Girls rule on MTV awards night in Berlin

The Irish band U2 and the American rap artist Jay-Z were supposed to be the headline acts at last night's MTV awards concert at the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, but it was the girls who stole the show, both Beyonce and Katy Perry appearing on stage in revealing basques.

Perry, 25, who has been in the news recently for her romance with the comedian Russell Brand, hosted the event. Inspired by the Liza Minelli film Cabaret, Perry took to the stage dressed in a burlesque outfit which included black panties decorated with a white heart. She performed a medley of the five Best Song contenders, which included Kings Of Leon's Use Somebody, Beyonce's Halo and Lady Gaga's Pokerface.

Beyonce herself chose an even more revealing scarlet red corset, slashed to the waist, in which to sing Sweet Dreams. And it was Beyonce who scored big on the night, winning a hat-trick of awards: Best Female, Best Song for Halo, and Best Video for Single Ladies Put a Ring on It.

She dedicated the latter to husband Jay-Z, saying: "There's only one person I want to thank and that is Jay for putting a ring on it."

The event, one of the glitziest nights on the international music scene, was held in Berlin this year to mark the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall.

Lady GaGa was named Best New Act. However, though her show-it-all look would have fitted in perfectly on Berlin's big night, she did not attend.

Other big winners were Jay-Z (Best Urban) and Eminem (Best Male), while the Best Group award went to the German band Tokio Hotel who delivered a suitably explosive performance of The World Behind My Wall.

U2 won the the Best Live Act award, but, as reported by The First Post yesterday, their evening was marred by a controversy over a barrier built by MTV to prevent ticketless fans seeing the Irish rockers' 20-minute 'free' concert.

Star FM, a Berlin rock music radio station, boycotted the concert and refused to distribute tickets to its listeners, outraged that a new wall should be built on a night celebrating the fall of the original Berlin Wall.

DJ Wolfi said: "Is this is a sick joke? A band whose leader, Bono, campaigns for world peace and freedom, puts on a concert to commemorate the fall of one of the most monstrous barriers in history, and they erect a wall to stop fans from taking part?"

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