| MTV Europe Music Awards | |
|---|---|
| Current:2024 MTV Europe Music Awards | |
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| Awarded for | Music andpop culture |
| Location | Various (see below) |
| Country | Countries of Europe |
| Presented by | Paramount International Networks |
| Formerly called | MTV European Music Awards |
| First award | 24 November 1994; 30 years ago (1994-11-24) |
| Website | mtvema |
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TheMTV Europe Music Awards (originally namedMTV European Music Awards, commonly abbreviated asMTV EMA) are awards presented byParamount International Networks to honour artists and music inpop culture.[citation needed] It was originally conceived as an alternative to theMTV Video Music Awards, which are hosted annually in the United States. The Europe Music Awards are held every year in a different country; it has been hosted mostly in the United Kingdom and Germany. The annual presentation ceremony features performances by prominent artists, and the presentation of those awards that have a more popular interest.
The awards are a reflection of the international and continentalmusic scene. They are representative of geographical origin and of achievement in diverse musical genres and disciplines, indicative of the diversity and scope of the show. Since the 2007 ceremony, viewers are able to vote for their favourite artists in all general categories by visiting MTV's website.[1]
The1st Europe Music Awards ceremony was held in 1994 atBrandenburg Gate in Berlin, Germany, five years after the fall of theBerlin Wall. The annual ceremony broadcast live onMTV Europe,Channel 5 and most of the international MTV channels as well as online.
1994: The first Europe Music Awards took place in Berlin, Germany, at theBrandenburg Gate and were held on 24 November 1994, five years after thefall of the Berlin Wall. Hosted byTom Jones, the show featured performances byAerosmith,Ace of Base,Björk,Roxette,Take That andGeorge Michael, who performed "Jesus to a Child" and "Freedom" surrounded by many famousmodels includingNaomi Campbell.[2] Presenters includedEast 17,Jean Paul Gaultier,Pamela Anderson andHelena Christensen, who kissedINXS'sMichael Hutchence live on stage.Bono received theFree Your Mind Award on behalf ofAmnesty International.
1995:French nuclear testing in theSouth Pacific got the most attention at the 1995 ceremony. During his acceptance speech after winning the award forBest Rock,Bon Jovi lead singerJon Bon Jovi stated, "The only enemy is ignorance. Peace, people. Let's get rid of all this nuclear testing", whileU2'sBono said, "What a city, what a night, what a crowd, what a bomb, what a mistake, what a wanker you have for a President." referring to nuclear testing.[3]Greenpeace, the environmental group that has staged creative and controversial protests around the testing site atMururoa Atoll, took theFree Your Mind award for its campaign against theunderground nuclear blasts.[4] "Stop abusing the Earth," urgedMadonna in a videotaped segment before designeragnès b. picked up the award forGreenpeace.
1996: During their performanceMetallica performed the songs "Last Caress" and "So What?" instead of performing their single "King Nothing" as scheduled. The MTV executives told the band that they weren't allowed to use any curse words during their time on live TV, and upset with the scripted, family-friendly MTV antics, Metallica simply played non-TV friendly songs. The song "So What?" is known for its amount of expletives and references tobestiality among many other controversial lyrics while "Last Caress" has lyrics pertaining to murder and rape. As a result of their performance Metallica's performance and references to Metallica have been removed from future broadcasts of the ceremony.
1997:U2 opened the show performing "Mofo" dressed in boxing gowns.The Prodigy were the big winners of the night, receiving three awards includingBest Video.Björk became the first artist to be nominated in the category ofBest Female for four consecutive years. TheLandmine Survivors Network received theFree Your Mind Award for helping survivors to recover from war, rebuild their communities, and break cycles of violence.
