Last night at Belfast, Northern Ireland’s Odyssey Arena, MTV hosted its annual Europe Music Awards, yet another MTV awards show dominated by Lady Gaga. The Mother Monster led the pack with four wins, including gongs for Best Female, Best Song, and Best Video for her single “Born This Way,” and Biggest Fan, a new award celebrating artists with the most rabid devotees.
The lady of the hour almost didn’t make it out alive, though — according to SPIN’s insider on the scene, the singer once again suffered for fashion; “I almost saw her break her neck thanks to those massive heels,” our correspondent reports. “After winning her first award, she was walking back to her seat and nearly bit it. If she fell she would have toppled off of a four-foot-high platform and probably broken her neck. Yikes.” Our insider also saw Justin Bieber get swarmed when fans got word he’d be attending a special dinner at the Merchant Hotel (“I saw one girl crying her eyes out and a policeman was down on one knee trying to calm her down. It was hysterics”), spotted David Hasselhoff prowling the scene, and called the official afterparty “a train wreck.”
Bieber scored Best Pop and Best Male, the two most coveted prizes for men, while Bruno Mars and 30 Seconds to Mars each won two awards — Mars scooping up Best Push and Best New Artist and Jared Leto’s band nabbing Best World Stage and Best Alternative. Katy Perry was presented with the award for Best Live Act, Linkin Park scored Best Rock, and Eminem won Best Hip-Hop. Bieb’s girlfriend Selena Gomez hosted the event; presenters included Hasselhoff, Evanescence’s Amy Lee, actress Hayden Panettiere, supermodels Bar Refaeli and Irina Shayk, and Jersey Shore‘s Nicole “Snooki” Polizzi and Jenni “JWOWW” Farley.
The night’s biggest story, though, were the performances and one nude guy. Here are the show’s essential moments:
Lady Gaga Marries the Night:
While partying on top of the moon.
Adam Lambert Teams With Queen:
The Global Icon Award winners teamed with the American Idol firebrand for a medley of hits including “Show Must Go On,” “We Will Rock You,” and “We Are the Champions.” Glad he’s still rocking the Matrix coat!
Hayden Panettiere Meets a Streaker:
Pics at the Daily Mail confirm yes, this man was nude. The actress was about to present the award for Best Song when Irish actor David Monahan arrived (perhaps unannounced? Most folks think this smells like a publicity stunt).
Jessie J Pays Tribute to Amy Winehouse:
“It saddens me that I never got to thank Amy for breaking boundaries as I genuinely believe that without her, I wouldn’t be standing here today,” the British singer said before the late soul star was honored with a video montage.
Coldplay Open the Show With a Waterfall:
… which you can’t see thanks to copyright restrictions between the U.S. and Europe, but you can hear it (for now!), so just picture what MTV News described here: “Frontman Chris Martin danced his way from the arena catwalk to the main stage as a spiral of lights spun around the band, igniting the arena.”
Additional reporting by Katie Dreke
