Pop Personalities Who Changed the Music Video Era

A music video can turn a singer into a character, make a dance inseparable from a song, or let a performer argue with their own public image. These selections trace those possibilities from early promotional films through television rotation to online releases. Each entry starts with a particular video and a reason to watch the performer within it. The list favours theatrical ambition and deliberate visual choices, but spectacle is only one route: Sinéad O'Connor's close-up and George Michael's decision to stay off screen matter alongside elaborate choreography and effects. Pop is used broadly here, including rock, R&B and hip-hop figures whose videos reached a wider popular audience. American and British performers predominate, with Icelandic, Swedish, Australian and Spanish examples too. Directors, choreographers, designers and production teams helped create these images; a memorable star presence is not the same as sole authorship.