1998: Six new categories were introduced that year, including the MTV Selects;UK & Ireland, Northern, Central and Southern.Faithless opened the show with "God is a DJ" andMadonna performed "The Power of Goodbye". The big winner of the night were theSpice Girls and Madonna with two awards each.Melanie C andEmma Bunton collected the trophy on behalf of the group. On receiving the award, Mel C shouted, "We've done it again. And a big hello from the other two", referring toMel B andVictoria Adams, both of whom were pregnant and did not attend the ceremony.The Prodigy wonBest Dance but according to their frontman,Liam Howlett, they had not done anything to deserve the accolade that year.
1999:Britney Spears was the big winner of the night winning four awards, includingBest New Act andBest Song for "...Baby One More Time". She also performed during the ceremony, entertaining the crowd with a medley of her songs "...Baby One More Time" and "(You Drive Me) Crazy". The Free Your Mind Award, which honours an individual or organisation for aiding in humanitarian efforts and fighting prejudice, was given toBono for his world peace work.Puff Daddy performed "My Best Friend" backed by a full gospel choir, followed byIggy Pop, who stagedived into the crowd during the track "Lust for Life".Whitney Houston sang a medley of "Get It Back" and "My Love Is Your Love", while Mariah Carey performed "Heartbreaker".Marilyn Manson, who wore nothing but aG-string, closed the show with a performance of "Rock Is Dead".
2000: The show was hosted byFugees'sWyclef Jean, who presented a variety of stars and outfits, including one consisting of boxer shorts only, after he jumped into the crowd and had his red leather suit ripped from him. The performance of theSpice Girls during the ceremony was the last before their breakup. The most elaborate appearance was probably byJennifer Lopez, who literally landed on stage in an aeroplane. The performance was a world premiere of her new song, "Love Don't Cost a Thing", taken from her forthcoming album,J.Lo.Madonna paid tribute to fellow performerKylie Minogue by appearing on stage in aT-shirt bearing the name "Kylie". Madonna performedMusic (Madonna song), one month after giving birth to son, Rocco, with a screen background of clips reminiscent of her long career.[5]Sacha Baron Cohen made his career debut during the ceremony whilst introducing Madonna.
Political issues were present as well during the night, withNick Carter fromBackstreet Boys speaking against a recount of votes in theU.S. presidential election.Robbie Williams won Best Song for "Rock DJ", but he told the audience: "I am not going to say anything bad about people's choices on this one, but I think it's a terrible song and a silly song." He also referred to his roots in Stoke-on-Trent, saying: "When I was growing up I dreamt of being a pop star and I would like to thank MTV for my three houses, my five cars and my supermodel girlfriend."
2001: The ceremony was the first entertainment broadcasts following theSeptember 11th attacks inNew York City. WhenDamon Albarn andJamie Hewlett fromGorillaz walked onto stage to make a speech, Albarn sported a T-shirt with theCampaign for Nuclear Disarmament logo on it.[6] Albarn, in a response to therecent invasion of Afghanistan said "So, fuck the music. Listen. See this symbol here, [pointing to the tee shirt] this the symbol for the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament. Bombing one of the poorest countries in the world is wrong. You've got a voice and you have got to do what you can about it allright?"[7]Fred Durst took the stage withWes Scantlin andJimmy Page to perform the classicLed Zeppelin's song "Thank You".
2002: One of the highlights was the offer made by hostPuff Daddy giving away a lushring to the first woman to undress on stage. A lady took the stage take off her clothes and won the ring. WhenMoby came on stage to collect the award forBest Website he wished the best wishes toEminem, showing that he bore no grudge after the confrontation on the2002 MTV Video Music Awards.Robbie Williams andWhitney Houston performed their songs "Feel" and "Whatchulookinat" for the first time ever.Enrique Iglesias performed an acoustic version of his single "Maybe" and then a rock version of the track "Love to See You Cry" done to the music ofBilly Idol's "White Wedding".
