The MTV Europe Music Award for Best Song is the main award of the MTV Europe Music Awards. It was first awarded in 1994, when "7 Seconds" won it, and has been given out every year since. The category was renamed Most Addictive Track for the 2007 and 2008 shows. The artists with the most nominations in this category are Ariana Grande and Beyoncé (both with five). Beyoncé, Jungkook, Lady Gaga and Pink have won the award twice (one of Pink's wins coming when it was called Most Addictive Track).
Winners are listed first and highlighted in bold
† indicates an MTV Video Music Award for Song of the Year–winning artist.
‡ indicates an MTV Video Music Award for Song of the Year–nominated artist that same year.
As of 2018.
| Number of European Nominations | Total Number |
|---|---|
| 31 | 105 |
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 artist with the most wins is Taylor Swift with four wins. Taylor Swift is the artist with the most nominations, with seven. 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 Female was one of the original general awards that has been handed out every year since the first annual MTV Europe Music Awards in 1994. In 2007 the award was renamed to Best Solo Artist rewarding the soloists of both sexes, in 2008 the award for Best Female was again eliminated from the EMAs, but it was revived again in 2009 with its original name. Lady Gaga is the biggest winner of the category with three awards.
The MTV Europe Music Award for Best Male was one of the original general awards that has been handed out every year since the first annual MTV Europe Music Awards in 1994. In 2007 the award was renamed to Best Solo Artist rewarding the soloists of both sexes, in 2008 the award for Best Male was again eliminated from the EMAs, but it was revived again in 2009 with its original name.
The MTV Europe Music Award for Best Group is one of the original general awards that has been handed at the MTV Europe Music Awards. It was awarded every year from 1994 to 2009 and from 2018 to 2021. The award was revived once again in 2023, but ultimately it was one of the three categories for which no winner was announced, along with the awards for the Biggest Fans and Best Israeli Act.
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 Benson Boone.
The MTV Europe Music Award for Best Rock has been awarded since 1994. During the 2002 ceremony the category was separated, creating an additional award entitled Best Hard Rock Act. The category was briefly retitled to this during the 2007 and 2008 ceremonies, before reverting to its original name during the following year. Linkin Park holds the most wins, with five, followed by Coldplay with four.
The MTV Europe Music Award for Best Alternative has been awarded since 1997.
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 Europe Music Award for the best UK & Ireland act has been a regional category since 1998 and have been won by 18 different acts
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 Electronic was originally entitled Best Dance and was first awarded in 1994 until 2003. It was one of the original two genre categories that were added to the MTV Europe Music Awards that year. After an interruption of eight years, the category was revived in 2012, in which it was renamed to its current title.
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 ten times, followed by Nicki Minaj with eight times.
The MTV Europe Music Award for Best R&B is an award presented at the MTV Europe Music Awards. It was first given out during the 1997 ceremony and retired after the 2006 ceremony, but was later brought back for the 2022 ceremony. Alicia Keys is the most awarded artist in this category, with three wins and Beyoncé holds the record for the most nominations, with six nods.
The MTV Europe Music Award for Best Push Act was first awarded in 2009.