Production Manager

Nnena Nwakodo

Folkert Verdoorn, Simon Becks and A$AP Rocky&nbsp;himself direct a star-studded promo for the rapper's lead-off track from his first album in eight years.&nbsp;The video fir Punk Rocky is a slice of suburban surrealism, featuring Winona Ryder as an adoring neighbour to punk-styled Rocky and his pogoing pals - &nbsp;also featuring a stream of cameos, including&nbsp;from Thundercat, A$AP Nast, the Williams Twins&nbsp;and a ripped Danny Elfman on drums.&nbsp;In the madcap narrative that unfolds, Rocky and his buddies run up against the law and Ryder's grotesquely pumped-up, super-angry&nbsp;husband.&nbsp;Treading the line between body horror, action film and dark comedy, it's an feverish amalgam of different inspirations, coming together to form something immediately iconic and exciting.&nbsp;A week into January, and if this is a sign of things to come in 2026, it's going to be a memorable year for music videos.&nbsp;

United States

Brittany Porter

Tallulah Bernard

Donna Lisa

Simon Becks

Folkert Verdoorn

Tara Sheree

Nathan Scherrer

Maggie Curwin

Hands 

Magna Studios

freenjoy

Eddie Reid

Otis Burkes

Samantha Lepre

Fouad Gaber

Cabin Editing Company

Dante Gianni

Ethos Studio

Frame23

Alternative

Hip Hop

A$AP Rocky 'Punk Rocky' by Folkert Verdoorn, Simon Becks

Asap-Rocky-'Punk-Rocky'-by-Folkert-Verdoorn,simon-Becks

Poet, model and trans activist Kai-Isaiah Jamal adds music to their achievements as rapper Kissin Teef, accompanied by a vivid portrait of London life directed by Hector Dockrill and shot by Joel Honeywell.In the video for Jungle, Dockrill conjures an all-encompassing scene on a London estate in the realm of Hogarth. Honeywell's camera roams across the location,&nbsp;picking out numerous characters, their&nbsp;activities and interactions, while Jamal comments upon&nbsp;the scene as the narrator, both part of and separate from&nbsp;everything&nbsp;around them."JUNGLE&nbsp;is about the cultural and racial tensions in working class areas in London, its a love letter the to the beauty of the city being a melting pot of culture and reclaims what being British is," comments&nbsp;Isaiah-Jamal. "In response to a viral LBC caller Darren who you hear sampled in the chorus breaks, it is a song about resistance, community and standing fearlessly against racial hatred whilst reflecting on how marginalised communities have built this city into the radiant and alive patchwork it is today."

United Kingdom

Sarah Asmail

Maggie McDermott

George Blomiley

Rudy Simba Betty

Worldwide Production Agency

Hector Dockrill

Becky Tong

Poppy Haddigan

Daisy Haddigan

Joel Honeywell

Peggy Digioia

Ty Hack

Alex Finlayson

Leroy Weir

Naomi Smith

Mata Marielle

Cassandra Scalia

Hila Karmand

Rich Woolway

Stitch Editing

Jason Wallis

Electric Theatre Collective

Foundation.fm Records

Kissin Teef 'Jungle' by Hector Dockrill

kissin' teef - 'JUNGLE'

Directing duo Folkert Verdoorn and&nbsp;Simon Becks direct a feat of cinematic era-twisting and genre-bending absurdity for Dutch R&amp;B/hiphop artist&nbsp;Cero Ismael.&nbsp;Verdoorn and Becks have set their video for&nbsp;Driving Round Looking For Unknown in an alternate reality, appearing to be in a war-torn town in Napoleonic times, with touches of futuristic tech.&nbsp;In this gritty world,&nbsp;Ismael is portrayed as a disfigured unfortunate, dragged along by a&nbsp;carriage through the streets - but&nbsp;which is pulled by drones, which throws the setting into the realm of a steampunk sci-fi reality.The result is both playful and thought-provoking as we follow Cero's uncertain progress&nbsp;through this textured, gritty yet anachronistic, sci-fi tinged world. It's a breathtaking introduction to the fertile imagination&nbsp;of Verdoorn and Becks - and attention-grabbing vehicle&nbsp;for Ismael.[imgtoken data:1]"At its heart is the idea of alienation - a monster, like an artist, often feels out of place," the directors explain.&nbsp;"Turning the artist into a monster felt like the perfect way to explore this theme of not belonging.""We leaned into the absurdity, playing with humour and contrast, because why not? When we joke around, we inevitably end up with some ridiculous peepee and poopoo moments. It might not be highbrow, but it’s us, and it works."This video is our way of asking: what does it mean to belong? And what happens when you feel like you don’t? The answers aren’t simple, but we believe the journey should be as playful as it is profound."