2003: During the pre-show,Christina Aguilera refused to walk the red carpet ifKelly Osbourne, a guest VJ for the event, was present. Kelly responded by calling Aguilera's music "crap" and saying she was a "cow." Later, a skit was aired ofChristina Aguilera throwingdarts at a board decorated with a picture ofKelly Osbourne. This irked theOzzy offspring, who voiced her disapproval when she came onstage to present an award. Kelly stated, "IfChristina Aguilera has to resort to throwing darts at my head after everything she's achieved and everything she's done, then she's a really sad, sorry person". Aguilera later retorted with a voice of mock sympathy, saying "Honey, if you can dish it out, you've got to learn how to take it back".[8]
DuringTravis' performance of "The Beautiful Occupation" an assembly of nude protesters marched onstage with signs that covered their private areas. At the end of the song, they lifted the signs. While near at the end of performing "Baby Boy",Beyoncé andSean Paul both were up on stage when their backing track suffered a technical difficulty. This went on for a near minute in which both artist and dancers exited the stage while the error went on. This also left confusion among presenter Christina Aguilera, who walked on stage to continue hosting which ended the backing track error. Both artists later decided to retake the performance again. The retake would later replace re-airings of the show and would be the first show to extend time with this retake.
2004: The show was held atTor di Valle Racecourse in Rome. The outdoor stage was situated in front of theColosseum, where artists such asEminem,Franz Ferdinand,Beastie Boys, andAnastacia performed to an attendance of over 400,000 people.Outkast received both Best Song and Best Video for their track "Hey Ya!". Other multiple winners includeUsher andMuse with two awards each. Presenters on the night includedJamelia,Alicia Keys,N.E.R.D,Naomi Campbell,Andre 3000,Kid Rock andKanye West.
2005 :Madonna opened the show in a giant disco ball performing "Hung Up".Sacha Baron Cohen hosted the ceremony asBorat Sagdiyev, who greeted the audience by saying "Welcome to the2005 Eurovision Song Contest" and referring to Madonna, he stated, "It was very courageous of MTV to start the show with a genuinetransvestite".Gorillaz used hologram-style technology to beam three-dimensional performing cartoon characters on stage. Madonna returned to the stage to present theFree Your Mind Award toBob Geldof. "You drive me crazy, but tonight you are everyone's hero," she said. He replied: "This means much more to me than many of the other things that are given to me".
2006: The 13th Europe Music Awards was hosted byJustin Timberlake, who receivedBest Male andBest Pop. Timberlake joked that he only won because he agreed to present the event in Copenhagen.Depeche Mode said, "A big thank you to the fans and a big thank you to MTV for playing our videos for twenty-five years", after winning the award forBest Group. British comedianSacha Baron Cohen entertained the audience with his English-mangling characterBorat and poked fun atMadonna who was at the time trying to adopt an African child adding: "My only concern is that this singing transvestite will not be such a good father."
Despite winning the award forBest Hip-Hop,Kanye West apparently was so disappointed at not winning forBest Video that he crashed the stage when the award was being presented toJustice andSimian for "We Are Your Friends". In a tirade riddled with expletives,Kanye West said he should have won the prize for his video "Touch the Sky", because it "cost a million dollars,Pamela Anderson was in it. I was jumping across canyons." He further said, "If I don't win, the awards show loses credibility".
2007:Foo Fighters opened the show and front manDave Grohl hosted the backstage area, interviewing celebrities live on air. Other performances on the night came fromAmy Winehouse,Foo Fighters,Babyshambles,My Chemical Romance,Avril Lavigne, andMika.will.i.am paired up withNicole Scherzinger from thePussycat Dolls to perform their duet "Baby Love".Pete Doherty surprised his critics by being on great form for the whole show in preparation for his performance withBabyshambles. The show was closed byTokio Hotel, who were booed but given a standing ovation after their performance in the rain. The show received a total of 78 million votes, the most in Europe Music Awards history.
2008:Rick Astley was namedBest Act Ever after an online campaign to orchestrate votes.Britney Spears was the big winner of the night winningBest Album andBest Act. She did not attend the show but recorded a couple videos thanking her fans.Paul McCartney was awarded with the Ultimate Legend given byBono. After picking up his honour, Sir Paul settled for thanking friends, family and bandmatesRingo Starr,George Harrison andJohn Lennon. "Many years ago, four little boys were born here inLiverpool and we went on to do quite well," he added. "So thanks, as I say, to all my family, to all of you for coming along, everyone in Liverpool, everyone in Britain, everyone in America – for voting in Mr Obama. I love you!"
