With three trophies, OutKast was the big winner at the 11th annual MTV Europe Music Awards, held tonight (Nov. 18) in Rome. The Atlanta-based duo of Big Boi and Andre 3000 won for best group, while the No. 1 Hot 100 hit “Hey Ya!” (LaFace/Zomba) took best video and best song.
Heading into the event, OutKast had a leading five nominations.
The other multiple award winners were American R&B artist Usher and British rock trio Muse. Usher converted two of his four nominations to take home trophies for best male and best album for “Confessions” (LaFace/Zomba). Muse scored a brace of honors, for best alternative act and best U.K. and Ireland act.
Best female went to pop star Britney Spears, while the best pop accolade went to urban outfit Black Eyed Peas. Detroit rap collective D12 was named best hip-hop act. Alicia Keys and Maroon5 claimed the best R&B and best new act categories, respectively.
In all, 24 trophies were handed out during the night, including 11 regional awards. MTV viewers were invited to cast votes on all categories, with the exception of best video and the Free Your Mind award, which were decided by MTV staff.
Rome is the second Italian city to host the EMAs, following Milan in 1998. For the second year running, organizers erected a bespoke 6,000-capacity venue to contain the ceremony, this time at the Tor Di Valle race course.
“In Edinburgh [2003], we went for an incredibly intense, small, intimate environment with lots of performance spaces. We’ve taken that all on again,” MTV Networks Europe president/CEO Brent Hansen tells Billboard.com. “I think we’ve got a really good balance this year.”
The MTV EMAs were televised live on the broadcaster’s European network, reaching households in 48 territories.
Related
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news