MTV Europe Music Awards 2004

[...] The only Europeans to win a major award were Britain's Muse, who scored Best Alternative.

But that didn't mean the evening didn't have a Euro- pean feel to it. The show was held at the Tor di Valle, in the shadow of Rome's Colosseum, so it made sense that things kicked off with host Xzibit being led in on a chariot pulled by a team of leather-clad gladia- tors. And throughout the night, X-to-the-Z took time to remind viewers that they were indeed live from the Eternal City, draping himself in an Italian flag, nearly belting out an operetta, and shouting "Roma!" about 50 times.

The evening's performers seemed to follow his "more is more" philosophy. Eminem ripped through a one-two combo of singles from his Encore album, starting with "Toy Soldiers," flanked by a tank, a military drum line and a bunch of children in fatigues, and segueing into "Just Lose It," accompanied by an army of popping and locking kids. Gwen Stefani pranced and preened through a repli- ca of the "Alice in Wonderland"-inspired video for her first single, "What You Waiting For," while the Beastie Boys took the stage on bicycles and skateboards (while rocking seersucker suits and porkpie hats.)

Usher and Keys sang an elegant and sultry rendition of their hit, "My Boo"; Nelly brought some Brazilian booty-sha- king to his performance of "Flap Your Wings"; and Maroon 5 kicked out the jams on a souped-up version of "This Love." European faves the Hives and Franz Ferdinand also per- formed.

Stars from around the globe presented the awards, inclu- ding Kylie Minogue, Natasha Bedingfield, Naomi Campbell and a pair of Italian soccer stars, Alessandro del Piero and Paolo Di Canio. They were joined by such American celebs as Sarah Michelle Gellar, Elisha Cuthbert and Tony Hawk. The show was seen in more than 1 billion homes around the world and was broadcast in 10 languages.