The show contained numerous references toBarack Obama, most notably whenKanye West andEstelle finished their song "American Boy" with theUS President-elect's face projected onto a giant screen behind them.Jared Leto,Shannon Leto andTomo Miličević fromThirty Seconds to Mars wore Obama T-shirts, and Jared Leto also asked the crowd to stand in honour of the Democratic senator. Amid cheers, he said: "Liverpool, lets hear it for Barack Obama." HostKaty Perry remarked, "Maybe Europe will love us again now."
2009: Returning for the second time as host, Katy Perry opened the show and performed a medley of the nominees for Best Song. TheJonas Brothers introduced a tribute toMichael Jackson performed by Michael's fans in front of theBrandenburg Gate in Berlin.U2 andJay-Z performed "Sunday Bloody Sunday" in front of the Brandenburg Gate with Jay-Z freestyling over the performance and rapped in the lyrics fromBob Marley's "Get Up, Stand Up".Beyoncé won three awards, the most awards that night.[9]Pete Wentz was the host for the show webcast.
2010: The event was hosted byEva Longoria, who had thirteen outfit changes, one of which was shaped like a huge Spanish ham. She introduced the crowd to a gang of hunks, pretending they were family.Lady Gaga was the big winner of the night – she won while performing inThe Monster Ball Tour from Budapest, in Hungary, she thanked her fans via satellite after receiving Best Female, Best Song and Best Pop.Thirty Seconds to Mars opened the event at the pre-show featuring surprise guestKanye West at thePuerta de Alcalá.[10]Bon Jovi received the first ever Global Icon Award.
During her acceptance speech for Best New Act,Kesha directly addressed her fans, saying: "Hopefully I can inspire you to give your finger to the cynics and fucking be yourself!". Newly married singer Katy Perry won Best Video for "California Gurls" and came to the event with her husbandRussell Brand. This was the couple's first public appearance together as husband and wife.[11] The event would also be remembered for the antics ofJohnny Knoxville along withThe Dudesons.
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2011: The show was held inBelfast, Northern Ireland, at the city'sOdyssey Arena and hosted bySelena Gomez.[12] For the second consecutive year, Lady Gaga was the biggest winner with four awards out of six nominations; she received Biggest Fans and Best Female, as well as Best Song and Best Video for "Born This Way".Queen received the Global Icon Award, and the band closed the awards ceremony, withAdam Lambert on vocals, performing "The Show Must Go On", "We Will Rock You" and "We Are the Champions". There was also a tribute toAmy Winehouse, which was introduced byJessie J. It was revealed that for the event MTV received 154 million votes from people around the globe.[13]Hayden Panettiere's presentation of the award for Best Song was briefly interrupted by a streaker who joined her onstage.[14]
2012: The event was hosted byHeidi Klum andLudacris, and held in Frankfurt at the city'sFesthalle Frankfurt, for the second time in the history of the awards. The show saw the addition of new regional categories to compete in theBest Worldwide Act.Taylor Swift,Han Geng,Justin Bieber andOne Direction were the biggest winners of the night, taking home three awards each. The show featured performances fromMuse, Taylor Swift,No Doubt,Carly Rae Jepsen,Alicia Keys, andThe Killers, among others. There was also a tribute toWhitney Houston, which was introduced by Alicia Keys. Houston was also awarded with the Global Icon Award.
