Music videos used to stop time.
They were culture defining, career-making moments.
Iconic music videos would dominate conversations in the school playgrounds, whether it was rehearsing PSY’s Gangnam Style with your friends or pinning your curls with Diet Coke cans like Lady Gaga.
Nowadays they drop at midnight, trend on TikTok for 24 hours, then vanish into the depths of the algorithm.
So here are seven iconic music videos that kids today just wouldn’t understand…
Beyoncé – Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)
You either rehearsed this iconic dance, or you weren’t trying hard enough.
This wasn’t just a music video, it was a movement – anything Beyoncé touched became a worldwide phenomenon.
TikTok trends wish they could relate to the viral choreography that turned bedrooms into dance floors.
Kids today will never understand how a black-and-white leotard and a glove could shape the music industry.
Lady Gaga & Beyoncé – Telephone
Gen Alpha will never experience the nine minutes of pure cinematic chaos that is the Telephone music video.
This mini movie will go down in history for its plot, fashion, and dare I say is one of the best collaborations of the 2010s.
This was not just a casual YouTube video drop, this was a premiere.
The short-film ended with the iconic duo racing through the desert as the screen reads ‘To be continued…’
Update: we are still waiting girls!
Britney Spears – I’m A Slave 4 U
In true Britney fashion, this video went viral before viral was a thing.
The sweat. The snake. The stage.
This video was pure pop rebellion, but Miss Spears did not stop at the video and continued to rebel through her infamous 2001 VMAs performance.
Slave 4 U was the epitome of how raw and unfiltered celebrities were in noughties music videos.
Kids these days will never grasp the pre-Instagram video sensations – it made headlines not hashtags.
Miley Cyrus – Wrecking Ball
Yes it became a meme, but Wrecking Ball was a huge turning point for Miley Cyrus’ image.
She quite literally smashed her Disney image in real time by swinging naked on a wrecking ball.
The bleach blonde buzz, the nudity, the award-show performances – this music video was responsible for putting Hannah Montana 6-feet under and introducing the world to the new version of Miley.
Kids today might have a giggle watching this back, but anyone who was there knows the cultural earthquake that this video caused.
Katy Perry – California Gurls
Katy Perry’s California Gurls wasn’t just a music video, it was a combination of a pure sugar rush mixed with the ultimate pop princess anthem.
From laying naked, kicking her feet on a cloud to spraying whipped cream out of her iconic sparkly red bikini, kids today will never understand having this video on repeat at girly sleepovers.
As if California Gurls wasn’t legendary enough, Snoop Dogg also featured in it sporting a candy-covered suit.
It wasn’t just a song; it was a full-on mood.
A sugary escapism that defined early 2010s pop and made everyone want to be a sun-kissed California girl.
Justin Bieber – Baby
The Baby music video highlighted the true duality of Justin Bieber, with it being the most disliked and viewed YouTube video at the time of its release.
Set in a bowling alley turned nightclub, with Ludacris rapping about his first love, it wasn’t just a video, it was a global teen takeover.
Justin’s swept fringe and purple get-up caused teenage girls around the world to come down with Bieber fever.
Baby was a cultural paradox that only the 2010s could birth…Gen Alpha could never.
Justin Timberlake – Cry Me A River
Only Justin Timberlake would entice everyone into MTV by releasing the ultimate early-2000s breakup anthem with the most dramatic, moody, cinematic music video to exist.
The infamous video took place in a rain-soaked mansion, with an obvious Britney Spears lookalike making an appearance.
We all aspire to be Justin’s level of petty.
Justin managed to turn his personal pain into pop gold, and everyone went crazy for it. You really had to be there.
Music videos weren’t just background visuals, they defined 2010s pop culture.
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