1996 MTV Video Music Awards

The Smashing Pumpkins – "Tonight, Tonight"

• Bone Thugs-n-Harmony – "Tha Crossroads"
• Foo Fighters – "Big Me"
• Alanis Morissette – "Ironic"

Beck – "Where It's At"

• Bryan Adams – "The Only Thing That Looks Good on Me Is You"
• Coolio – "1, 2, 3, 4 (Sumpin' New)"
• R. Kelly (featuring Ernie Isley and Ronald Isley) – "Down Low (Nobody Has to Know)"
• Seal – "Don't Cry"

Alanis Morissette – "Ironic"

• Björk – "It's Oh So Quiet"
• Tracy Chapman – "Give Me One Reason"
• Jewel – "Who Will Save Your Soul"

Foo Fighters – "Big Me"

• Bone Thugs-n-Harmony – "Tha Crossroads"
• The Fugees – "Killing Me Softly"
• Hootie & the Blowfish – "Only Wanna Be with You"

Alanis Morissette – "Ironic"

• Tracy Bonham – "Mother Mother"
• Garbage – "Stupid Girl"
• Jewel – "Who Will Save Your Soul"

Metallica – "Until It Sleeps"

• Alice in Chains – "Again"
• Marilyn Manson – "Sweet Dreams"
• Rage Against the Machine – "Bulls on Parade"

The Fugees – "Killing Me Softly"

• Toni Braxton – "You're Makin' Me High"
• Mariah Carey and Boyz II Men – "One Sweet Day"
• D'Angelo – "Brown Sugar"

Coolio (featuring L.V.) – "Gangsta's Paradise"

• 2Pac (featuring Dr. Dre and Roger Troutman) – "California Love"
• Bone Thugs-n-Harmony – "Tha Crossroads"
• LL Cool J – "Doin' It"

Coolio – "1, 2, 3, 4 (Sumpin' New)"

• Everything but the Girl – "Missing"
• La Bouche – "Be My Lover"
• George Michael – "Fastlove"

The Smashing Pumpkins – "1979"

• Bush – "Glycerine"
• Everclear – "Santa Monica"
• Foo Fighters – "Big Me"

Coolio (featuring L.V.) – "Gangsta's Paradise" (from Dangerous Minds)

• Brandy – "Sittin' Up in My Room" (from Waiting to Exhale)
• Bush – "Machinehead" (from Fear)
• Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen, Jr. – "Theme from Mission: Impossible" (from Mission: Impossible)

The Smashing Pumpkins – "Tonight, Tonight"

• Björk – "It's Oh So Quiet"
• Busta Rhymes – "Woo Hah!! Got You All in Check"
• Foo Fighters – "Big Me"
• Garbage – "Queer"
• Radiohead – "Just"

The Smashing Pumpkins – "Tonight, Tonight" (Directors: Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris)

• Björk – "It's Oh So Quiet" (Director: Spike Jonze)
• Foo Fighters – "Big Me" (Director: Jesse Peretz)
• Alanis Morissette – "Ironic" (Director: Stéphane Sednaoui)

Björk – "It's Oh So Quiet" (Choreographer: Michael Rooney)

• Janet Jackson – "Runaway" (Choreographer: Tina Landon)
• George Michael – "Fastlove" (Choreographers: Vaughan and Anthea)
• Quad City DJ's – "C'mon N' Ride It (The Train)" (Choreographers: Quad City DJ's)

The Smashing Pumpkins – "Tonight, Tonight" (Special Effects: Chris Staves)

• The Beatles – "Free as a Bird" (Special Effects: Johnny Senered, Kristen Johnson and Ben Gibbs)
• Bone Thugs-n-Harmony – "Tha Crossroads" (Special Effects: Cameron Noble)
• Green Day – "Walking Contradiction" (Special Effects: Jefferson Wagner and Brian Boles)

The Smashing Pumpkins – "Tonight, Tonight" (Art Directors: K. K. Barrett and Wayne White)

• Björk – "It's Oh So Quiet" (Art Director: Teri Whitaker)
• The Cranberries – "Salvation" (Art Director: William Abelo)
• R.E.M. – "Tongue" (Art Director: Clam Lynch)

Alanis Morissette – "Ironic" (Editor: Scott Gray)

• Beck – "Where It's At" (Editor: Eric Zumbrunnen)
• Red Hot Chili Peppers – "Warped" (Editor: Hal Honigsberg)
• The Smashing Pumpkins – "Tonight, Tonight" (Editor: Eric Zumbrunnen)

The Smashing Pumpkins – "Tonight, Tonight" (Director of Photography: Declan Quinn)

• Brandy (featuring Wanya Morris) – "Brokenhearted" (Director of Photography: Martin Coppen)
• Eric Clapton – "Change the World" (Directors of Photography: Peter Nydrle and Marco Mazzei)
• Madonna – "You'll See" (Director of Photography: Adrian Wild)

Bush – "Glycerine"

• Bone Thugs-n-Harmony – "Tha Crossroads"
• Coolio (featuring L.V.) – "Gangsta's Paradise"
• Metallica – "Until It Sleeps"
• Alanis Morissette – "Ironic"
• The Smashing Pumpkins – "Tonight, Tonight"

