Lady Gaga Wins Big at Japanese Gold Disk Awards

MANILA, Philippines – Japanese girl group AKB48 and Lady Gaga bagged the Album of the Year awards for the Japanese and Western categories, respectively, at the 26th Japan Gold Disc Award 2012, organized by the Recording Industry Association of Japan (RIAJ).

The awards were based on actual sales in Japan from to Nov. 1, 2010 to Oct. 31, 2011.

AKB48 won a total of 10 awards. Meanwhile, Korean girl group KARA won Best Asian Artist and four other awards, the most number for a K-pop singer.

Kiyoshi Hikawa was named Best Enka/Kyokyoku Artist while Korean Park Hyun Bin won as Best Enka/Kyokyoku New Artist.

In the New Artist of the Year category, the winners are Kis-My-Ft2 (Japan), LMFAO (Western) and 2PM (Asia).

The Best 5 New Artists in Japan are NMB48, Ayaman Japan, Kaoru to Tomoki, Tama ni Mook, Kis-My-Ft2 and back number.

In the Western category, the Best 3 New Artists are Bruno Mars, LMFAO and Nicki Minaj.

In the Asia category, boy bands BEAST and 2PM along with solo artist Jang Geun Suk won as Best 3 New Artists.

For the Album of the Year, the winners are: “Ikimono Bakari-Members BEST Selection” by Ikimono Gakari (Japan), “Born This Way” by Lady Gaga (Western) and “Girls Generation” – Girls Generation (Asia).

The Best 5 Japanese Albums are “SENSE” by Mr. Children, “Beautiful World” by Arashi, “Ikimono Bakari-Members BEST Selection”-Ikimono Gakari, “Koko ni Ita Koto” by AKB48, and “Negai no Tou” by EXILE.

The Best 3 Western Albums are “Goodbye Lullaby” by Avril Lavigne, “Greatest Hits” by Bon Jovi and “Born This Way” by Lady Gaga.

The Best 3 Asian Albums are “Girl’s Talk” by KARA,”Girls Generation” by Girls Generation and “TONE” by TVXQ (aka Tohoshinki).

In the Song of the Year by Download, the winners are “Jumping” by KARA (Asia), “Ryuusei” by Kobukuro (Japan) and “Born This Way” by Lady Gaga (Western).

In the Best 5 Songs by Download, the winners are “Everyday, Katyusha” by AKB48, “Maru Maru Mori Mori!” by Kaoru to Tomoki, Tama ni Mook, “Jumping” by KARA, “Ryuusei” by Kobukuro and “Kono Yoru wo Tomete yo” by JUJU.

KARA’s “Best Clips” also won as Best Music Video along with “ARASHI 10-11 Tour ‘Scene’-Kimi to Boku no Miteiru Fuukei-STADIUM” – Arashi (Japan), “ARASHI 10-11 Tour ‘Scene’-Kimi to Boku no Miteiru Fuukei-Dome+”–Arashi (Japan), “AKB ga Ippai-The Best Music Video” – AKB48 (Japan) and “Michael Jackson’s Vision” – Michael Jackson (Western).

Other winners are:

Classic Album of the Year: “Kamisama no Karute-Tsujii Nobuyuki Jisakushuu” – Tsujii Nobuyuki

Jazz Album of the Year: “… Featuring” by Norah Jones

Instrumental Album of the Year: “The Best of Taro Hakase” by Taro Hakase

Soundtrack Album of the Year: “Burlesque”

Animation Album of the Year: “Gintama BEST 2” – Various Artists

Traditional Japanese Music Album of the Year: “47th Columbia Zenkoku Ginei Concours: Kadaigin Odamaki” by Nippon Columbia Ginei Ongakukai

Concept Album of the Year: “Love Songs” by Che’Nelle

Single of the Year: “Everyday, Katyusha” by AKB48

Best 5 Singles: “Everyday, Kachuusha” by AKB48, “Kaze wa Fuiteiru” by AKB48, “Sakura no Ki ni Narou” by AKB48, “Chance no Junban” by AKB48 and “Flying Get” by AKB48

Special Award: “Songs For Japan” by Various Artists

Lady Gaga and Justin Bieber big winners at MMVAs

TORONTO - It's that time of year again. The Queen Street streetcar has been replaced by buses while teenagers from all over have set up camp chairs along Toronto's downtown sidewalks, all in preparation for the 2011 MuchMusic Video Awards.

But can you really call the event an awards show if a number of the awards are handed out on the red carpet, potentially before the recipients have arrived? It's a strategy that certainly streamlined the show - getting rid of a number of pesky acceptance speeches - but it did make the whole thing more like an elaborate concert than a party about honouring talent.

Nonetheless, the weather was perfect and the area around MuchMusic's downtown headquarters was transformed into a compound of stages, red carpets and screaming fans. 

All prerequisites for a show bookended with Lady Gaga performances and peppered by celebrity appearances by the likes of Justin Bieber and co-host Selena Gomez, performances by The Black Keys, Bruno Mars, and City and Colour (among others), and presenters such as Snoop Dogg, Shawn Desman and Danny Fernandes.

Video of the Year went to Desman for his song Electric/Night Like This, directed by RT!, the man behind six of this year's nominated videos, including the MuchFACT Indie Video of the Year, which went to JDiggz featuring Neverending White Lights for This Time and Best Post-Production of the Year, which went to Danny Fernandes featuring Belly for Automatic. 

Despite his dominance, though, RT! failed to snag Director of the Year, which went to Sean Wainsteim for his espionage-esque video for You Say Party's Lonely's Lunch.

Other notable winners were Lady Gaga and Bieber, both of whom won all the awards they were nominated for. Lady Gaga sealed her international dominance by beating out nine other nominees to take home the award for International Video of the Year - Artist for Judas, and picked up the fan choice UR FAVE International Video for Born This Way.

Teen heart-throb Bieber also picked up two awards. Bieber's Somebody to Love (remix), featuring Usher, tied with Drake's Find Your Love for International Video of the Year by a Canadian. But the Beliebers rallied and the Stratford, Ont., native snagged the UR Fave New Artist award for his Somebody to Love (remix) video.

There weren't many upsets at Sunday night's awards, but MuchMusic spiced things up by debuting a new statuette for the awards. The latest incarnation of the trophy - the fourth since the MMVAs started in 1990 - is made of an aluminium alloy, and distinctly brick-like in appearance. The statuette was redesigned as part of the music channel's rebranding efforts, said Peter Moller, creative director of design, in a news release.

"The heavy-weight trophy was meant to materialize the impact, significance, weight and profoundness of receiving a prize," he said in the release. "The simple yet stylish shape is timeless and is meant to be on a shelf or a proud MMVA winner for many years without becoming dated."

The size of the trophy also means that the winners' names will be engraved directly onto its surface, rather than on a plaque attached to a statue. At 10 pounds apiece, though, it may be a blessing in disguise that none of the nominated artists won more than two awards - that alone has to be worth a day off of training.