In 1995 MTV created a separate set of nominees for Viewer's Choice and Video of the Year (although, TLC's "Waterfalls" won both that year).
As the name indicated, the winner was decided by audience members, who could vote up until the very night of the show via phone calls and, later on, internet votes and text messages.
The following year, MTV revamped the VMAs and eliminated the Viewer's Choice award, permanently transferring its voting procedures over to the Best New Artist award.
Aerosmith is the biggest winner of this award, having won it three times.
Also, only four acts—INXS, Aerosmith, TLC, and Green Day—have won both the Video of the Year and Viewer's Choice awards on the same year (though Green Day won each award with a different video in 2005).