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AMSTERDAM — Eminem, Miley Cyrus and Katy Perry were among the winners here at the 20th MTV Europe Music Awards Sunday night as fans distributed honors more evenly than last year.
Green Day were honored in the rock category, and Beyonce in the live performance category, but those winners weren’t at the show, and the awards weren’t handed out during the event.
Justin Timberlake and Macklemore & Ryan Lewis had led the nominations with five each. Timberlake didn’t end up winning a single award, while MTV announced Macklemore & Ryan Lewis as winners of the best new act honor after the show.
Cyrus won her first-ever EMA in the best video category for “Wrecking Ball.”
She opened the show after descending from the top of the Ziggo Dome arena in a big spaceship-inspired set on a throne for a quick rendition of “We Can’t Stop.” Joining her on-stage for some twerking was a female midget, called Little Britney by MTV, who spanked Cyrus at one point.
The performance followed Cyrus’ VMA appearance with Robin Thicke that became a viral and social media hit.
EARLIER: Will Ferrell Walks the EMA Red Carpet as Ron Burgundy
Cyrus returned to the stage later, performing “Wrecking Ball” dressed in a skimpy white outfit. Many of the stars in the arena were seen watching her emotional performance.
Eminem won the award for best hip hop artist early in the show. He thanked his fans, label bosses and colleagues and all “European ladies” to a deafening reception.
As announced only on Saturday, Eminem was also honored as this year’s global icon, an award that last year had gone to the late Whitney Houston.
During the second half of the show, Eminem emerged from a giant boombox to huge cheers and performed “Berzerk” and “Rap God.” The performance had the audience on its feet and drew much buzz.
Will Ferrell as Ron Burgundy handed over the icon honor backstage, with Eminem thanking his fans for all the support over the years. He then said “I love award” several times.
Ferrell as Burgundy said Dutch producer and DJ Afrojack had talked trash about Eminem, to which the rapper simply replied: “Who?”
Three-time winner Perry picked up her first best female performer award, telling the crowd: “I love what I do. I hope you can tell.”
Bruno Mars was honored in the best song category for “Locked Out Of Heaven” in the first award of the night, while Justin Bieber kept his best male win streak going for a fourth straight year. A thank you video from Bieber was shown, but the Amsterdam crowd was so loud that it couldn’t be heard in the arena.
Redfoo at the start of the show, which had an “out of this world” theme, mentioned that 292 million vote had been cast by fans for the EMAs, a new record. Last year, 184 million votes were submitted.
“MTV is throwing the biggest party in one of the biggest party cities tonight,” he told the crowd, which was hot from the get-go. He quipped that he hasn’t seen a big party like this since his bar mitzvah.
He also said there was such a hot atmosphere in the arena that he felt he had to do something. He then ripped off his suit to stand on stage only in a shiny speedo and his sneakers. “I didn’t shuffle and twerk for the bar mitzvah,” he quipped.
In other Redfoo hijinks, the LMFAO star, who had numerous outfit changes, performed a stage dive at one point. “Get your fingers out of my booty hole,” Redfoo screamed as he was held up by a group of people.
He also made a Lady Gaga joke as he walked a bar set up as part of the set and touched what seemed to be a white plastic egg. “Hello, Gaga,” he said. “Just yoking with you.”
Redfoo was surrounded by aliens at the event’s end and rose towards the ceiling with a jet pack on his back.
STORY: MTV EMAs Gets U.S. Telecast Co-Hosted by ‘Glee’s’ Darren Criss
In another well-received performance, Perry sang “Unconditionally” suspended from the ceiling as if she was a giant maypole with dancers beneath a giant skirt. She ended the performance in a mirrored bodysuit that reflected lasers and lights in the arena.
Ferrell as Burgundy was seen in video clips from Amsterdam, including one were he rode a bike and a boat on a canal with two people who either were Daft Punk or dressed like Daft Punk. In that video, Burgundy also got insulted by an American tourist.
At the end of the first vignette, he told the audience to stay tuned, saying he would continue to go Dutch. “That’s not a sexual thing here, is it!?” he deadpanned. “Because I don’t want to look like a fool.”
Ferrell as Burgundy later was shown in a vignette hitting on Katy Perry, who called his approach “disgusting,” and calling Amsterdam the capital of Scandinavia — only to be corrected by Perry — and the city that HBO hit show Games of Thrones was “historically based on.” In yet another video, he accidentally entered an adult club.
Bruno Mars entertained the EMA audience with a performance of “Gorilla.”
Thicke performed surrounded by scantily clad women covered in gold and silver body paint for his rendition of “Feels Good” and was joined by singer and and model Iggy Azalea for “Blurred Lines.”
The Killers performed a medley of their hits in what is expected to be their last performance in a while and Kings of Leon sang “Beautiful War” supported by pyrotechnics. And Swedish duo Icona Pop drew many cheers with their hit “I Love It” as they closed the show.
Afrojack and Snoop Lion were shown in video feeds from a music venue across town during the show.
Also at the EMAs, Sweden’s Avicii was named best electronic music act, Tokio Hotel was named the band with the biggest fans, while Directioners could rejoice as One Direction nabbed the best pop EMA.
Chris Lee of China was named best worldwide act, beating out such competition as Bieber and One Direction. Artists from Asia have won the title in each of the three years since it’s launch.
The EMAs are the biggest event organized by Viacom’s Viacom International Media Networks unit.
Justin Timberlake and Macklemore & Ryan Lewis had led the nominations with five each, followed by Cyrus, Thicke, Lady Gaga, Bieber (four each), as well as last year’s big winner Taylor Swift, Mars, Green Day, Thirty Seconds to Mars, Daft Punk, Rudimental, Icona Pop, One Direction, Afrojack, Imagine Dragons, Rihanna, Perry, Eminem, Jay Z, Bastille, The Killers, Paramore, Rita Ora, Drake, Avicii, Calvin Harris and Iggy Azalea.
The show will air on the flagship MTV network for the first time on Sunday night U.S. time.
Award presenters included singer/songwriter Ellie Goulding, singer/actress Carice van Houten (Game of Thrones), Rita Ora and Colton Haynes (Arrow, Teen Wolf).
Viacom International Media Networks recorded 39.4 million viewers for last year’s edition of the EMAs in Frankfurt, Germany, making it the event’s most-watched edition ever.
Among the Viacom top executives in the audience were CEO Philippe Dauman and Viacom International Media Networks CEO Bob Bakish who were on their feet and dancing during some parts of the show.
Here is the complete list of winners at the 2013 MTV Europe Music Awards:
BEST SONG
Bruno Mars – “Locked Out Of Heaven”
BEST VIDEO
Miley Cyrus – “Wrecking Ball”
BEST NEW
Macklemore & Ryan Lewis
BEST FEMALE
Katy Perry
BEST MALE
Justin Bieber
BEST POP
One Direction
BEST LIVE
Beyoncé
BEST HIP HOP
Eminem
BEST ROCK
Green Day
BEST ELECTRONIC
Avicii
BEST ALTERNATIVE
Thirty Seconds To Mars
BEST LOOK
Harry Styles
BIGGEST FANS
Tokio Hotel
BEST WORLD STAGE
Linkin Park – Mexico 2012
BEST PUSH
Austin Mahone – April 2013
BEST WORLDWIDE ACT
Chris Lee
GLOBAL ICON
Eminem
E-mail:Georg.Szalai@THR.com
Twitter: @georgszalai
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