“We’re so happy, it’s crazy,” the band’s androgynous 19-year-old lead singer Bill Kaulitz said during the ceremony. “You’re all awesome,” he added for fans.
The teen band from Magdeburg was up against bands like Metallica and The Cure in their category. Bill, his brother Tom, and their bandmates Georg and Gustav were also nominated for “Best Act Ever,” which sadly went to British artist Rick Astley.
American artists dominated the rest of the show, with Britney Spears making a comeback to win “Album of the Year” and “Act of 2008,” though she was not on hand to accept the awards. Other winners included Pink, Kanye West and Lil Wayne. Meanwhile Sir Paul McCartney won the “Ultimate Legend” award at the show attended by some 40,000 fans.
Tokio Hotel has already won two other MTV awards this year, taking the Song of the Year prize at the MTV Video Music Awards Latin America in mid-October, and the Best New Artist category for their video “Ready, Set, Go!” at the MTV Music Video Awards in Los Angeles in September.
They released their first album “Schrei” (Scream) in May 2006 and sold some 600,000 copies in six days in Germany. It also quickly became a major success in France, Austria and Switzerland.
The band’s first US single was released in late 2007. The band began touring the country in August after Bill recovered from surgery to his vocal chords in late March.