Gwen Stefani, Taylor Swift, Selena Gomez and Justin Bieber were the big winners at the Radio Disney Music Awards on Saturday.
A host of famous faces hit the red carpet at the Microsoft Theatre in Los Angeles, California, as the biggest stars in music were honored for their work.
Ariana Grande, who won Best Song to Dance To for her hit Focus, performed her number one song Dangerous Woman at the awards show on a James Bond-themed stage.
Justin Bieber, who picked up the award for Best Song to Lip Sync To for What Do You Mean, was shown in a video at the ceremony visiting a high school in Tulsa, Oklahoma, after its music funding was put under threat. The Canadian superstar surprised students by interrupting their music lesson and performing an acoustic version of Love Yourself, later revealing that the school would be receiving a $10,000 donation to help with their music funding.
Selena Gomez won Best Female Artist, while Ed Sheeran, who is on a self-imposed break from the limelight after years of touring, beat Justin Bieber and Nick Jonas to be named Best Male Artist.
Taylor Swift’s hit Bad Blood nabbed two awards, Best Song of the Year and Best Breakup Song, while the singer was named Radio Disney’s Most Talked About Artist.
Fifth Harmony also won big on Saturday, scooping Best Music Group, while their fans, the Harmonizers, won the Fiercest Fans award.
Gwen Stefani was the night’s big winner, as she was honoured with the Hero Award for her philanthropy work. The 45-year-old, who walked the red carpet with her niece Stella, was seen embracing her partner Blake Shelton as she went up to receive her award.
Her former The Voice co-judge Pharrell Williams presented her with the honour, and described the No Doubt frontwoman as having a heart of gold.
“It’s great to see people being recognised for their work, but it feels even better to see an artist being recognised for putting in the time and effort to those who really need it,” he said.
“I’m proud to be here to present the 2016 RDMA Hero Award to someone I’ve worked with quite a bit who I know, and my brother Blake Shelton knows, truly has a heart of gold.”
Accepting her award, Gwen said, “This is very strange because I literally grew up in Anaheim, California, right next to Disneyland. So for anything like this happening is just surreal. I just remember going, ‘Dad, please can I just have five dollars so I can get a microphone so I can go to rehearsal?’
“It is crazy this is happening to me. I never thought I’d make a difference. I’m so blessed to make music and share it with you and to receive your love back.”
Full list of winners:
Best Music Group – Fifth Harmony
Best Anthem – Sabrina Carpenter, Eyes Wide Open
Best Song That Makes You Smile – Better When I’m Dancing – Meghan Trainor
Best Crush Song – One Direction, Perfect
Artist With the Best Style – Becky G
Best Song to Lip Sync To – What Do You Mean – Justin Bieber
Best Song of the Year – Bad Blood – Taylor Swift
Breakout Artist of the Year – Tori Kelly
Best Female Artist – Selena Gomez
Favorite Country Song – Fly – Maddie & Tae
Favorite Country Artist – Maddie & Tae
Hero Award – Gwen Stefani
Best New Artist – Kelsea Ballerini
Fiercest Fans – Fifth Harmony
Best Song to Dance To – Focus – Ariana Grande
Radio Disney’s Most Talked About Artist – Taylor Swift
Best Male Artist – Ed Sheeran
Best Breakup Song – Bad Blood – Taylor Swift
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