Madrid, Spain (Top40 Charts/ MTV International) - The 2010 MTV EMAs was the world's biggest night in music as celebrities made a splash on the red carpet and on stage in Madrid, Spain on Sunday, November 7th. Pop sensation
Lady Gaga topped the winners as she scooped up the awards for Best Pop, Best Female and Best Song. Hot on her platform heels was uber-phenomenon Justin Bieber, who won both the prestigious Best Male category as well as Best Push Artist.
Linkin Park scored Best Live, while Thirty Seconds to Mars nabbed Best Rock. German rockers Tokio Hotel triumphed in the Best World Stage category. Eminem polished his hip-hop crown with a trophy for Best Hip-Hop, while hot new talent Ke$ha crowned a fantastic breakthrough year with a win for Best New Act. Newlywed Katy Perry got a late wedding present when she was announced as winner of Best Video for "California Gurls", while Paramore triumphed in the Best Alternative category.
As previously announced, the inaugural MTV EMA Global Icon Award was won by rockers Bon Jovi. Latina lovely Shakira received the MTV Free Your Mind award from Jared Leto, alongside his band Thirty Seconds To Mars, in recognition of her commitment and dedication to making education accessible for children around the world. Best European Act was won by Italian star Marco Mengoni.
Lady Gaga beamed her thanks into the Caja Magica stadium by satellite from Budapest where she was performing the latest date on her smash-hit Monster Ball tour. Justin Bieber, the official digital host for the EMAs, expressed his delight at his two EMA awards live simultaneously online and in the main show. Bon Jovi received their trophy from self-confessed mega-fan Eva Longoria.
Inside Caja Magica, the festivities started off with a bang with a jaw-dropping Carnival-style opening number by international superstar Shakira, who wowed the 8,000 fans in the house with a crowd-pleasing medley of her official World Cup hit single "Waka Waka" and "Loca", featuring a guest appearance by British rapper Dizzee Rascal plus a riotous clash of dancers, waving flags, confetti and ticker tape!
Host Eva Longoria sizzled and impressed as a skilful and polished host for the show and demonstrated a refreshing willingness to send up her own image with a series of gags and stunts. Among the many comedic moments of the night was a humorous exchange between Longoria and Justin Bieber when she used her "Bieber Button" to get guidance from the official EMA digital host. Two-time EMA hostess and nominee Katy Perry also dropped by to give Longoria tips on how to wow the crowd, culminating by stripping Longoria's dress from her body to reveal sexy lacy lingerie. Longoria also found time to take rap lessons from Dizzee Rascal and even appeared dressed in a "ham" dress in a tongue-in-cheek homage to Lady Gaga's headline-grabbing VMA "meat" dress.
Kicking off the second act, Rihanna showed her sophisticated side with a classy rendition of "Only Girl (In the World)", with the EMA stage transformed into a surreal Magritte-inspired tableau, complete with more than 40 dancers, wind machines and thousands of artificial flower petals. Kings of Leon stunned the audience with a spine-chilling rendition of "Radioactive", illuminating the auditorium with eerie piercing white light. Miley Cyrus commanded the stage with her sophisticated performance of "Who Owns My Heart". Next, performances by Katy Perry and Linkin Park were featured live from the show's spectacular outdoor stage at Madrid's historic Puerta de Alcala (Alcala Gate). Performing in front of close to 100,000 fans, Perry performed an explosive rendition of her hit single "Firework", complete with a glittering pyrotechnics display. Linkin Park's performed a set which was shot in its entirety for MTV World Stage, to be broadcast on MTV platforms around the world on 10 December 2010. Surprise guest Kanye West stunned fans by showing up at the Alcala Gate by performing and Thirty Seconds To Mars during the EMA pre-show.
Just when fans thought they knew what would come next, Best New Act nominee B.o.B blew the roof off with his EMA debut, performing his smash hit "Airplanes" with Paramore's Hayley Williams. Ultimate rocker Kid Rock electrified the auditorium with an explosive performance of "Born Free", accompanied by a stunning display of pyrotechnics and projections of iconic images of freedom including Martin Luther King, the Chilean miners and the fall of the Berlin Wall.
The night drew to a climactic close with an epic rock medley from MTV EMA Global Icons Bon Jovi, featuring a trio of hits including their most recent hit single "What Do You Got" from their 2010 Greatest Hits album, as well as seminal rock mega-hits "You Give Love A Bad Name" and "It's My Life".
The biggest MTV stars were much in evidence with red carpet appearances by Jackass star Jonnie Knoxville, The Dudesons and Snooki and Pauly D from Jersey Shore. Knoxville and his fellow Jackass stars stunned fans at the Alcala Gate in the centre of Madrid with one of their trademark crazy stunts, "zorbing" over the audience in giant inflatable "zorb balls". The star-studded list of presenters included British model and actress Kelly Brook, Spanish pop singer David Bisbal, rock legend Slash, Gossip Girl's Taylor Momsen, Johnny Knoxville, starlet Emily Osment, Dizzee Rascal, Dudesons, Spanish 80s icon Alaska, actor Joaquin Reyes, actor Jared Leto, Miley Cyrus and Bam Margera and the cast of Jackass.
The center piece of the EMA set was a massive 3D sculpted metallic cube studded with LED lights which rotated through 360 degrees to reveal different facets including an elliptical "iris", angular "ledges", sculpted triangular prisms and a "stealth" video screen.
The MTV EMAs broadcast live around the world to more than 600 million households via the MTV multimedia network. More than 46 million votes were cast by music fans voting for their favourite EMA artists - a massive 32 percent increase over the 2009 awards.
The following is a list of winners for the 2010 EMAs:
Best New Act: Ke$ha
Best Pop: Lady Gaga
Best Alternative: Paramore
MTV EMA Global Icon: Bon Jovi
Best Rock: Thirty Seconds To Mars
Best Male: Justin Bieber
Best Video: Katy Perry "California Gurls"
Best Hip Hop: Eminem
Free Your Mind: Shakira
Best Live: Linkin Park
Best Female: Lady Gaga
Best Song: Lady Gaga "Bad Romance"
Best European Act: Marco Mengoni
Best Push Artist: Justin Bieber
World Stage: Tokio Hotel
In the U.S., a one-hour special highlighting the 2010 EMAs performances will air on MTV at 9:00PM ET/PT Friday, November 12th.
MTV EMA 2010 is sponsored by the new Suzuki Swift, Calvin Klein Jeans and Dell. In the U.S., this year's show is also sponsored by AT&T, Taco Bell and 5 REACT™ Gum.