Netherlands

Kino Haverkorn

Ami Keita

Gem Faces

Anne Baarslag

Luc Hueber

Cleo Duijvelshoff

Luc Krystof Hueber

100%

Le Berg Gmbh

Daan De Boer

Douwe Hennink

Robbin Van Mechelen

Kim Wisse

Max Blomaard

Tim Zentner

Edward Biesterbosch

Joey Janssen

Martijn Martens

Angelique Van Der Kaaij

Sylvia Porsius

Minx Ijzer

Milan Beltman

Joppo In De Grot

De Grot

Glassworks

Hugo Rodriguez

Cero Ismael 'Driving Round Looking For Unknown' by Folkert Verdoorn, Simon Becks

DRIVING ROUND LOOKING FOR UNKNOWN

Directing duo UNCANNY direct a trippy and overstimulating promo for Danny Brown.&nbsp;Taking influence from old school video games, the eye-popping visuals are an anachronistic clash of lo-fi, nostalgic graphics and hyperactive overlays, cut together like an old-school MTV show.&nbsp;Spanning a huge breadth of pop culture inspiration and stylised vignettes, it's an ambitious and brilliantly executed video, that burns bright and crashes into a hallucinogenic climax.&nbsp;

Rick Ramirez

UNCANNY

Will Noyce

Pulse Films

Bigkid

Adrien Nieto

Warp Records

Danny Brown 'Tantor' by UNCANNY

Danny-Brown-'Tantor'-by-Uncanny

IDLES return, on a mission to improve our terrible, benighted lives. We need to get dancing.So with Dancer blaring from every speaker in town, and the band grooving to their own beat, like a gang of Droogs, the townspeople are soon throwing their own shapes - whether they like it or not.Jocelyn Anquetil does a lovely job in capturing the ambiguous essence of IDLES. They appear somewhat conflicted about wielding power over people through their powerful music... but they are going to do it anyway.&nbsp;

Angelica Wolanska

Clel Allen

Ellie Walker

Jocelyn Anquetil

James De Winton

John Moule

Steve Cameron

Pieter Snyman

Zsuza Magyar

Joe Mulvihill

Josh Tue

Ellie Koslowsky

Hebe Wallace

Owen O'Sullivan

TenThree

Adam Clarke

Gabriel Rollinos

Ellen Oliver

Kene'h

Domenico

Joshua Faleatua

Tess Gustard

Partisan

Rock

IDLES 'Dancer' by Jocelyn Anquetil

Idles-'Dancer'-by-Jocelyn-Anquetil

Oh my lord. Did Ants really do that? Yes, he really did. Apparently those are all his own salsa moves.Oh yeah, and that thing where he's on the top of the plane flying through the Alps? He did that too.Incredible stuff. The next episode in a music video adventure with Tom Emmerson and London rapper AntsLive that really got going with Number One Candidate - multi-nominated at the upcoming UKMVAs23 - is jawdropping.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Tom Emmerson

Joseph J Goldman

Jaime Ackroyd

Rosa Productions

Svetlana Dramlic

Lisa Welham

Santiago Munoz Hernandez

Georgia Hodge

Kodak

Cinelab Film and Digital

Tim Smith

No.8

AntsLive 'Captain Ants' by Tom Emmerson

Captain Ants - AntsLive (Official Video)

Jocelyn Anquetil concocts a hyperactive and scuzzily sexy visual confection&nbsp;for the irrepressible Tkay Maidza.Ring-a-Ling&nbsp;is taken from the new album Sweet Justice,&nbsp;out 3rd November via 4AD.&nbsp;

Arabella Kemp

Rik Green

Dulcie Menzie

Jack Reynolds

Tanmoye Khan

Josh Brooks

Thomas Northam

Ranya El-refaey

Holly Adamthwaite

Sophia Sinot

Vodka

Georgia Olive

Blessing Kambanga

Sue King

Sara Faulkner

Sarah Adewunmi

Ruth Wardell

Carla Thomas

Tkay Maidza 'Ring-a-Ling' by Jocelyn Anquetil

Tkay Maidza - Ring-a-Ling (Official Video)

