ROTTERDAM — Pop superstar Justin Bieber pipped Lady Gaga at the MTV Europe Music awards on Sunday, snapping up the lion’s share as megastar Beyonce came away empty-handed.

In the high-energy show in the Dutch port of Rotterdam, the chart-topping Canadian singer’s legendary army of fans dubbed Beliebers helped him slay Gaga’s "monsters" to help him win three awards including for Biggest Fans.

Bieber also won Best Song for his pop hit Sorry and Best Canadian act.

Eccentric pop icon Lady Gaga, who once wore a dress made of meat, snapped up two awards, winning Best Female act and Best Look.

But in a surprise Beyonce — who like Bieber had been nominated in five categories and had dominated MTV’s signature Video Music Awards in New York in August — was denied a share of the honours.

The award for Best Video went to fast-rising Canadian R&B sensation The Weeknd for his Starboy beating out Beyonce’s Formation from her acclaimed album Lemonade.

Best Video is determined by MTV’s editorial team, but most categories are decided through fans’ voting

The Weeknd performed his winning song, one of his few appearances ahead of a tour next year, emerging from a star-filled dome onto the Rotterdam stage.

The high-octane night also belonged to teenage Canadian sensation, Shawn Mendes, 18, who beat out his countryman Bieber to take the award for Best Male. He also won best Worldwide Act.

Mendes thanked everyone at the ceremony, and sent special wishes to her mum as it was her birthday.

American duo Twenty One Pilots also took two honours, with Best Live act and Best Alternative.

The fast-paced show, hosted by American singer-songwriter Bebe Rexha, wowed the audience packed into the Ahoy Centre in Rotterdam.

Bruno Mars and Kings of Leon were the headline performing sensations. Funk-pop singer Mars opened the show with an electric performance of his 24K Magic.

And San Francisco punk rockers Green Day received a "Global Icon" award, raising cheers when they said it was "nice to be out of America just for a second" ahead of Tuesday’s elections, saying the US was about to have a "big heart attack".

Green Day led a rebirth of punk rock in the early 1990s and the band last year was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in its first year of eligibility.

The home crowd also gave big cheers to Dutch DJ Martin Garrix who won the Best Electronics and the Best World Stage award.

The MTV Europe Music Awards, aired globally on television as well as over social media, aims to reach a more international audience than the network’s signature US-based Video Music Awards. — AFP