Shawn Mendes took home four awards and stole the hearts of countless screaming teenagers at the iHeartRadio MMVAs on Sunday.
The Pickering, Ont.-raised singer was the recurring star of the Toronto street party. He opened and closed the show with performances of his songs Lost in Japan and In My Blood, but also turned up several more times to dish out love to his Canadian fans.
“This is home,” he said while clutching the MMVA for artist of the year.
“Honestly, what I mainly want to say is thank you to everybody who follows an artist when they try to explore musically and support them through that journey,” he said.
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“This means the absolute world to me,” Mendes said.
The Treat You Better singer took home three other MMVAs: best pop artist and two awards voted by viewers — fan fave artist and video.
Mendes also left the crowd screaming with delight after he revealed himself underneath the disguise of another musical star, electronic producer Marshmello.
The mysterious Top 40 DJ has maintained his anonymity for years, so seeing Mendes mugging in the costume was a total shock.
“Woah, what happened there?” the Canadian singer jokingly exclaimed as he dove into a fake acceptance speech.
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Mendes told the crowd that he didn’t have to travel too far to come to the award show because he recently bought a condo in downtown Toronto.
“I live around the corner,” Mendes revealed while on the red carpet before the show.
He continued: “I was at my house 30 minutes ago. It’s really cool to be home one minute and hanging out with your friends, and the next minute being here.”
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Many Mendes fans took to Twitter to celebrate the singer’s awards.
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Other awards handed out on the broadcast included song of the summer, which went to Canadian DJ duo Loud Luxury for Body, a hit that’s been spun frequently on radio stations nationwide in recent months.
Best collaboration was awarded to Bebe Rexha and Florida Georgia Line for Meant To Be. Rexha raced onto the stage, threw her head back and let out a loud scream.
Alessia Cara accepted the video of the year award for 1-800-273-8255 a suicide prevention anthem by Logic. The Brampton, Ont.-based pop singer lent vocals to the song alongside R&B singer Khalid.
“I’m accepting this but this is not my award — this is Logic’s award,” Cara said, acknowledging the absent rapper.
She continued: “This is his song; this is his message. I was just really honoured to be a part of it. Shout out to Khalid also for being amazing. Andrew Hines, the director of this video, who is also Canadian. Shout out to him. And all of you guys for supporting the message of this song and I hope this video and this song made you feel something.”
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Drake, who had seven nominations, won two awards — best hip-hop artist and best director with Karena Evans for the God’s Plan music video.
Evans received the award on the red carpet before the show started but Drake wasn’t there.
He hosted “The Day Party” at The Brooklyn Mirage because he’s in New York City headlining two Madison Square Garden concerts on Aug. 27 and 28.
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See the full list of winners below.
Full list of winners:
iHeartRadio MMVA Artist for Change
Halsey
Best Rock/Alternative Artist or Group
Imagine Dragons
Best Pop Artist or Group
Shawn Mendes
Best EDM/Dance Artist or Group
Marshmello
Best Hip Hop Artist or Group
Drake
Best Director
Drake – God’s Plan
Director: Karena Evans
Video of the Year
Logic ft. Alessia Cara and Khalid – 1-800-273-8255
Single of the Year
Ed Sheeran – Perfect
Artist of the Year
Shawn Mendes
Song of the Summer
Loud Luxury feat. Brando — Body
Best Collaboration
Bebe Rexha + Florida Georgia Line – Meant To Be
Best New Canadian Artist or Group
Elijah Woods x Jamie Fine
Fan Fave Artist
Shawn Mendes
Fan Fave Duo or Group
BTS
Fan Fave Video
Shawn Mendes – In My Blood
Fan Fave Single
Selena Gomez featuring Marshmello – Wolves
Fan Fave New Artist
Kris Wu
Fan Fave Much Creator
TheDanocracy – Dan Rodo
—With files from the Canadian Press
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