MTV's VMA's Explode with Premieres, Surprises & Epic Moments

The 2013 "MTV Video Music Awards" erupted with an explosion of musical firsts and Epic moments from the Barclays Center, as the first award show to be broadcast live from Brooklyn.

Justin Timberlake earned a standing ovation after delivering an extra sensory performance (the longest in VMA history) featuring a medley of his biggest hits. Starting in the hallways of Barclays and winding his way into the arena, Timberlake performed from every corner of the house. He glided, danced and sang his way through throngs of fans during the show-stopping performance, including a highly anticipated reunion with his former 'NSYNC band mates for the first time in a decade.

In one of the most intimate performances of the show, NBA player Jason Collins and A$ap Rocky introducEd Macklemore and Ryan Lewis, who were surrounded from above by American flags as they delivered a powerful rendition of their anthem of love, acceptance and equality, "Same Love." They were joined for an emotionally charged vocal accompaniment by Mary Lambert and surprise guest, super star Jennifer Hudson.

The VMAs were bookended by world premiere performances from two of the biggest female artists on the planet. Lady Gaga opened the night with an evocative, theatrical rendition of her newly released "Applause." The performance was produced by the world renowned theater artist, Robert Wilson, and featured Gaga going through numerous costume changes, from a chaste white, floor-length robe to almost baring all in a Botticelli inspired "Birth of Venus" ending. Closing the show, against the backdrop one of the most iconic Brooklyn landmarks, the Brooklyn Bridge, Katy Perry roared into a boxing ring to perform her new single "Roar."

The show also included first-ever television premieres of Kanye West's "Blood on the Leaves," where he samples Nina Simone's rendition of Billie Holliday's indelible "Strange Fruit." From a darkened stage, Kanye powerfully and in silhouette delivered a riveting performance. Drake started his set by serenading and later grooving the audience with his hit "Started from the Bottom," and Bruno Mars seduced all with a tropically infused rendition of "Gorilla." Miley Cyrus made her VMA debut as she emerged from, yes -- the belly of a 30-foot teddy bear to perform "We Can't Stop."

Jimmy Fallon presented his longtime friend and "History of Rap" collaborator Justin Timberlake with the prestigious "Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award." Timberlake also took home three limited-edition KAWS Moonmen, including "Video of the Year," presented to him by Joseph Gordon-Levitt. Macklemore & Ryan Lewis were also big VMA winners, taking home three Moonmen for categories including "Best Hip-Hop Video" and the "Best Video with a Social Message." Bruno Mars nabbed two awards including "Best Male Video" for "Locked out of Heaven."

Before introducing "Best Female Video," which went to Taylor Swift for "I Knew You Were Trouble," the French electronic duo Daft Punk premiered a sneak peek from their upcoming music video "Lose Yourself to Dance," along with Pharell and Nile Rogers. P!nk won "Best Collaboration" for "Just Give me a Reason" with Nate Ruess from fun.; Selena Gomez took home "Best Pop Video" for "Come and Get It;" and 30 Seconds to Mars won "Best Rock Video" for "Up in the Air."

The VMAs also introduced two new awards this year, including Artist to Watch, which went to Austin Mahone for "What About Love." The other new award - "Best Song of the Summer," powered by Windows Phone - went to One Direction for the group's "Best Song Ever."

After her whimsically naughty performance, Miley Cyrus helped open "Blurred Lines" with the suave Robin Thicke, who was later joined on stage by 2 Chainz and Kendrick Lamar performing "Give it 2 U." DJ Cassidy kept the night moving as the VMA house deejay.

To build anticipation for the show, MTV launched a successful cross platform social communications campaign, #RoadToTheVMAs, which features the Moonman in a myriad of iconic locations throughout Brooklyn and NYC. Thus far, the campaign has garnered more than 100 million social media impressions, including over half a million likes on Instagram, nearly 60 million impressions on Twitter, more than 40 million impressions on Facebook and over 1.2 million impressions on Tumblr.