2013: The event took place in Amsterdam, at the city'sZiggo Dome. Several performances of the main show were performed at different locations in the city than the Ziggo Dome.Eminem was the big winner of the night, winning his eighthBest Hip-Hop and receiving the Global Icon Award. He then performed the songs "Berzerk" and "Rap God".[15] The show also included a controversial moment, whenMiley Cyrus received Best Video for "Wrecking Ball". The singer appeared to light up a joint on stage while accepting the award.[16]
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2014: It was the second time the awards took place in Scotland and overall the fifth time United Kingdom has hosted the show since 2011 in Belfast, Northern Ireland.Ariana Grande opened the show, hosted byNicki Minaj, with "Problem" and "Break Free".One Direction and5 Seconds of Summer were the big winners of the night receiving three awards each, though both artists were unable to attend the show, and despite them sending pre-recorded videos to thank their fans, their absence was met with some boos.Ozzy Osbourne received the Global Icon Award fromSlash. Slash later closed the show performing "Crazy Train", along with The Conspirators,Simon Neil fromBiffy Clyro andMyles Kennedy, as a tribute to him.
2015: The show, hosted byEd Sheeran andRuby Rose, was for the first time held in October. It took place at theMediolanum Forum inAssago, near Milan. Throughout the second half of the year, Milan also hostedExpo 2015, which was a partner of the 2015 Europe Music Awards. In association with the event,MTV Italy organised an event called Music Week. Two concerts were held inPiazza del Duomo, one of which was related toMTV World Stage. International and Italian acts performed on both nights, includingEllie Goulding,Marco Mengoni,Duran Duran,Martin Garrix andAfrojack. Duran Duran was awarded the first ever Video Visionary Award. Over 500 million votes were cast for the event.Justin Bieber won six awards, becoming the most awarded artist of the night. In addition, it was the first award show to be aired with virtual reality.[17]
2016: During the ceremony, hostBebe Rexha revealed the trophies had been turned purple in memory ofPrince, who died early that year. Multiple winners of the night includedLady Gaga,Twenty One Pilots,Shawn Mendes andMartin Garrix.Green Day were awarded with the Global Icon Award for their contribution to music. Collecting their award, Green Day frontmanBillie Joe Armstrong said it was "nice to be out of America just for a second because of this horrendous election that's going on right now", referring to the2016 United States presidential election that sawDonald Trump being elected as the 45th president of the United States. He further said, "our entire country is about to have one big collective heart attack" and then the band performed the song "American Idiot".[18]
2017: The show was hosted in London for the first time in 21 years. It was presented by British singerRita Ora. MayorSadiq Khan attended the show, as he helped bring the event to the capital as part of his LondonIsOpen campaign.Eminem opened the ceremony with a performance of the song "Walk on Water" featuringSkylar Grey. The performance garnered mixed reactions due to the absence ofBeyoncé, who provided additional vocals on the original track.[19] During his acceptance speech after winning the award forBest Alternative,Thirty Seconds to Mars frontmanJared Leto made a remark at American President Donald Trump'simmigration policy as he stated: "We are Americans – a land of immigrants – and we just want to say that we welcome you with open arms and with open hearts, and we love you."[20]U2, who performed a free gig at London'sTrafalgar Square, received the Global Icon Award. A clip of George Michael's performance of Freedom at the 1994 MTV EMAs aired as an in memoriam segment, featuring Michael, Chris Cornell, Chester Bennington and Tom Petty
2018: The show was hosted byAcademy Award-nominated actress and singerHailee Steinfeld, who also performed "Back to Life" during the ceremony. It took place at theBizkaia Arena, part of theBilbao Exhibition Centre complex nearBilbao, Spain. Other performers includedNicki Minaj,Little Mix,flamenco starRosalía,Bebe Rexha,Jack & Jack,Jason Derulo,David Guetta,Marshmello orPanic! at the Disco, whose singer climbed down the venue's wall before emerging from the ceiling.Camila Cabello won four awards, becoming the most awarded artist of the night.Janet Jackson was awarded with the Global Icon Award, and collecting her award, Jackson dedicated her speech to "women's voices who have been stifled", stating she is "one of those women" and calling them to "speak up for justice".[21]
2019: The show was hosted inSeville, Spain, making it the first time that a country hosted back-to-back editions of the award show.Dua Lipa opened the show with a performance of her song "Don't Start Now" accompanied by dozens of female dancers. Other performers includedHalsey,Rosalía,Niall Horan,Mabel,Ava Max,Green Day, andBecky G, who was also the host for the ceremony. Boy bandNCT 127 became the firstK-pop act to perform at the MTV EMAs. FormerOasis frontmanLiam Gallagher received the specially created Rock Icon Award.[22] The night also sawTaylor Swift,FKA Twigs,Martin Garrix,Nicki Minaj,Billie Eilish andShawn Mendes send out pre-recorded messages after winning their respective awards as they were absent from the event.
