It was all about the music last night at the 2015 MTV EMAs, featuring unforgettable moments by powerhouse performers and award wins by the globe’s hottest stars.
Tanzanian artist Diamond Platnumz made the African continent proud when he was pronounced winner of Worldwide Act: Africa/India – beating Indian star Priyanka Chopra to be crowned the top artist on two continents!
Commented Alex Okosi, SVP & MD, VIMN Africa, “It’s so exciting to see African artistes taking their rightful place on the MTV EMA stage with their peers from around the world. This is a huge achievement for Diamond and a win for both him and African contemporary music, and we send our warmest congratulations to him.”
Broadcast across the globe from the Mediolanum Forum in Milan, the MTV EMAs garnered more than 600 million votes, with Justin Bieber, Ed Sheeran, Nicki Minaj, One Direction, Rihanna, Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, Taylor Swift, Shawn Mendes and more winning MTV EMAs.
Other big moments included:
· Justin Bieber showcased his purpose with an incredible performance of What Do You Mean?, and was the biggest winner of the night with five MTV EMAs: he took home Best Male for a sixth year in a row; won Best Look, Worldwide Act: North America; Best Collaboration for his work with Skrillex and Diplo on Where Are You Now?; and Beliebers came out in full effect to help him win Biggest Fans in a heated social vote, with One Direction landing in second place.
· Macklemore & Ryan Lewis opened the show with a high-octane performance of their award-winning song Downtown, which featured mopeds, travellators and Eric Nally flying high above the stage. Later in the evening, they won Best Video for Downtown.
· Pharrell Williams closed the night with a powerful performance of his hit track Freedom. Afterward, the broadcast cut to Piazza Duomo in central Milan, where thousands of fans held up a massive 23 x 16 metre ‘Freedom’ flag. Incorporating national flags from all over the world, the flag symbolized the birth of a utopian country that knows no borders and kicked off the MTV Freedom campaign, which seeks to raise awareness, activism and donations in support of the current refugee crisis. More information is available atfreedom.mtvema.com. #EMAfreedom
· Host Ed Sheeran was busy throughout the night. Not only did he commandeer proceedings with co-host Ruby Rose, he also joined Rudimental atop a collection of retro radios for a funky collaboration on their hit Lay it All On Me, and took home awards for Best Live Act and Best World Stage.
· Last year’s MTV EMAs host Nicki Minaj won Best Hip Hop; Best Pop went to One Direction; Rihanna nabbed Best Female; Taylor Swift won Best Song with Bad Blood featuring Kendrick Lamar; and Best Alternative went to Lana Del Rey.
The conclusion of the show also included an exciting announcement: the 2016 MTV EMAswill be held in the Dutch city of Rotterdam.
FULL LIST OF 2015 MTV EMA Winners
BEST SONG
Taylor Swift featuring Kendrick Lamar – Bad Blood
BEST POP
One Direction
BEST FEMALE
Rihanna
BEST MALE
Justin Bieber
BEST LIVE ACT
Ed Sheeran
BEST NEW ACT
Shawn Mendes
BEST VIDEO
Macklemore & Ryan Lewis – Downtown
BEST ROCK
Coldplay
BEST ALTERNATIVE
Lana Del Rey
BEST HIP HOP
Nicki Minaj
BEST ELECTRONIC
Martin Garrix
BEST PUSH
Shawn Mendes
BEST COLLABORATION
Justin Bieber, Skrillex, Diplo – Where Are You Now?
BIGGEST FANS
Justin Bieber
BEST LOOK
Justin Bieber
BEST WORLD STAGE
Ed Sheeran – V Festival, Hylands Park, UK 2014
VIDEO VISIONARY AWARD
Duran Duran
WORLDWIDE ACT: North America
Canada – Justin Bieber
WORLDWIDE ACT: LATIN America
Brazil – Anitta
WORLDWIDE ACT: Europe
Italy – Marco Mengoni
WORLDWIDE ACT: Africa / India
Africa – Diamond Platnumz
WORLDWIDE ACT: Asia
China – Jane Zhang
WORLDWIDE ACT: Australia / New Zealand
Australia – 5 Seconds of Summer
