With singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran and “Orange is the New Black” star Ruby Rose hosting the show, the 2015 MTV EMAs was punctuated with unforgettable moments by powerhouse performers, unexpected collaborations, and once-in-a-lifetime performances that we wil never forget.
Broadcast across the globe from the Mediolanum Forum in Milan, this year’s MTV EMA is one of the biggest global annual music events that brought together all the hottest artistes from around the world at one place for a spectacular show.
Macklemore and Ryan Lewis opened the show with a high-octane performance of “Downtown”, their award-winning song which featured mopeds, travellators, and Eric Nally flying high above the stage. Later in the evening, they won “Best Video” for the song.
Though Sheeran was busy throughout the night, he managed to join Rudimental atop a collection of retro radios on stage for a funky collaboration on their hit “Lay it All On Me”. Not only did he commandeer proceedings with Rose, he also took home awards for “Best Live Act” and “Best World Stage”.
Justin Bieber showcased his star power with an incredible performance of “What Do You Mean?” at the 2015 MTV EMAs and became the biggest winner of the night with 5 awards. He won “Best Male” for a 6th year in a row, “Best Look”, “Worldwide Act: North America”, and “Best Collaboration” for his work with Skrillex and Diplo on “Where Are You Now?“. His fans aka the Beliebers also came out in full effect to help him win the “Biggest Fans” as well, with One Direction landing in 2nd place.
In an unforgettable nod to this year’s host country, legendary Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli performed a breathtaking rendition of his classic “Time To Say Goodbye”. Vocal powerhouse Tori Kelly the joined him on stage for a once-in-a-lifetime duet of Pink’s hit song “Just Give Me a Reason”.
Jason Derulo, who headlined this year’s MTV World Stage Malaysia, took over the arena with his troop of popping dancers. Zoomed between all 3 stages on SwegWays, Derulo peformed his hit single, “Want To Want Me”. Ellie Goulding also wowed the crowd when she emerged from a cluster of giant, mirrored crystals for a glittering performance of her hit “Love Me Like You Do”.
MTV PUSH artistes Jess Glynne and James Bay both made their marks on the MTV EMA stage with impressive debut performances. Meanwhile, twenty one pilots and superstar DJs Martin Garrix and Afrojack entertained tens of thousands of fans in central Milan’s Piazza Duomo with a spectacular outdoor MTV EMAs concert.
Rock heroes Duran Duran were honoured with the first-ever “MTV Video Visionary Award”, celebrating the greatest pioneers in the history of the music video art form. Pharrell Williams closed the night with a powerful performance of his hit track “Freedom”.
Before closing out the evening, 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 symboliSed 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.
It was also announced that the 2016 MTV EMA will take place in the Dutch city of Rotterdam.
The complete list of the 2015 MTV EMA winners is as follows:
- Best Song: Taylor Swift ft. Kendrick Lamar – “Bad Blood”
- Best Video: Macklemore & Ryan Lewis – “Downtown”
- Best Female: Rihanna
- Best Male: Justin Bieber
- Best New Act: Shawn Mendes
- Best Pop: One Direction
- Best Electronic: Martin Garrix
- Best Rock: Coldplay
- Best Alternative: Lana Del Rey
- Best Hip-Hop: Nicki Minaj
- Best Live Act: Ed Sheeran
- Best World Stage: Ed Sheeran V Festival, Hylands Park, UK 2014
- Best Push: Shawn Mendes
- Biggest Fans: Justin Bieber
- Best Look: Justin Bieber
- Best Collaboration: Justin Bieber Skrillex & Diplo – “Where Are Ü Now”
- Video Visionary Award: Duran Duran
- Best US Act: Taylor Swift
- Best Canadian Act: Justin Bieber
- Best UK & Ireland Act: Little Mix
- Best Danish Act: Lukas Graham
- Best Finnish Act: Lukas Graham
- Best Norwegian Act: Astrid S
- Best Swedish Act: The Fooo Conspiracy
- Best German Act: Lena
- Best Dutch Act: Kensington
- Best Belgian Act: Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike
- Best Swiss Act: Stefanie Heinzmann
- Best French Act: Black M
- Best Italian Act: Marco Mengoni
- Best Spanish Act: Sweet California
- Best Portuguese Act: Agir
- Best Greek Act: Giorgios Mazonakis
- Best Polish Act: Margaret
- Best Russian Act: MBand
- Best Romanian Act: Inna
- Best Adria Act: Daniel Kajmakoski
- Best Israeli Act: Eliad
- Best African/Indian Act: Diamond Platnumz
- Best Japanese Act: Dempagumi.inc
- Best Korean Act: Bangtan Boys
- Best Southeast India Act: Sơn Tùng M-TP
- Best Chinese & Hong Kong Act: Jane Zhang
- Best Taiwanese Act: Jay Chou
- Best Australian/New Zealand Act: 5 Seconds Of Summer
- Best Brazilian/Latin American Act: Anitta
- Best European Act: Marco Mengoni
- Best Asian Act: Jane Zhang
- Best Latin American Act: Anitta
- Best North American Act: Justin Bieber
Miss the 2015 MTV EMA? Fret not! A repeat telecast will air tonight (27th October_ at 8pm on MTV LIVE HD (HyppTV Channel 602).
For more information, hit up the MTV EMA website.
Source: MTV.
