Madrid: Lady Gaga won three prizes at this year's MTV Europe Music Awards on Sunday, claiming Best Female, Song, and Pop honours, just a year after taking the plaudits for best new act.
The ceremony converted two of the Spanish capital's most iconic landmarks into glittering venues from which to present its 2010 honours.
Tens of thousands of music fans crowded downtown Puerta de Alcala and Caja Magica to hear 14 separate performers, including acts by Jared Leto and Shakira.
Lady Gaga beamed her acceptance speech from Budapest, Hungary, where she was on tour.
She interrupted a live act in the Hungarian capital to convey by video link her delight at the crop of awards which just kept on coming and spotlighted her song Bad Romance as the year's best.
Best New Act went to KE$HA, while the 16-year-old Justin Bieber won the Best Male Artist award, Paramore the Best Alternative act, and Eminem got the Best Hip Hop award.
The new MTV Global Icon award went to Jon Bon Jovi, who thrilled fans with a live performance of Shot through the heart and You're to blame at the spectacularly decorated, year-old Caja Magica venue, sometimes used for sports events.
At the centre of the Caja Magica hall a brilliantly illuminated hollow cube acted as a focal point for indoor acts while the Puerta de Alcala provided an outdoor flavour to the show.
Katy Perry got Best Video for California Gurls and raised a cheer when she collected the award wearing an ornate, dark outfit.
Presenter Eva Longoria also regaled viewers with a dazzling array of elegant dresses and at one point had the audience in fits of laughter by saying she had discovered her long-lost Spanish relatives in Madrid.
She then introduced four statuesque and muscular young men dressed only in underpants bearing the letters "Longoria" at the back. "That's my family, which I'm going to introduce to the girls backstage," she said.
Winners of MTV Europe Music Awards
Best Song: Lady Gaga for "Bad Romance"
Best Live Act: Linkin Park
Best European Act: Marco Mengoni
Best New Act: KE$HA
Best Female: Lady Gaga
Best Male: Justin Bieber
Best Push Artist: Justin Beiber
Best Pop: Lady Gaga
Best Rock: Thirty Seconds to Mars
Best Alternative: Paramore
Best Spanish Singer: Enrique Iglesias
Best Video: Katy Perry for "California Gurls"
Best Hip Hop: Eminem
MTV Global Icon: Bon Jovi
World Stage: Tokio Hotel
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