Which act won the first VMA for Best New Artist in a Video?

Eurythmics won the first MTV Video Music Award for Best New Artist in a Video.

The duo won at the inaugural 1984 VMAs for “Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This),” their breakthrough single from the album Sweet Dreams. Eurythmics consisted of singer Annie Lennox and musician-producer Dave Stewart, whose stark visual style helped make the pair instantly recognizable on early MTV.

The category was originally titled Best New Artist in a Video, a name that emphasized the growing role of music-video exposure in launching performers. Eurythmics defeated nominees including Cyndi Lauper, Madonna, and Wang Chung.

Cyndi Lauper is an especially common wrong answer because she was one of the ceremony’s biggest stars: she won Best Female Video for “Girls Just Want to Have Fun” and was the most-nominated artist of the night. Madonna was also nominated, but Eurythmics took the category’s inaugural trophy.