20 space-themed music videos that shaped pop’s sci-fi obsession

Missy Elliott has always been the type of artist with a visionary eye that some people didn’t understand, but many people praised for her creativity and risktaking. In the video for her single “Sock It 2 Me,” Elliott is seen with fellow rapper Lil' Kim roaming a planet wearing space suites, and being chased by robotic creatures. Da Brat then comes into a scene to help save them from the robots. 

In Britney Spears' music video for “Oops!...I Did It Again,” it starts off with an astronaut who lands on Mars and finds a stone that features the cover of the singer’s album. The ground then shakes and Spears appears with a group of dancers to perform the song. Spears then meets the astronaut later in the video as he gifts her a blue diamond, a nod to a scene the Titanic film. The visual was nominated for several MTV Video Music Awards including Best Pop Video and Best Dance Video. 

In 2016, Rihanna released the single “Sledgehammer” as promotion for the sci-fi film Star Trak Beyond. To match the film’s theme, the music video showcases Rihanna on a planet as swarm ships fly around her. 

Rock band Foo Fighters make their own Apollo 11 moon mission in the music video for their single “Next Year.” While the band is in the spacecraft, they experience no gravity as they travel to space while playing their instruments. Once the band lands on the moon, they plant a Foo Fighters flag on it, before returning back to Earth and being heralded as heroes. 

Hype Williams directed the music video for TLC’s hit single “No Scrubs.” It showcases members T-Boz, Left Eye, and Chilli in a space station as they wear different metallic outfits and are seen walking sideways on the walls and ceilings. “No Scrubs” won the MTV Video Music Award for Best Group Video at the 1999 ceremony. 

Pop singer Katy Perry takes the space-age theme to a different level on her single “E.T.” in which she appears as an alien in the music video. Perry is traveling through galaxies before landing on a planet, while Kanye West is seen floating inside a spacecraft. “E.T.” ended up winning several MTV Video Music Awards including Best Collaboration and Best Special Effects. 

It’s hard to believe that the only collaboration between Michael Jackson and his sister Janet came in 1995 with their single “Scream.” Known as one of the most expensive music videos ever created, the video was directed by Mark Romanek. The video begins with a spacecraft traveling across galaxies, and viewers see that Michael and Janet are in inside of it. Throughout the video, the siblings are seen walking up walls, destroying guitars, playing a video game, and breaking into a dance sequence. 

On Jamiroquai’s 1996 single “Virtual Insanity,” the group expresses how technology will reduce human connection and the preservation of the planet. Although the video doesn’t necessarily show the group in space, it does give space-like elements, such as the iconic floor-moving concept.  

The music video for Ariana Grande’s single “Break Free” finds the singer on a planet fighting against extraterrestrial creatures and robots. However, she then gets caught by the robot and he brings her to captivity to be held hostage by the planet’s leader. Grande eventually escapes the chains she’s held by and takes down the leader. She’s later whisked away in a spaceship and parties with Zedd. 

The music video for Muse’s single “Sing for Absolution” begins with scenes of a futuristic city being targeted with missiles. It then transitions into a scene in which Muse is traveling through galaxies while inside a spacecraft. On their space journey, they start getting hit with asteroids and try to dodge them, before the spacecraft crashes to Earth.

Will Smith starred alongside Tommy Lee Jones in the action comedy film Men In Black, so it was only right that he created the movie’s theme song of the same name. In the music video, Smith is seen with fellow MIB agents as they walk through their workplace building. The video then transitions to a warehouse scene where Mikey the alien comes near Smith and the agents, Mikey eventually joins them in their choreographed dance. However, the alien then flees and Smith runs after it, but fails to catch it. 

Outkast has always been the type of hip-hop group to stand out from the rest. In the music video for their 2003 single “Prototype,” Andre 3000 travels to Earth with his extraterrestrial family from fictional planet Proto. Upon landing, they discover a human being who was taking photographs of them, she then shows them different things such as glasses and instruments. Andre and the woman share a kiss and she instantly gets pregnant, and by the next morning, the baby is born. Andre decides to stay on Earth as his family leaves in their spacecraft to travel back to Porto. 

In 1998, rock band Aerosmith released their single “I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing” as the theme song for the film Armageddon. In addition to showing scenes from the film, the video also shows the band performing while surrounded by NASA banners.

Janelle Monae has always been the type of artist who moves at the beat of her own drum. It was no different in 2008 when she released her single “Many Moons,” where the video highlights more of an afrofuturistic world, which is told in the perspective of her android prototype character Cindi Mayweather. 

Singer and songwriter Finneas uses a different kind of idea for his space-themed video “2001.” He showcases the behind-the-scenes looks of what goes into artists making videos with the premise of being an astronaut. Actress Kate Hudson plays the role of the director who works with Finneas to get the video just right. 

In 2019, rap duo EarthGang released their third album Mirrorland, which featured the single “Up.” In the music video, a class takes a field trip to a museum, but one student messes with one of the exhibits, causing the artwork to come alive. The student is then chased by extraterrestrial creatures, before he gets powers to control them as dancers. The student then believes the entire sequence is a dream, as he’s seen being stared at by his fellow classmates. 

In 1979, rock band The Police released their sophomore album Reggatta de Blanc, which featured the single “Walking on the Moon.” A title fitting for a music video filmed at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. In the video, the band is seen performing next to space rockets, as it meshes in with footage from NASA missions. 

In 2009, the Black Eyed Peas released their fifth album The E.N.D., which featured the single “Meet Me Halfway.” The music video shows each member representing different features of the solar system, such as will.i.am riding an elephant on a planet, and Taboo journeying around the sun in a spacesuit. 

In 2021, Doja Cat teamed up with SZA on their hit single “Kiss Me More.” The music video begins with an astronaut who lands on the fictional “Planet Her.” Doja and SZA appear as seductive creatures who rule the planet. After they seduce the astronaut, he appears in a glass tube alongside other men who attempted to invade the planet. 

Joseph Khan directed the music video for the Backstreet Boys’ 1999 single “Larger Than Life.” The video begins by showing a spaceship and each group member takes on a different setting within it. Nick Carter is seen dancing with robots, while Kevin Richardson is fighting off space invaders, before the group comes together for a dance sequence.