Iconic Artists Throughout the Ages 

1980s 

Most people would consider Michael Jackson the artist to label the 80s decade. He introduced new dance moves, styles, rhythms, and themes to the world that simply could not be forgotten. 

These new stylistic components are expressed well in the music video for his song Billie Jean, released 1982. 

Michael Jackson's beat it feature some of his most iconic dance moves as he was walking down the street. Also, the white tap shoes made up a part of his signature style the world remembers him for. 

The most important part of this music video in my opinion, in terms of style, was the frame freezes that showed michael's dance poses. 

We all know that Michael Jackson could do some crazy and cool dance moves. We also got to see them when he preformed Billie Jean live on MTV.

 

Finally, we have also noticed from most of his music videos such as Thriller, Billie Jean, and Beat it that Michael Jackson tends to stick to a darker theme. This is surprising to most people who view his videos for the first time because his songs are peppy and up beat. 

1990s 

Kurt Cobain left the world speechless after his short couple years of fame came to a sudden end. However in his short spot light, he managed to leave his mark on the world by introducing a new genre of music called "grunge." 

The video above is a clip from Nirvana's most famous performance. It shows the "Chill" and very carefree vibe Kurt presented to the world. 

Nirvana was and still is seen as a very controversial band because of the topics they choose to sing about, the things they choose to represent, and the attitude they give off. In my opinion, that is what made them so famous. 

2000s

Britney Spears comes to mind most of the time when one's asked who some memorable 2000s artists were. Not different from Madonna, Britney spears wore outfits seen as controversial for the time period. She also rocked a jumpsuit that has come back in fashion in the recent years with artists such as Katy Perry and Nicki Minaj drawing inspiration from her early 2000s outfits. 

Also, the outer space theme she chose in this video has recurred many times in the recent music videos.  

Additionally, older music videos tend to have viewer closet changes than some of the newer ones. Michael Jackson pretty much stayed in one outfit throughout all of Billie Jean. A lot of music videos from the 80s and early 90s tended to feature 1-2 outfits unless the characters changing clothes fit the story line. As we approach the 2000s to modern day, we see random shot cuts that seem to be centered around just an outfit change. Here is an example in Britney's video: