Top 10 Songs That Deserve a Music Video

MsMojo

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.

Transcript

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.

11:31Do you agree with our picks? Check out this other recent clip from MsMojo,

11:34and be sure to subscribe and ring the bell to be notified about our latest videos.

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