2020: The ceremony was hosted on 8 November. Due to theongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the show was held for the first time ever virtually and the performances were filmed in various locations around the world. The ceremony was hosted byLittle Mix, but only three members of the group,Perrie Edwards,Leigh-Anne Pinnock andJade Thirlwall, appeared;[23]Jesy Nelson did not participate for health reasons.[24] The event featured performances fromLittle Mix,Doja Cat (who performed a Rock version of her hit single "Say So"),David Guetta,yungblud,Sam Smith andDaBaby. South Korean Pop groupBTS were the biggest winners of the night as they claimed 4 awards from the 5 categories they nominated in. Other winners of the night includedColdplay (for Best Rock),Hayley Williams ofParamore (for Best Alternative),Karol G (for Best Collaboration and Best Latin),DJ Khaled (for Best Video) andDoja Cat (for Best New) who also sent pre-recorded video messages to thank their fans. Later that evening, Formula One DriverLewis Hamilton delivered a speech that touched upon the importance of music and how it remains a unifying force that brings hope and solidarity during a rather chaotic and challenging year. He then proceeded to present the Video For Good Award which went toH.E.R.
2021: The ceremony was held inBudapest,Hungary, in spite of the controversy triggered by theanti-LGBT law promoted by the Hungarian government.[25] Chris McCarthy, CEO of MTV Entertainment Group Worldwide, explained that despite the law MTV decided not to move the show to promote through its support for the country'sLGBT community.[26]
2022: The ceremony was held at thePSD Bank Dome inDüsseldorf, Germany on 13 November, hosted byRita Ora andTaika Waititi.Taylor Swift attended the EMAs for the first time in 10 years, and won 4 awards including Best Video and Best Artist. The show also included performances fromAva Max,Bebe Rexha andGayle.[27]
2023: The ceremony would have been held in Paris for the first time since 1995. It was cancelled on 19 October due to theIsrael–Hamas war; the winning artists would receive their awards at a later date.[28]
2025: In February 2025,Bruce Gillmer ofParamount International Networks announced a one-year pause for a few selected events scheduled for 2025, including MTV Europe Music Awards,Paris Paramount seeks "to reimagine and optimize [our] events slate going forward".[29][30]
There are 17 main categories ("Main Categories") and 31 local categories open for voting. The awards for Best Video and World Wide Act are chosen by the MTV Music Editorial Team and are not eligible for voting. At the time of voting, voters must be 13 years of age or older and cannot be an employee, agent, or representative of Viacom International Media Networks, a division of Viacom International, Inc. ("VIMN"), or any of its parent companies, affiliates or related companies.[63]
Europe
Rest of the World
As of 2023, the record for most Europe Music Awards won is held byJustin Bieber, who has amassed 22 awards. For a female artist, the record for most Europe Music Awards won belongs toTaylor Swift, who has amassed 19 awards. The record for most Europe Music Awards won by a single group and male group belongs to BTS with 14 awards. The record for the most awards held by a girl group belongs to Little Mix, with 7 award wins.
Most wins (as of 2024)
Most nominations (as of 2024)
65 nominations
52 nominations
43 nominations
42 nominations
37 nominations
34 nominations
33 nominations
32 nominations
30 nominations
24 nominations
23 nominations
22 nominations
21 nominations
20 nominations
Comparable awards in other countries and regions:
