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Duran Duran - 'The Wild Boys' -

Released in 1984, the video of the British band was a huge hit, and so was the song. The price tag? US$1 million.

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Michael Jackson - 'Bad' -

MJ hired Hollywood directing superstar Martin Scorsese to direct this music video in 1987. The original video is 18-minutes long and cost around US$2.2 million.

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Guns N' Roses - 'November Rain' -

GNR were absolutely huge in the '90s, and 'November Rain' is one of the band's most iconic videos. Such grandeur cost around US$1.5 million.

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MC Hammer - '2 Legit 2 Quit' -

Hammer's 14-minute-long music video hit the US$2.5 million mark. Even James Brown starred in '2 Legit 2 Quit.'

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Michael Jackson - 'Thriller' - Michael Jackson's 'Thriller' was a game changer when it came to big productions for music videos. It is to this day one of the most iconic music videos ever made. It cost approximately US$1 million.

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Madonna - 'Bedtime Story' -

Madonna's 1995 video took six days to shoot, and it premiered in movie theaters at the time. It cost US$5 million!

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Celine Dion - 'It's All Coming Back to Me Now' -

'It's All Coming Back to Me Now' was shot in the Czech Republic. It cost US$2.3 million.

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Fugees - 'Ready or Not' -

Choppers, jet skis–you name it. This video was a big production, but so was its success. Price tag? US$1.3 million.

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Busta Rhymes (ft Janet Jackson) - 'What's It Gonna Be?!' -

'What's It Gonna Be?!' pushed boundaries when it came to special effects. Who can forget that silver liquid giving Busta Rhymes shining armor? Of course, all the special effects came at a price. US$2.3 million, to be more precise.

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Will Smith - 'Miami' -

'Miami' is part of the US$2 million club. The single was part of Smith's 1997 debut solo album 'Big Willie Style.'

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Puff Daddy (feat. The Notorious B.I.G. and Busta Rhymes) - 'Victory' -

Starring Dennis Hopper, Danny DeVito, and, of course, Sean Combs himself, 'Victory' was indeed a big production. The cost? US$2.7 million.

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Sisqó - 'Thong Song' -

This 1999 song marked the turn of MTV towards R&B and hip hop. This is one of the many music videos that cost around US$1 million to make.

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TLC - 'Unpretty' -

TLC has made a few expensive videos, including their 1995 hit 'Waterfalls,' which cost around US$1 million. As for 'Unpretty,' the price tag went up to US$1.6 million.

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Guns N' Roses - 'Estranged' -

This is Guns N' Roses' most expensive video to date. An estimated budget of US$4 million covered the chopper and rescue squad, the oil tanker, and the aircraft used in the video. Not to mention the tons of special effects. All this lasting almost 10 minutes.

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Mariah Carey (feat Jay-Z) - 'Heartbreaker' -

You might remember the singer spilling soda on her boyfriend in the movie theater. The price tag for the video? US$2.5 million.

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Backstreet Boys - 'Larger Than Life' -

The '90s boy band's video featured a plethora of special effects and cool robot-like suits. The price to pay was also astronomical: US$2.1 million.

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Michael Jackson - 'Black or White' -

'Black or White' is one of MJ's most iconic music videos. From Macaulay Culkin playing guitar, to a plethora of special effects, the 11-minute music video cost a grand total of US$4 million.

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Aqua - 'Cartoon Heroes' -

The 'Barbie Girl' band splashed a lot of cash in their video for 'Cartoon Heroes.' US$3.5 million, to be more precise.

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Limp Bizkit - 'Rollin'' -

Who can forget Fred Durst et al cruising through New York City? 'Rollin'' won Best Rock Video at the 2001 MTV Video Music Awards. The nu metal band's video cost US$3 million to make.

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Janet Jackson - 'Doesn't Really Matter' -

You might remember the song from the 2000 movie 'Nutty Professor II: The Klumps,' but did you know that the music video cost a whopping US$2.5 million to make?

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George Michael - 'Freeek!' -

'Freeek' is one of six music videos that reached the US$2 million mark. It was directed by Joseph Kahn, who has directed videos for some of the biggest names in the industry, from Taylor Swift to J.Lo and Lady Gaga, to name a few.

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Madonna - 'Die Another Day' -

The 'repeat offender' struck again in 2002. Though this time, she spent US$6.1 million in her music video!

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Kanye West - 'Stronger' -

West released the video for 'Stronger' in 2007. It was a huge hit, so the expensive video was well worth it. The cost? Around US$1.2 million.

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Gwen Stefani - 'Make Me Like You' -

Gwen Stefani has had her fair share of elaborate music videos, but none beats 2016's 'Make Me Like You,' which cost a whopping US$4 million.

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Michael Jackson and Janet Jackson - 'Scream' -

The top position goes to brother and sister Michael and Janet Jackson. Both have featured in big productions throughout their careers, but 1995's 'Scream' was something else!

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Madonna - 'Express Yourself' -

This music video won Best Direction and Best Cinematography at the MTV Video Music Awards. Guess that's what US$5 million buys you!

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Michael Jackson and Janet Jackson - 'Scream' -

US$175,000 for lighting and $65,000 for a computer-generated spaceship, among much more, bumped the price of the music video to US$7 million. 'Scream' remains the most expensive music video made to this day.

Sources: (Insider) (Forbes) (Tone Deaf) 

See also: The most controversial music videos of all time

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