Hundreds of young people jammed the streets and sidewalks around the CHUM building on Queen Street yesterday to catch a glimpse of celebrities at the MuchMusic Video Awards.
Packed together in the cold and intermittent drizzle, trampling club flyers, free magazines and empty paper cups, they held up camcorders, cameras and soggy cardboard signs with names such as Shakira scrawled in black marker.
"This is great," said Ernesto Gomez, 24, a visitor from San Diego. "Honestly, for a minute there I forgot I was in Canada."
The marker design around the left eye of Kristina Treumuth set her slightly apart from the sea of fans in baggy street wear and shaved heads.
The 19-year-old said she went out just for the carnival atmosphere of the crowd.
"I could have watched it at home if I actually wanted to see," she said. "It's not all that impressive, really."
Others were more excited. Lisa Araujo, 22, squeezed in against the metal barrier beside the red carpet and got her face on television during the parade of stars, including Shakira, who was an obvious fan favourite.
"I thought I was going to stop breathing," she said.
Inside the MuchMusic studios, Canadian bands and sports celebrities mixed with video DJs for the 13th annual event honouring the best in Canadian videos.
The telecast kicked off with Alberta post-grunge rockers Nickelback performing their rock anthem Too Bad.
The fresh sound of West Coast hip-hop group Swollen Members led the winners pack, scoring four trophies.
Honours for the British Columbia crew, whose infectious single Fuel Injected successfully jumped from urban to pop radio, included best director (Wendy Morgan) and best rap video.
The wins are the latest in a string of awards for the trio. The group earned a Juno in April, their second in as many years.
Moist singer David Usher took home two honours for best pop video and best postproduction for Black Black Heart, off his second solo disc Morning Orbit.