James Blake's surprising switch back to his dance music roots&nbsp;heralds the very welcome return to music videos by Oscar Hudson, fully exploiting&nbsp;Blake's new direction with a brilliantly nihilistic, sexy, beautifully made live action cartoon for Big Hammer.Hudson's video follows the exploits of a stylish, devil-may-care criminal gang, as they crash their car into various buildings during an ongoing crime spree - or simply to have a spot of lunch - mainly from the perspective of the dash-cam, which eventually assumes a life of its own.As with quite a few of the standout videos this year, it comes with a vague aura of nostalgia attached. it would certainly have been a great watch on old school MTV. And definitely to be enjoyed, for full explosive and comic effect,&nbsp;on the biggest screen you can find.As becoming a former Best Director winner at the UKMVAs (twice), it's probably one of the videos of the year so far.[imgtoken data:1]&nbsp;

Oscar Hudson

Archie Johnston Stewart

Crowns & Owls

Davud Karbassioun

James Sorton

Icon Films

Ruben Woodin Dechamps

Maria Vassileva

Philip Penev

Silviya Markova

Trim Editing

Alex Gregory

Jim Allen

Georgi Dimitrov

750MPH

Jake Ashwell

Dance

James Blake 'Big Hammer' by Oscar Hudson

James Blake - Big Hammer (Official Video)

A robot vacuum cleaner goes walkabout in search of connection, in Aube Perrie's second video for Harry Styles.&nbsp;The video for Satellite is Perrie's follow-up to <a href="https://www.promonews.tv/videos/2022/10/31/harry-styles-music-sushi-restaurant-aube-perrie/79016" target="_blank">Music For A Sushi Restaurant</a>, where Harry played a captured Merman.&nbsp;This time, he hands over the spotlight, even as he is performing to thousands of&nbsp;fans on his current arena tour.&nbsp;Backstage, when a news report of the Mars Curiosity Rover appears on TV,&nbsp;the robot vacuum stops its routine business to take notice, and then takes on a life of its own.Soon we are with the little robot as it makes its determined way, out of the arena (we briefly see Harry out on stage) and into the big city, across dangerous highways, and into the surrounding country - just to get closer to that equally solitary robot on the TV. And he ends up, stargazing with none other than Mr Styles...&nbsp;This is a riveting fantasy of a quite a different type to the Sushi Restaurant video&nbsp;- warm-hearted, poignant, and probably influenced by&nbsp;several Pixar movies, including all the Toy Storys and, of course, the incredible Wall-E. But the fact is, it also looks like it was done mostly in-camera.&nbsp;Perrie gives it a beautiful visual aesthetic - and an irreverent twist -&nbsp;that sets this, and him apart from the crowd.[imgtoken data:1]&nbsp;[imgtoken data:2]

Patience Harding

Sydney Levy

Aube Perrie

Bryan Younce

Francesco Rizzo

Mathias Pieralta

Christopher Ripley

Josh Montes

Sean Hunt

Nathone Giordano

Matt Planer

Bradley Wilder

Malina Burdette

Jerry Sun

Gwen Ghelid

Harry Styles 'Satellite' by Aube Perrie

Harry-Styles-'Satellite'-by-Aube-Perrie

Jocelyn Anquetil directs a whimsical promo for the return of Archie Marshall, aka King Krule.&nbsp;The video for Seaforth opens with a montage of sleeping faces, including Marshall's own, before the illusory setting is washed away in a dusty haze. There is the dreamlike sensibility of a number of previous, supercool King Krule clips - but what follows in Seaforth is a definite sea-change.From Archie pondering the world on a sandy beach and in his country cottage, the focus switches to two Labrador dogs - mother and cute puppy -&nbsp;and their encounters with the human world. And the absurdity of it - cute pets in a King Krule vieo - is what makes the&nbsp;viewing experience so fun.&nbsp;Shot in&nbsp;both HD and lo-fi Mini DV, the video has a random, nostalgic aesthetic, and makes very good use of dog footage. We can only suspect that the experience on-set wasn't quite as laidback and charming as the final result...[imgtoken data:1]&nbsp;