a hit.
06:00The song was released as a single and steadily gained popularity thanks to radio play and
06:06streaming. This was prior to the incendiary success of Childish Gambino's video for
06:11This Is America in 2018. That clip made headlines due to its cinematic artistry and political
06:17content, while Redbone was simply a great song that plied its R&B trade in a super successful
06:23manner. Redbone was also featured on the soundtrack to the Jordan Peele horror film
06:34Get Out, and this helped the tune reach even more ears.
06:46Number 4.
06:47Wannabe Startin' Somethin'.
06:49Michael Jackson.
06:50The story of Michael Jackson's Wannabe Startin' Somethin' is similar to that of Madonna's,
06:54with regards to the freshness of the music video medium.
07:05Some artists jumped onto this train early, even during the 1970s,
07:09but Wannabe Startin' Somethin' didn't get a video back when it was released in 1983.
07:20This didn't stop the tune from becoming a hit, of course, despite some initial controversy.
07:27Wannabe Startin' Somethin' soared on commercial radio, but Jackson was accused of nicking his
07:32Mama Say Mama Sa Mama Koo Sa vocal hook from jazz and funk legend Mano Dibongo.
07:43Jackson settled out of court with Dibongo,
07:46and Wannabe Startin' Somethin' became a huge hit with no video.
07:50Number 3.
08:04Love on the Brain.
08:05Rihanna.
08:15There's been a wealth of interesting music videos released by Rihanna over the years.
08:19There are plenty of clips that sell both the sizzle and the stake of the singer's infectious
08:24dance-pop sound. Love on the Brain was one of Rihanna's songs that actually didn't get this
08:29treatment, although this didn't stop the song from becoming famous within her circle of fans.
08:33The song's old-school soul sound actually seems tailor-made for an equally evocative video clip,
08:49yet Love on the Brain remains a sort of what-if scenario for a lost creative opportunity.
08:59Number 2.
09:00Set Fire to the Rain.
09:01Adele.
09:02There seems to be a running theme with regards to the career of Adele
09:05and the lack of music videos released to promote her work.
09:13Songs like Rumor Has It and Turning Tables became hits despite a lack of video clips,
09:18and this trend continued with Set Fire to the Rain.
09:21All three songs were taken from Adele's smash hit Sophomore Effort 21.
09:32Adele had recently gone under the knife for vocal cord nodules,
09:36making it impossible for her to film clips to promote these songs.
09:40Not that it mattered much because Set Fire to the Rain still proved to be yet another win for Adele.
09:45And while there is a live performance video, the original recording still lacks one.
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10:10Number 1.
10:11Cruel Summer.
10:12Taylor Swift.
10:13It was probably the availability of Taylor Swift's eras tour that allowed for 2019's
10:19album-cut Cruel Summer to gain significant commercial traction.
10:30Casual fans and newcomers gravitated towards what Swifties already knew,
10:35that this song, alongside Getaway Car, was really good.
10:39This was despite neither song receiving a proper music video during their album's
10:43promotional cycles. The hunt for deep cuts or album tracks that are as good,
10:48if not better, than the released singles, speaks to the power of today's music fandom.
10:59And it's this dedication to mining gold from an artist's
11:02disdain for the music industry that made it possible for Swifties to gain
11:06Is there any album, song, or single that you think deserves a music video? Let us know in the comments.
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