Kanye West: Sore Loser?

(AP)  Rap star Kanye West was named Best Hip Hop artist, but still came off as a sore loser at the MTV Europe Music Awards.

West apparently was so disappointed at not winning for Best Video that he crashed the stage Thursday in Copenhagen when the award was being presented to Justice and Simian for "We Are Your Friends."

In a tirade riddled with expletives, West said he should have won the prize for his video "Touch The Sky," because it "cost a million dollars, Pamela Anderson was in it. I was jumping across canyons."

"If I don't win, the awards show loses credibility," West said.

The rapper grabbed the Best Hip Hop award earlier in the night in a star-studded event hosted by Justin Timberlake in the Danish capital.

West has a particular affinity for the "Touch The Sky" video. In an interview with The Associated Press in August, he expressed his displeasure that the clip, an elaborate Evel Knievel spoof, didn't get nominated for an MTV Video Music Award.

"It didn't get any nominations, but it's one of the most memorable videos of the year for me," he told AP.

It's also not the first time he's had a meltdown at an awards show. At the 2004 American Music Awards, West bitterly complained backstage that he was robbed when he didn't win a trophy.

A West publicist did not return an e-mail request for comment.

Elsewhere at the MTV awards, Timberlake won the Best Pop and Best Male awards while the Red Hot Chili Peppers won Best Album. Christina Aguilera was named Best Female artist at the annual awards show broadcast live in 17 countries.

British band Muse won the Best Alternative category, and Depeche Mode earned the Best Group award.

"Wow, guys, this is totally unexpected," said Rihanna as she received the Best R&B award. In September, the 18-year-old music star won the same category in the Music of Black Origin award in London.

The show was split between two venues: a convention hall on the city outskirts where Timberlake was in charge and an outdoor stage on Copenhagen's main square where R&B songstress Kelis introduced the artists.

Rapper Snoop Dogg, Australian band Jets and The Killers of Denmark had crowds jumping up and down in temperatures just above freezing at the outdoor venue.

The Red Hot Chili Peppers were nominated in four categories, but only won one for the album "Stadium Arcadium."

Best song went to Gnarls Barkley for "Crazy."

British comedian Sacha Baron Cohen entertained the audience with his English-mangling character Borat Sagdiyev, a Kazakh TV journalist, and poked fun at Madonna who is trying to adopt an African child.

"My only concern is that this singing transvestite will not be such a good father," Borat said in a mock video link from Kazakhstan.

Other award presenters included R&B singer Cassie, Daniel Craig — the sixth actor to play agent James Bond — Fat Joe, "Jackass" star Johnny Knoxville and the Sugababes.

MTV's European awards are held in a different city every year. The winners are selected by fans across Europe.


By Jan M. Olsen