Best Music Videos of 2012

The best music videos of 2012 allowed fans of their favorite artists like Justin Bieber, One Direction, M.I.A. and others to see the story behind the lyrics in some of the most popular songs from the year. Each of these music videos can boast hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of YouTube views and, if they're lucky, honors such as MTV VMAs, Grammy Awards and American Music Awards. Long story short: These 2012 music videos will be remembered as the best of the best from the year.

The top videos from 2012 varied in genre from the pop music princesses like Nicki Minaj and Shakira to the rappers like Kendrick Lamar and even some foreign acts, like Korean phenom PSY. Regardless of musical style, each brought something different and special to the table.

These music videos put faces behind the lyrics, told us a backstory to make the words make more sense or just entertained us as the music played in the background. Many were poppy, such as the videos for "As Long As You Love Me" by Justin Beiber and "Do It Anyway" by Ben Folds Five (featuring Fraggle Rock!), while others were fan-made, like the proposal video set to Bruno Mars' "Marry Me".

Whether they're racy, goofy or simple, each of these videos added a special visual element to enhance our favorite songs from 2012. Happy eyes and happy ears, that's a great combination right there.