The MTV Europe Music Awards are awards presented by Paramount International Networks to honour artists and music in pop culture. It was originally conceived as an alternative to the MTV 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. The annual presentation ceremony features performances by prominent artists, and the presentation of those awards that have a more popular interest.
The MTV Awards were established in 2006 by MTV Italy, awarded to the most popular artists and music videos in Italy. Originally an annual event for the most requested videos and artists on Total Request Live, from 2013 the MTV Awards reflect what MTV Italian viewers consider the best in music, cinema and fashion.
The MTV Europe Music Award for Best Video is an award category presented at the MTV Europe Music Awards. The award was first presented in 1994 under the name Best Director, awarded to Whale's "Hobo Humpin' Slobo Babe". This is the only MTV EMA award - excluding special awards - whose winner is chosen by MTV, rather than by the public. "Hey Ya!", "Born This Way" and "Havana" are the only music videos to also win Best Song. The artists with the most wins are Katy Perry, Justice, Massive Attack and Taylor Swift with two wins each. Taylor Swift is the artist with the most nominations, with six. Swift and Kendrick Lamar are the only performers to have won the award for a video they co-directed: Lamar for "Humble" in 2017 and Swift for "Me!" in 2019.
The MTV Europe Music Award for Best New Act is one of the four original general categories that have been given out since the first annual MTV Europe Music Awards in 1994. Originally called Breakthrough Artist (1994—1999), it was briefly retitled to Future Sounds in 2006 and the winner was chosen by their peers. In 2007 the category featured only European artists chosen by viewers in each region of Europe, every day the artist with the fewest votes was eliminated and the winner would play live at the EMAs. In 2008 the award was once again retitled, this time to its current name. The current holder by this award is Seventeen.
The MTV Europe Music Award for Best Live Act is an award category for the MTV Europe Music Awards. It was first awarded in 1995, which Take That won for their Nobody Else Tour.Lasting from March to October 1995. U2 and Ed Sheeran won the award the most times, both receiving two awards. The award was briefly named Best Headliner for the 2007 and 2008 ceremonies.
The MTV European Music Awards for the best UK & Ireland act has been a regional category since 1998 and have been won by 15 different acts
The following is a list of the MTV Europe Music Award winners and nominees for Best Italian Act.
The following is a list of the MTV Europe Music Award winners and nominees for Best Polish Act.
The MTV Europe Music Award for Best Pop was first presented in 1998. British girl group the Spice Girls were the first ever act to receive the award. American singer Britney Spears was the first solo female artist to win the award in 1999, while American singer Justin Timberlake was the first male solo artist to win in 2003. South Korean boy group BTS are the first Kpop act to be nominated in this category in 2020. British boy band One Direction are currently the act with the most award wins in this category, receiving a total of three.
The MTV Europe Music Award for Best Hip Hop has been awarded since 1998. Originally entitled Best Rap, the award was renamed to its current title in 1999. Eminem has won this award nine times.
The MTV Europe Music Award for Best Push Act was first awarded in 2009.
The 2010 MTV Europe Music Awards took place on 7 November 2010 at Caja Mágica in Madrid, Spain. The awards ceremony was presented by Eva Longoria and Justin Bieber was the official MTV EMA 2010 digital host. Nominations were announced on 20 September. Lady Gaga topped the list of nominations with ten, followed by Katy Perry with five, Eminem with four and Thirty Seconds to Mars & Muse with three apiece.
The 2011 MTV EMAs were held in Northern Ireland's capital Belfast, on Sunday, 6 November 2011, at the Odyssey Arena in the Titanic Quarter area of the city and was hosted by Selena Gomez. Additional live venues for the awards show include Ulster Hall and Belfast City Hall.
The 2012 MTV EMAs were held in Frankfurt, Germany, on 11 November 2012. This was the fifth time the awards had been held in Germany, and the second time Frankfurt had been the host city. On 17 August the nominees were announced. Rihanna received eight nominations while Katy Perry and Taylor Swift received five, leading the categories.
The following is a list of the MTV Europe Music Award winners and nominees for Best Australia Act.
The MTV Europe Music Award for Best US Act is an award that has been given out since 2012. The all-time winner in this category is Taylor Swift with 3 wins. Swift is also the most nominated artist with 5 nominations.
The 2016 MTV EMAs were held at the Rotterdam Ahoy in Rotterdam, Netherlands, on 6 November 2016. It was hosted by Bebe Rexha. This was the third time the awards have taken place in the Netherlands, and the second time Rotterdam has been the host city. The awards were held in the same venue as the 1997 MTV EMAs.
The 2020 MTV Europe Music Awards were held on 8 November 2020 at the Breakfast Television Centre in London. The ceremony was hosted by Little Mix, making them the first group ever to host; however, only three members -- Perrie Edwards, Leigh-Anne Pinnock and Jade Thirlwall, appeared; Jesy Nelson did not participate due to health reasons. In similar fashion to its American counterpart held earlier in August, the performances were filmed at various locations across Europe and the world due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The two-hour long show was broadcast in 180 countries.
