first video killed the radio star and
then it went and robbed the bank as well
night she wanna drive my bands win five
over French welcome to watchmojo.com and
today we'll be counting down our picks
for the top ten insanely expensive music
videos for this list we've looked at the
best big-budget music videos although
all of today's entries are incredibly
costly today's countdown is not purely a
statistical list of those that cost the
most
number 10 cartoon heroes aqua euro disco
pop simply doesn't get any better than
this
or more expensive cartoon Heroes was
released only a month into the current
millennium as aquas first record for
over fourteen months and after the
bubble gum brilliance of barbie girl
that would never hit the heady heights
of its predecessor it did perfectly sum
up when aqua were all about clean catchy
comic inspired fun
and the over three million dollar video
certainly captured attention and took us
to outer space
underwater everywhere in between and
definitely proved that what they do
really is what we wish to do
number nine larger-than-life Backstreet
Boys
from the very beginning as a giant
spaceship passes over the camera akin to
Star Wars while playing the Backstreet
Boys back catalogue it's clear that the
next four minutes are gonna be boyband
epic and for 2.1 million dollars it
certainly should be the crown
larger than life was released as the
second single from the band's millennium
album and this clip is a shiny sneak
peek at what the next 1000 years could
offer as the five band members each find
themselves in out-of-this-world
situations we're left to sing along and
to contemplate the weird robot world to
which we're headed watch the missus
number 8 heartbreaker
Mariah Carey featuring jay-z the
cheating boyfriend in our next song
breaks hearts but the video
accompaniment breaks the bank costing
over 2.5 million dollars it sees Mariah
Carey play herself and her Owen love
rival as part of a plot in which
Mariah's boyfriend for some unimaginable
reason tries to two-time the legendary
pop star she wanna shop there dancing uh
sure x' and animated sections but the
Mariah on Mariah ladies bathroom
showdown has to be the highlight
heartbreaker is not only set in the
movie theater it's worthy of Hollywood
itself
number seven too legit to quit
MC Hammer featuring Sasha
not only is this one of the most
expensive music videos ever it's also
one of the longest and one of the least
well remembered you cannot believe
everything that you read the tabloids
okay it's packed full of famous faces
though including John Belushi Henry
Winkler Queen Latifah and James Brown
get it davin up on it also features a
levitating mr. hammer a whole load of
pyrotechnics and the glitter gloved hand
of someone who may or may not be Michael
Jackson it's got all of that but yet
it's still regularly remembered as one
of the worst music videos of the 1990s
you just can't pay for popularity
number six it's all coming back to me
now
silenzio there were nights when the wind
was song a song written by Jim Steinman
originally recorded by girl group
Pandora's box
and forever coveted by meatloaf awaited
most of his career to perform it
it's all coming back to me now was made
most famous by french-canadian
songstress say Lindsay on two point
three million dollar video is filmed
mostly in the summer palace of the
Austrian Emperor and the clips moody
atmosphere is the epitome of Gothic
grandeur it's forever compared to the
video for another Steinman number Bonnie
Tyler's total eclipse of the heart but
the latter cost substantially less to
make
whoa
go to number five victory Puff Daddy
featuring the notorious b.i.g and Busta
Rhymes yo the Sun don't shine forever
for the song is hit and we might as well
shine together Dennis Hopper and Danny
DeVito both feature in our next video
which sees Puff Daddy at the height of
his powers and the notorious b.i.g
brought back to life
late rapper stars posthumous lien
victory which also features a feather
clad Busta Rhymes spinnin lyrics from
the shoulders of statues
in general there is a very ominous feel
about this clip which is all heavy rain
and raging fire and the grizzly ghostly
gloomy effect didn't come cheap
with production costs running beyond two
point seven million dollars
number four estranged guns and roses
directed by Andy Morahan the video for
estranged is the third installment to a
Guns and Roses trilogy don't cry and
November rain preceding it
just like the previous two it's an epic
all-encompassing narrative with Axl Rose
at its core and slash taking center
stage for some particularly incredible
seat
it doesn't get much more rock and roll
than shredding your guitar while walking
on water
by the end of this four million dollar
video your emotions have been drained
almost as much as the production teams
finances
number three black or white Michael
Jackson
Michael Jackson made a habit of making
big-budget music videos the video is for
both thriller and bad were the most
expensive ever seen at the time of the
release but Jacko's costliest video as a
solo performer accompanies the 1991
single black or white costing four
million dollars and directed by John
Landis who also took the chair for
thriller it sees the moonwalking pop
icon dances way across the planet
aided by classic era Macaulay Culkin yes
clocking in at 11 minutes the video has
the rare distinction of debuting
simultaneously to a global audience of
500 million people across 27 different
countries
despite it stopped
number two die another day Madonna
another icon and another star
consistently rewriting the record books
for music video expense 1995's bedtime
story and 1989's express yourself both
smash spending records when they were
released but the video for the 2002
James Bond theme die another day almost
cost more than the other two combined
it's an entirely original Madonna clip
though the influence bond is clear and
another example of seeing double as the
singer does battle with herself with a
6.1 million dollar price tag there has
only ever been one music video more
expensive than this
before we unveil our top pick
here are a few honorable mentions now
that you tired I hope you buddy do
keeping my cousin keeping you moving
this work with your women in nowhere
number one scream Michael Jackson and
Janet Jackson Michael Jackson appears on
our pricey podium for a second time but
he shares first place with his sister
Janet the ultra-modern monochrome video
accompaniment to screen reportedly
required 7 million dollars to make and
although director Mark Romanek has
refuted its status as the most expensive
of all time it's listed in the Guinness
World Records as being exactly that
the Jackson siblings really look the
part though and it's not hard to see
where all the money went scream is an
abundance of special effects an RT
cinematography
money can't buy you happiness but it can
get you a place in music video history
so do you agree with our list which
costly clip did we miss shots an gotta
go to know and New York is the city
every knodel's for more outrageously
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