2021 MTV Europe Music Awards

The 2021 MTV Europe Music Awards were held on 14 November 2021 at the László Papp Budapest Sports Arena in Budapest, Hungary.^[1] This marked the first time that Hungary hosted the awards show and as well the first event has been held in a former communist country. The show was presented by American rapper Saweetie.

2021 MTV Europe Music Awards
Date	14 November 2021
Location	László Papp Budapest Sports Arena, Budapest, Hungary
Hosted by	Saweetie
Most awards	BTS (4)
Most nominations	Justin Bieber (8)
Website	mtvema.com
Television/radio coverage
Network	MTV (International) Channel 5 (UK) 10 Shake (AUS) VH1 India and Voot Select (IND)
← 2020 · MTV Europe Music Awards · 2022 →

Justin Bieber led the nominations, with a total of eight, making him the most nominated male artist. Doja Cat and Lil Nas X were both tied, with six nominations, with Doja being the most nominated female act. BTS was the most nominated group and K-pop act, while Little Mix was the nominated female group. The category Best K-Pop was introduced this year.^[2]

Performances

 

The stage of the event.

List of musical performances

Artist(s)	Song(s)
Main show^[3]
Ed Sheeran	"Overpass Graffiti" "Shivers"
Saweetie	"Tap In" "Best Friend" "Out Out"
Imagine Dragons JID	"Enemy"
Griff	"One Night"
Girl in Red	"Serotonin"
OneRepublic	"Run" (Filmed at Heroes' Square)
Maluma Rayvanny	"Mama Tetema"
Måneskin	"Mammamia"
Kim Petras	"Coconuts" "Hit It from the Back"
YUNGBLUD	"Fleabag"

Appearances

• Becca Dudley – Pre-show co-host
• Jack Saunders – Pre-show co-host
• Rita Ora – presented Best Latin
• Winnie Harlow – presented Best Hip-Hop
• Joel Corry – presented Best New
• Drew McIntyre – presented Best Rock
• Ryan Tedder – presented Best Song
• Manu Gavassi – presented Best Alternative
• Olly Alexander – presented Best Video
• Saweetie – presented Best Artist

Winners and nominations

Best Song	Best Video
Ed Sheeran — "Bad Habits" Doja Cat (featuring SZA) — "Kiss Me More" Justin Bieber (featuring Daniel Caesar & Giveon) — "Peaches" Lil Nas X – "Montero (Call Me By Your Name)" Olivia Rodrigo — "Drivers License" the Kid Laroi and Justin Bieber – "Stay"	Lil Nas X – "Montero (Call Me By Your Name)" Doja Cat (featuring SZA) — "Kiss Me More" Ed Sheeran — "Bad Habits" Justin Bieber (featuring Daniel Caesar & Giveon) — "Peaches" Normani (featuring Cardi B) – "Wild Side" Taylor Swift – "willow"
Best Collaboration	Best Artist
Doja Cat (featuring SZA) — "Kiss Me More" Black Eyed Peas and Shakira — "Girl Like Me" Lil Nas X and Jack Harlow – "Industry Baby" the Kid Laroi and Justin Bieber – "Stay" Silk Sonic — "Leave the Door Open" The Weeknd and Ariana Grande – "Save Your Tears (Remix)"	Ed Sheeran Doja Cat Justin Bieber Lady Gaga Lil Nas X The Weeknd
Best Group	Best New
BTS Imagine Dragons Jonas Brothers Little Mix Måneskin Silk Sonic	Saweetie Giveon Griff Olivia Rodrigo Rauw Alejandro the Kid Laroi
Best Pop	Best Electronic
BTS Doja Cat Dua Lipa Ed Sheeran Justin Bieber Olivia Rodrigo	David Guetta Calvin Harris Joel Corry Marshmello Skrillex Swedish House Mafia
Best Rock	Best Alternative
Måneskin Coldplay Foo Fighters Imagine Dragons Kings of Leon The Killers	Yungblud Halsey Lorde Machine Gun Kelly Twenty One Pilots Willow
Best Hip-Hop	Best Latin
Nicki Minaj Cardi B DJ Khaled Drake Kanye West Megan Thee Stallion	Maluma Bad Bunny J Balvin Rauw Alejandro Rosalía Shakira
Best K-Pop	Best Push
BTS Lisa Monsta X NCT 127 Rosé Twice	Olivia Rodrigo 24kGoldn Foushée Girl in Red Griff JC Stewart Jxdn Latto Madison Beer Remi Wolf Saint Jhn the Kid Laroi
Biggest Fans	Video for Good
BTS Ariana Grande Blackpink Justin Bieber Lady Gaga Taylor Swift	Billie Eilish — "Your Power" Demi Lovato — "Dancing with the Devil" Girl in Red — "Serotonin" H.E.R. — "Fight for You" Harry Styles — "Treat People with Kindness" Lil Nas X — "Montero (Call Me By Your Name)"

Regional awards

Regional nominations were announced on 20 October 2021.

