Canadian pop star Shawn Mendes was the big winner at the MTV EMAs, with the 19-year-old taking home three of the top prizes. The event brought together several generations of performers in London.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/PA Wire/I. West
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Shawn Mendes wins in three categories at MTV EMAs
No awards for Taylor Swift or Katy Perry, but plenty of success for Canadian heartthrob Shawn Mendes. MTV's annual European awards show held several surprises in 2017.
Image: Reuters/D. Martinez
Shawn Mendes
The young Canadian superstar won three awards at the EMAs, upstaging all other acts of the evening. His fans actively supported him in one of the categories, hashtagging the 19-year-old as the performer with the biggest fans. Mendes brought his grandmother along to celebrate his victory.
Image: Reuters/D. Martinez
Camila Cabello
Another big winner was Camila Cabello. The 20-year-old Cuban–American singer managed to upstage the likes of Taylor Swift and Katy Perry. Cabello also delivered a sexy live performance of her hit single "Havana," which made some people wonder how much pitch correction software had been used during the original studio recording of the track.
Image: Reuters/H. McKay
Demi Lovato
With the awards determined by online votes and not juries, several established singers failed to bag any honors. Demi Lovato, who was up against Cabello, proved the strength of her powerful vocals during her live performance, but failed to get enough votes to win a prize.
Image: Reuters/D. Martinez
David Guetta
Electronic music has long come of age, and so has its poster boy David Guetta. The 50-year-old French DJ continues to celebrate his success, selling albums around the world. It's really no wonder that Guetta managed to win in this category. He is well-known for his musical collaborations, most recently teaming up with Canadian megastar Justin Bieber.
Image: Reuters/D. Martinez
Rita Ora
British singer Rita Ora stole the show, changing her outfits about a dozen times through the evening while hosting the event. The 26-year-old performer with Kosovar roots started off by teasing the crowd, appearing only in a bathrobe — along with plenty of bling. Ora was lauded for her presenting skills, with rumors already brewing of a possible parallel career on TV.
Image: Reuters/D. Martinez
Eminem
With Eminem recently launching his comeback, many were surprised that he received the award for best hip-hop artist — including Eminem himself. It's been four years since he released his most recent album. The success of his latest single "Walk on Water," a collaboration with Beyonce, is already setting the tone for the upcoming album, with expectations running even higher after the EMA win.
Image: Getty Images/MTV/D.J. Hogan
U2
After winning the Global Icon award at the EMAs, U2's performance was certainly another highlight of the evening — even though their song choice, "Get Out Of Your Own Way" was a rather timid pick for the rock legends. After celebrating this latest success, frontman Bono will likely return to his duties of saving the world and possibly his bank accounts, in the wake of the Paradise Papers.
Image: Reuters/D. Martinez
Taylor Swift
An unexpected flop for pop princess Taylor Swift: nominated in six categories, she ended the evening empty-handed. What went wrong? Did her fans not appreciate her change in style, as displayed in her controversial "Look What You Made Me Do" music video? Swift has been trying to mark a departure from her appeal to teenagers for quite some time, but will she succeed?
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Shawn Mendes was in the spotlight at the 2017 MTV EMAs, as the Canadian singer took home three of the five prizes for which he was nominated.
In addition to being named best artist, beating out Taylor Swift and Ed Sheeran, Mendes also won the award for best song for his hit "There's Nothing Holdin' Me Back" and the prize for having the best fans.
The latter award was determined via social media by counting trending hashtags on Twitter and Instagram in the run-up to Sunday's ceremony.
The 19-year-old Mendes, who brought his grandmother along to London's SSE Arena to celebrate his great success, is already considered a fixture on the pop music landscape, having launched his career in 2013 posting song covers online.
This year's award for best newcomer, meanwhile, went to 22-year-old British singer-songwriter Dua Lipa, who found success with her record-breaking single, "New Rules."
'Blank Space' for Swift
Swift, who had nominations in six categories, was left empty-handed by the end of the evening, much to the surprise of those who had expected her to be the big winner. Katy Perry, Swift's sworn rival, also failed to bag any awards.
Cabello was one of the surprise winners of the eveningImage: Reuters/D. Martinez
Other favorites included rapper Kendrick Lamar, who won the award for best video for his hit single "Humble" but failed to show up to receive his prize. Cuban singer Camila Cabello was named best pop artist.
French DJ and music producer David Guetta, who recently celebrated his 50th birthday, was named best electronic artist while British band Coldplay celebrated their comeback, winning best rock artist.
Also marking a long-awaited comeback was Eminem, who performed at the top of the show and was later singled out as best hip-hop artist. The 45-year-old rapper was, however, admittedly surprised about the win, having only released a single this year.
"I don't know how I got this because I haven't had an album out in a few years," he said.
Bono (second right) has welcomed the fact that his offshore investments will be audited after Paradise Papers revelationsImage: Reuters/D. Martinez
'Beautiful Day' for U2
Rock legends U2 were honored for their four decades of groundbreaking work with the Global Icon award. The Irish band performed at London's Trafalgar Square on Saturday evening, celebrating the landmark honor in advance.
US actor Jared Leto, whose band 30 Seconds to Mars took home the award for best alternative artist, presented the award to U2, saying the band had changed his life.
"Their songs are prayers, their concerts a church," he said. "They challenge us, they inspire us."
In a first for the EMAs, which were created in 1994 and formerly known as the MTV Europe Music Awards, the categories were stripped of gender in a bid to "break barriers." The event takes place in a different city each year, with London playing host for the first time since 1996.