Seo Taiji and Boys – "Come Back Home"

• Dewa 19 – "Cukup Siti Nurbaya"
• IE – "Chan Tang Jai"
• Put3ska – "Manila Girl"

Skank – "Garota Nacional"

• Fernanda Abreu – "Veneno da Lata"
• Baba Cósmica – "Sábado de Sol"
• Barão Vermelho – "Vem Quente Que Eu Estou Fervendo"
• Chico Science & Nação Zumbi – "Manguetown"
• Engenheiros do Hawaii – "A Promessa"
• Os Paralamas do Sucesso – "Lourinha Bombril"
• Pato Fu – "Qualquer Bobagem"
• Raimundos – "Eu Quero Ver o Oco"
• Renato Russo – "Strani Amori"
• Sepultura – "Roots Bloody Roots"
• Titãs – "Eu Não Aguento"[1]

George Michael – "Fastlove"

• Björk – "It's Oh So Quiet"
• Die Fantastischen Vier – "Sie Ist Weg"
• Jovanotti – "L'Ombelico del Mondo"
• Pulp – "Disco 2000"

Colonial Cousins – "Sa Ni Dha Pa"

• Asha Bhosle – "Piya Tu Ab To Aaja"
• Biddu – "Boom Boom"
• Indus Creed – "Sleep"
• Shaan and Style Bhai – "Roop Tera Mastana"

Kuroyume – "Pistol"

• Ken Ishii – "Extra"
• Toshinobu Kubota – "Funk It Up"
• The Mad Capsule Markets – "Walk!"
• Seiko – "Let's Talk About It"

Soda Stereo – "Ella Usó Mi Cabeza Como un Revólver"

• Los Fabulosos Cadillacs – "Mal Bicho"
• Illya Kuryaki and the Valderramas – "Abarajame"
• Maldita Vecindad y los Hijos del 5to. Patio – "Don Palabras"
• Eros Ramazzotti – "La Cosa Más Bella"

Nana Tang – "Freedom"

• Dou Wei – "Outside the Window"
• Andy Lau – "Truly Forever"
• Eric Moo – "Love Is So Heavy"
• Regina Tseng – "From Dark to Light"

• Beck – "Where It's At"[2]
• No Doubt – "Spiderwebs"/"Just a Girl"[3]

• The Smashing Pumpkins – "Tonight, Tonight"
• The Fugees (featuring Nas) – "Medley" ("Killing Me Softly"/"Fu-Gee-La"/"Ready or Not"/"If I Ruled the World (Imagine That)")
• Metallica – "Until It Sleeps"
• LL Cool J – "Doin It"
• Neil Young – "The Needle and the Damage Done" (live from the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland)
• Hootie & the Blowfish – "Sad Caper"
• Alanis Morissette – "Your House"
• Bush – "Machinehead"
• The Cranberries – "Salvation"
• Oasis – "Champagne Supernova"
• Bone Thugs-N-Harmony – "Tha Crossroads"
• Kiss – "Rock and Roll All Nite" (live from beneath the Brooklyn Bridge)

• Mariah Carey – presented Best Group Video
• Kevin Bacon and Rosie O'Donnell – presented Best New Artist in a Video
• Claudia Schiffer and Red Hot Chili Peppers (Anthony Kiedis and Flea) – presented Best Dance Video
• Béla Károlyi – appeared in several backstage vignettes with Lars Ulrich and Hootie & the Blowfish
• Toni Braxton and Dennis Rodman – presented Breakthrough Video
• Norm Macdonald (as Bob Dole) – appeared in a pre-commercial vignette about Viewer's Choice voting
• Beck and Chris Rock – presented Best R&B Video
• Michael Buffer – introduced LL Cool J
• Geena Davis – presented Best Direction in a Video
• Cosmonauts Valery Korzun and Aleksandr Kaleri – interviewed by host Dennis Miller live via satellite from the Mir space station
• Jenny McCarthy and Damon Wayans – presented Best Rap Video
• 2Pac and Snoop Doggy Dogg – presented Best Hard Rock Video
• Seal – introduced Alanis Morissette
• Darrell Hammond (as Bill Clinton) – appeared in a pre-commercial vignette about Viewer's Choice voting
• Beavis and Butt-head – introduced the International Viewer's Choice Award winners
• VJs Rahul Khanna (India), George Williams (Japan), Eden Harel (Europe), Sabrina Parlatore (Brasil), Edith Serrano (Latin America), Mike Kasem (Asia) and Stacy Hsu (Mandarin) – announced their respective region's Viewer's Choice winner
• Tim Robbins – presented Best Alternative Video
• Janeane Garofalo – introduced The Cranberries
• Gwyneth Paltrow – introduced the winners of the professional categories
• Aerosmith (Steven Tyler and Joe Perry) – presented Viewer's Choice
• Ewan McGregor and Ewen Bremner – introduced Oasis
• Van Halen – presented Best Male Video
• Susan Sarandon – presented Best Female Video
• Jay Leno – appeared in a "coming up" vignette hyping the Video of the Year award and the Kiss performance
• Sharon Stone – presented Video of the Year

• John Norris and Alison Stewart – presented Best Video from a Film