Europe
Best French Act	Best German Act
Amel Bent Dadju Jérémy Frérot Tayc Vianney	badmómzjay Álvaro Soler Provinz Tokio Hotel Zoe Wees
Best Hungarian Act	Best Israeli Act
Azahriah Follow the Flow Halott Pénz Margaret Island Wellhello	Noa Kirel Eden Ben Zaken Eden Derso Noga Erez Jasmin Moallem
Best Italian Act	Best Nordic Act
Aka 7even Caparezza Madame Måneskin Rkomi	Tessa (Denmark) Drew Sycamore (Denmark) Sigrid (Norway) Swedish House Mafia (Sweden) Zara Larsson (Sweden)
Best Polish Act	Best Portuguese Act
Daria Zawiałow Brodka Krzysztof Zalewski Margaret sanah	Diogo Piçarra Bárbara Tinoco Nenny Plutónio Wet Bed Gang
Best MTV Russia Act	Best Spanish Act
Max Barskih Mari Kraimbrery Musia Totibadze Imanbek Slava Marlow	Aitana Ana Mena C. Tangana Colectivo Da Silva Pablo Alborán
Best Swiss Act	Best UK & Ireland Act
Gjon's Tears Arma Jackson Monet192 Stefanie Heinzmann Loredana	Little Mix Dave Dua Lipa Ed Sheeran KSI
Africa
Best African Act
Wizkid (Nigeria) Amaarae (Ghana) Diamond Platnumz (Tanzania) Focalistic (South Africa) Tems (Nigeria)
Asia
Best Indian Act
Divine Ananya Birla Kaam Bhaari × Spitfire × Rākhis Raja Kumari Zephyrtone
Best Japanese Act	Best Korean Act
Sakurazaka46 Awesome City Club Eve STUTS Vaundy	Aespa Cravity STAYC Weeekly WEi
Best Southeast Asian Act
JJ Lin (Singapore) Ink Waruntorn (Thailand) K-ICM (Vietnam) Naim Daniel (Malaysia) Lyodra (Indonesia) SB19 (Philippines)
Australia and New Zealand
Best Australian Act	Best New Zealand Act
Ruel Amy Shark Masked Wolf The Kid Laroi Tones and I	Teeks Broods Jolyon Petch Lorde Six60
Americas
Best Brazilian Act	Best Canadian Act
Manu Gavassi Anitta Ludmilla Luísa Sonza Pabllo Vittar	Johnny Orlando Justin Bieber Shawn Mendes The Weeknd Tate McRae
Best Caribbean Act	Best Latin America North Act
Bad Bunny Farruko Guaynaa Natti Natasha Rauw Alejandro	Alemán Danna Paola Gera MX Humbe Sofía Reyes
Best Latin America Central Act	Best Latin America South Act
Sebastián Yatra Camilo J Balvin Karol G Maluma	Tini Duki Nicki Nicole María Becerra Trueno
Best US Act
Taylor Swift Ariana Grande Doja Cat Lil Nas X Olivia Rodrigo

Controversy

After the decision to hold the MTV EMA in Budapest, there was criticism for the location, because of the Hungarian's parliament decision to adopt laws against the LGBT community in June 2021.^[4] President and CEO of MTV Entertainment Group Worldwide Chris McCarthy explained that no censorship by the Hungarian government will be tolerated:^[5]

"As a gay man, my personal emotions got the better of me. After learning this legislation passed, my knee jerk reaction was that we should move the event to another country. However, I picked up the phone to connect with global LGBTQ+ advocates, [...] and consulted our LGBTQ+ employee resource group, Emerge. The decision was very clear to all of us, [...] we should not move the event. Instead, we should move forward, using the show as an opportunity to stand in solidarity with the LGBTQ+ community in Hungary and around the world as we continue to fight for equality for all".

Performers included Kim Petras, the first out trans performer at the EMAs,^[6] with an act that was intentionally raunchy and "sex positive"^[6] and who spoke out to say "It's going to be pretty powerful to be in Hungary and perform the show when these laws have just happened".^[7] Other artists were also given stage time to speak out against Hungarian anti-LGBTQ+ policies, including Saweetie and Lil Nas X.^[7]

There were also announced five "Generation Change Awards", introduced by Drew Barrymore and honouring LGBTQ+ activists from Iraq, Nigeria, Brazil, the United States and Hungary, with Budapest Pride organiser Viktória Radványi accepting the award in person;^[7] the other honourees were Amir Ashour, founder of IraQueer; Matthew Blaise, founder of The Oasis Project in Nigeria; Sage Dolan-Sandrino, an Afro-Cuban queer and trans artist from the United States; and Erika Hilton, the first black trans woman elected to the Municipal Chamber of São Paulo.^[8]

References

1. "2021 MTV EMAs to broadcast live from Hungary". MTV. 19 October 2021. from the original on 20 October 2021. Retrieved 20 October 2021.
2. "Justin Bieber Leads 2021 MTV EMA Nominations". Billboard. 20 October 2021. from the original on 20 October 2021. Retrieved 20 October 2021.
3. "Maluma, Maneskin & Kim Petras Announced as 2021 MTV EMA Performers". Billboard. from the original on 27 October 2021. Retrieved 27 October 2021.
4. "2021 MTV Europe Music Awards to 'Stand in Solidarity With Our LGBTQ Siblings' In Wake Of Host Hungary's Anti-Gay Laws". Billboard. from the original on 26 October 2021. Retrieved 25 October 2021.
5. Szalai, Georg (19 October 2021). "MTV to Counter Hungary's Anti-Gay Law as EMAs in Budapest Will "Stand in Solidarity" With LGBTQ+ Community". The Hollywood Reporter. from the original on 25 October 2021. Retrieved 25 October 2021.
6. Moran, Justin (14 November 2021). "Kim Petras Brings Her 'Coconuts' to the EMAs Stage". Paper. from the original on 16 November 2021. Retrieved 15 November 2021.
7. Spike, Justin (15 November 2021). "2021 MTV EMAs Displays Support For LGBTQ People During Ceremony In Hungary". HuffPost. Associated Press. from the original on 15 November 2021. Retrieved 15 November 2021.
8. Ramachandran, Naman (14 November 2021). "As MTV EMAs Go Ahead in Budapest Despite Anti-LGBTQ Laws, Hungarian Activist Award Winner Details 'Fear and Censorship'". Variety. from the original on 14 November 2021. Retrieved 15 November 2021.