20 iconic music videos that should be adapted into feature films

Michael Jackson always set the bar high by turning his music videos into short films. For his single “Thriller,” Jackson is at the movie theater with his girlfriend, however, she walks out because she’s afraid of the film they just watched. As they’re walking outside and pass a graveyard, zombies rise from their graves and surround them. And in a moment, Jackson turns into a zombie himself and starts dancing with them. The girlfriend is spooked and runs into an abandoned house, before she wakes up and realizes everything she witnessed was a nightmare.

Actress Alicia Silverstone stars in Aerosmith’s music video for their 1994 single “Crazy.” Silverstone is seen ditching school with one of her friends as they end up shopping, entering an amateur pole-dancing contest, staying the night at a motel, and skinny-dipping in a lake with a hot guy. 

Childish Gambino’s music video for “This Is America” is the type of visual that one has to watch numerous times to truly understand all the storylines that are occurring. The premise not only showcases the chaotic events that occur in the world, such as violence, riots, and police brutality, but it also displays how people react differently to said events. 

In 2005, rock band Green Day one of their biggest hit records, “Wake Me Up When September Ends.” The video portrays a young couple in love who vow to never leave each other. However, another scene shows the woman visibly upset after she finds out her boyfriend enlisted in the military, utlimately breaking their promise to each other. 

In Monica’s music video for “Everything To Me,” she plays the wife of athlete Chad “Ochocino” Johnson,” who is dealing with an obsessed stalker. Different scenes showcase the woman following and stalking the family, and another scene shows Johnson and Monica going to court to try to get rid of the stalker for good. 

Justin Timberlake recruits actress Scarlett Johansson to play his love interest in “What Goes Around…Comes Around.” The scenes begin with Timberlake meeting Johansson at a burlesque club, and although the actress doesn’t seem interested in him at first, they eventually leave together to go to his house for a late-night rendezvous. In another scene, Timberlake catches Johansson kissing another man whom he had introduced her to. After Timberlake punches the guy, Johansson speeds off in her Corvette, but ends up getting into a crash and is ejected from the vehicle. 

Kelly Rowland’s video for her single “Stole” portrays teenagers having their lives stolen from them due to different events. The first teenager, Jonathan, gets up to go to school and sees that his mom has been beaten by his father. When he arrives at school, he walks into a bathroom stall and shoots himself. Mary is another teenager who goes to the doctor’s office and finds out that she’s pregnant, ultimately ending her dream of being a movie star. The final teenager in the video is Greg, an up-and-coming NBA recruit who gets shot and killed by a rival classmate. 

Christina Aguilera’s music video for “Hurt” displays the downside of dealing with grief. In the visual, Aguilera portrays a performer who receives a telegram informing her about the death of her father. It then goes into flashbacks of Aguilera as a little girl spending time with her father. The scene then flashes back to her reality of performing at the show, and her father is in the audience watching on, but she then gets pulled away by fans.

In 2008, Beyoncé released her album I Am…Sasha Fierce, which included the single “If I Were a Boy.” In the music video, Beyoncé portrays a police officer who ignores her husband and flirts with her police partner. When her husband confronts her about it, the video then sees the roles reversed as her husband plays the cop. The video truly depicts the double standards between men and women.  

Michael Jackson called on a number of celebrities to join him in the video for “Remember the Time.” The video is set in Egypt as Jackson's character is sent to entertain a pharaoh (Eddie Murphy) and his wife Nefertari (Iman). While other performers tried their best to entertain them, anyone who seemed boring was quickly executed by the royals. When Jackson shows up as a wizard for his performance, he goes to Nefertari and kisses her hand, much to the dismay of the pharaoh. Jackson then runs away as he gets chased by the guards, and then meets Nefertari, where they share a passionate kiss. Once the guards finally catch Jackson, he then magically turns into sand. 

In the video for Mariah Carey’s hit single “We Belong Together,” the singer is seen preparing to get married. It’s a continuation of the “It’s Like That” video in which Carey is seen at her bachelorette party with an ex-lover. In “We Belong Together,” the ex-lover is watching the wedding ceremony from a stairwell. But when Carey meets her fiance at the alter, she soon realizes she would rather be with her ex and runs off with him. 

In the music video for Logic’s single “1-800-273-8255,” it follows a teenager who struggles with being accepted by his family due to his sexuality. With the nature of the song, the teen is seen contemplating taking his life, before he eventually calls the suicide prevention hotline. At the end of the video, it flashes to the future in which the teen is now an adult and is marrying the love of his life (with his family’s support). 

History shows that audiences love movies that depict people trying to survive in an unknown location. Girl group Destiny’s Child released their single “Survivor” in 2001, and the video showcases them experiencing the aftermath of a shipwreck and attempting to survive on a deserted island. 

One of Eminem’s signature songs came into 2000 when he released the song “Stan.” The song and music video tell the story of a guy named Stanley who’s an obsessed fan of Eminem. In the video, Stanley dyes his hair blonde like rapper, has a room plastered with posters of him, and writes letters to him. Stanley ends up getting upset that Eminem never writes him back, so he takes his girlfriend in the car with him and he ends up driving off a bridge. By the time Eminem writes back, he realizes Stanley was on the news for a murder-suicide. 

Lady Gaga and Beyoncé play two friends who are committing crimes in the video for “Telephone.” At the beginning of the video, Gaga gets sent to prison, but she’s soon bailed out by Beyoncé's character Honey Bee. The two then go to a diner where Honey Bee meets with her boyfriend to poison his drink. When the drink doesn’t kill him, Gaga poisons the food of all the patrons, and once everybody dies, she and Honey Bee flee the scene. As they’re in the car, police sirens are heard in the background, until the video shows end credits saying “To be continued…” 

The music video for Diddy’s 1997 hit song “Been Around the World” features a number of cameos including Quincy Jones, Viviva A. Fox, Wyclef Jean, and Jennifer Lopez. Jones calls Diddy to inform him that he’s been instructed to protect the princess of Tunisia, portrayed by Lopez. When Diddy and Mase arrive at the palace, they notice an intruder trying to slip something into the princess’s drink. The intruduer is caught and Lopez realizes her life was saved. 

Panic! At The Disco’s frontman Brandon Urie showcases his acting skills in the video for “Say Amen (Saturday Night).” The video begins with a news report that an ancient artifact key was stolen. It then goes into armed men breaking into Urie’s house, in which he has to fight or kill them off. Urie’s girlfriend then shows up and notices that he’s the key around his neck, she then beats him up and steals the key from him.

In 2014, Taylor Swift released her fifth album 1989, which featured the single “Wildest Dreams.” In the music video, Swift plays an actress who ends up in an affair with one of her co-stars. However, the two end up getting into an argument on set, which causes the affair to turn sour. When the two have to attend a red carpet premiere, Swift feels a certain way when she sees her co-star with his wife, she then decides to flee the theater. 

Singer and songwriter Hozier came onto the scene in 2013 with his debut single “Take Me to Church.” While the song became a massive hit on the Billboard charts, the music video brought attention to what some people may face in the LGBTQ+ community. The video follows two men who are in a relationship, but one of them gets kidnapped and attacked by a mob. 

Let’s face it, when it comes to movies, there’s nothing like a love story being depicted between two people meeting in unlikely spaces. In the music video for Alicia Keys’ 2003 hit “You Don’t Know My Name,” the singer plays a waitress who is interested in a potential partner, a customer by the name of Michael, portrayed by Yasiin Bey. A video like this could easily be be turned into film that truly expands on their love connection.