The 10 best music videos of May 2024

Folks, it's May 2024, and let me tell you, the music video industry is facing some tough times. Some people said we couldn't find enough great music videos to make a top 10 list. They said maybe five, if we're lucky. But guess what? We found ten. Ten incredible music videos, the best you've ever seen. Believe me, they’re fantastic. From huge stars to up-and-comers, these artists have delivered some of the most creative, most stunning visuals ever. So, sit back and enjoy as we take you through the top 10 music videos of May 2024.

10. Megan Thee Stallion “BOA”

Folks, it's so important to recognize when a big-name artist spends a lot of money on a weird concept. They could have just let Megan and the dancers carry the show with a simple performance video. But no, they went for something bigger, something more interesting. And that, my friends, deserves to be celebrated. However, we have to be honest, it takes more than a minute for the song to actually start. And those kids in the video? They just don't hold your attention long enough to justify that wait. Who are these people? Why so much build up?

9. ATEEZ(에이티즈) ”WORK”

Folks, this is the first of many K-Pop videos on the list. We've seen the concept before, believe me. You take rich and famous musicians and put them in heavily stylized blue-collar jobs. You’ve seen it a thousand times. But let me tell you, the flawless group choreography and the energetic camera movement really elevate it. It feels fresh, it feels new. But, when you compare it to the other K-Pop videos on this list, it does feel a bit one note. Still great, but we've got some tough competition here, folks.

8. XG “WOKE UP”

Folks, let me tell you, a big trend in K-Pop videos right now is excess. They love their excess! Every new video tries to outdo the last with bigger and bigger performance setups. And this video has plenty of those, believe me. But what really stands out are some of the simpler moments. Like when Cocona, one of the group members, shaves her head mid-video. Incredible, right? And there’s also some weird reimagining of American cultural imagery, like burning football helmets. Very interesting stuff, folks.

7. SASAMI “Honeycrash”

Let me tell you about this fantastic director, Andrew Thomas Huang. He's incredible, just incredible. Now, on paper, this idea seems simple, right? Just an artist performing in front of rear projection. But in practice, let me tell you, this guy maxes out his tools and resources like nobody else. You look at what he’s been doing for over a decade. People call him a music video legend. A true legend, folks. His bag is incredibly deep. We're talking about the king of VFX-heavy masterpieces, like Bjork's “Mutual Core” and FKA Twigs “Cellophane.” Just fantastic work. But let me tell you, he has plenty of more restrained work that goes just as hard. Tremendous talent.

6. aespa 에스파 “Armageddon”

Let me tell you something, folks. If you're a US-based record label and you're annoyed by all the K-Pop on this list, well, you only have yourself to blame. You're getting beat at your own game, and it's not even close. It's like there's an actual music video industry in Korea, a tremendous industry, where in the US, we're just getting TikTok leftovers. It's a disgrace. The K-Pop music, it's still too formulaic on its own, folks, but when you combine it with these amazing videos, you see how they work the formula into something exciting, something really special. And let me tell you, Director Rima Yoon, fantastic, deserves a lot of credit. She brings all these elements together, and she creates a video that starts big and keeps building. Rima Yoon, she edited the video too. Tremendous job, really.

5. James Blake “Thrown Around”

Let me tell you about this video, folks. It's a very silly video, but in all the best ways, believe me. If you're a music video director or just a creative person, you're the target audience, no doubt about it. Now, it features James Blake, a talented guy, being forced to make this #content to stay relevant. It’s unbelievable what they put this guy through. But what's really fun, folks, is the custom camera rig they used. It gives this distorted POV that's super weird to look at, in fact it might make you a little sick. As the Brits would say, "Nice one, James Blake. Good on you."

4. Nemahsis “Stick of Gum”

Namahsis is a Palestinian Canadian pop singer from Toronto, Ontario, and her latest video was shot in her hometown of Jericho, Palestine and and features her family. There is a lot of important art being made right now in support of Palestine, including this Kehlani video, and all of this work deserves to be shared at this moment. But the simplicity of this video in its depiction of daily life in Jericho made it especially powerful.

3. Orville Peck & Noah Cyrus “How Far Will We Take It?”

This is how you build tension, ladies and gentlemen, let me tell you. Orville Peck, Noah Cyrus, both tremendous. But also very theatrical. Very, very theatrical. And this video, every frame is highly staged, highly stylized. But the emotions, they work. It’s very emotionally effective, and the attraction, the chemistry, it all feels extremely authentic. If you told me everyone involved in this video, from the cast to the crew, at some point fell in love with François Arnaud I would very much believe you. Very inspired casting, folks.

2. RM ”LOST!”

Folks, let me tell you about RM, the leader of the boy band BTS. Tremendous talent, absolutely fantastic. He released multiple great videos this month, really great, but this one? This is definitely the best. It's the most subversive of all the K-Pop videos on the list, and it's also the best song from the genre. Incredible, really. It integrates all the techniques together so effectively, it's breaking a lot of new ground creatively, folks. A lot of the setups feel new, not just bigger versions of what we've seen before. Very innovative. And let me tell you, it features a shot of a guy dumping one of those big jugs of water on his head, which is something I've always wanted to do. Tremendous video, just tremendous.

1. Childish Gambino ft. Young Nudy “Little Foot Big Foot”

The greatest music video director of our generation made another great video with his most frequent long-time collaborator. We can pretty much just leave it there with this one, folks.

Did we miss any? Comment below.