Full List of 2013 "MTV Video Music Awards" Winners Below:

Video Of The Year Justin Timberlake - "Mirrors"

Best Hip-Hop Video Macklemore & Ryan Lewis feat. Ray Dalton - "Cant' Hold Us"

Best Male Video Bruno Mars - "Locked Out of Heaven"

Best Female Video Taylor Swift - "I Knew You Were Trouble"

Best Pop Video Selena Gomez - "Come and Get It"

Artist To Watch Presented by Taco Bell(R) Austin Mahone - "What About Love"

Best Collaboration P!nk feat. Nate Ruess - "Just Give Me A Reason"

Best Video With A Social Message Macklemore & Ryan Lewis - "Same Love"

Best Rock Video Thirty Seconds To Mars - "Up In The Air"

Best Art Direction Janelle Monae feat. Erykah Badu - "Q.U.E.E.N."

Best Choreography Bruno Mars - "Treasure"

Best Cinematography Macklemore & Ryan Lewis feat. Ray Dalton - "Cant' Hold Us"

Best Direction Justin Timberlake feat. Jay Z - "Suit & Tie"

Best Editing Justin Timberlake - "Mirrors"

Best Visual Effects Capital Cities - "Safe and Sound"

Song Of The Summer One Direction - "Best Song Ever"

For additional information on Drake, Bruno Mars, Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, Justin Timberlake, Lady Gaga, Kanye West, Katy Perry, Miley Cyrus, Robin Thicke or any VMA nominated artist, including music, videos, interviews, and news, visit MTV's Artist Platform (Artists.MTV.com) a music discovery site that powers MTV/CMT/VH1's network of 60 million passionate music fans online and 100M homes on-air.

For updates, to see photos or for additional information on this year's show, please head to VMA.MTV.com or www.mtvpress.com, and follow @mtv on Instagram or Twitter.

Official sponsors of the 2013 "MTV Video Music Awards" adidas Originals, COVERGIRL, Kia Motors, ORBIT(R) GUM, Pepsi(R), State Farm(R), Taco Bell(R) and Windows Phone.

"MTV Video Music Awards"

Since the first "MTV Video Music Awards" aired in 1984, the VMAs instantly earned its reputation for delivering the most popular bands and artists to create the loudest, most influential and at times, the most controversial, annual live celebration of music in the world. No other award show has been responsible for creating more memorable or bigger musical moments in pop culture history than the "MTV Video Music Awards."

The 2012 "MTV Video Music Awards," broadcast live from STAPLES Center in Los Angeles, was the #1 telecast across all TV for the night of September 6, 2012 in P12-34, scoring a 5.3 P12-34 rating with 6.1 million total viewers. Across the Viacom networks (MTV, VH1, MTV2 and Logo) the simulcast of the premiere averaged 8.0 million total viewers. Encore presentations of the 2012 show on MTV earned a 2.4 P12-34 rating at 10:00 p.m., and a 1.2 P12-34 rating at 12:00 a.m., for a total rating of 8.9 for the evening.

At the time, the telecast was also the #1 social TV event of the year according to Trendrr. With more than 19 million mentions, the 2012 VMAs more than tripled the full-day social-media response of 2012's record breaking telecast. In addition, MTV drove more online streams on this date than any other VMA show ever, and generated nearly a whopping 200 topics trended throughout the night, both in the U.S. and worldwide.

The 2013 "MTV Video Music Awards" will air across MTV's global network of more than 60 channels reaching more than a half-billion households around the world as well as through syndication. In addition, its convergent programming and content will reach the entire interactive community, via MTV's more than 200 digital media properties around the world. The 2012 VMAs was one of MTV's top performers in key markets across Europe, Latin America, Asia and Australia.

Jesse Ignjatovic/Den of Thieves is the Executive Producer for the 2013 "MTV Video Music Awards." Amy Doyle, Garrett English and Dave Sirulnick are Executive Producers. Joanna Bomberg, Jen Jones and Lee Lodge are Co-Executive Producers. Hamish Hamilton is Director. Wendy Plaut is Celebrity Talent Executive.

About MTV

MTV is the world's premier youth entertainment brand. With a global reach of more than a half-billion households, MTV is the cultural home of the millennial generation, music fans and artists, and a pioneer in creating innovative programming for young people. MTV reflects and creates pop culture with its Emmy(R), Grammy(R) and Peabody(R) award-winning content built around compelling storytelling, music discovery and activism across TV, online and mobile. MTV's sibling networks MTV2 and mtvU each deliver unparalleled customized content for young males, music fans and college students, and its online HUB MTV.com is a leading destination for music, news and pop culture. MTV is a unit of Viacom Inc. (NASDAQ: VIAB, VIA), one of the world's leading creators of programming and content across all media platforms.

Photo credit: Getty/MTV

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