Absent winners
English pop band One Direction scooped three major awards despite not being there to receive them at the MTV Europian Music Awards (EMA).
Held at SSE Hydro Arena Sunday here — the first time the show has ventured to Scotland in 10 years — the night proved to be a triumph for One Direction. The five-piece group was named the winners of the Best Pop Act award, as well as Best Live.
The group, consisting of Harry Styles, Liam Payne, Niall Horan, Louis Tomlinson and Zayn Malik, also won the MTV EMA for having the ‘biggest fans’, beating the likes of Ariana Grande and Justin Bieber.
The band recorded a video message to accept their award on behalf of their loyal Directioners for Biggest Fans, but 21-year-old Malik was missing from the screen.
“We’re so sorry we can’t be with you tonight. Thank you so much for this, the award for Biggest Fans. Because of that we obviously, obviously want to thank our incredible fans – thank you so, so much for all your support. We can never thank you all enough,” Styles said in the video.
The first award of the night went to Grande, who took home the Best Song prize for her single “Problem”. Alicia Keys revealed her growing baby bump as she arrived on stage with Emeli Sande to present the award to the 21-year-old hitmaker.
Model Jourdan Dunn and “Games of Thrones” actress Jena Malone then took to the stage to announce the winner of the Best Hip-Hop award, which went to the show’s host Nicki Minaj.