Deluxe Celebrities

Rihanna won for best video on MuchMusic Video Awards

Somebody should have told Rihanna to bring her Umbrella. Thunderstorms put a damper on the 19th Annual MuchMusic Video Awards Sunday night in downtown Toronto, though no amount of rain could stop the festivities.

Hedley emerged the big winner at the awards show slash block party. The group’s biggest hit is called For The Nights I Can’t Remember, but Sunday night will be one they don’t soon forget. The B.C. pop-punk quartet, led by former Canadian Idol contestant Jacob Hoggard, took home awards for Best Video and Best Director (Kevin De Freitas) for For The Nights I Can’t Remember, while they picked up MuchLOUD Best Rock Video and Best Cinematography for She’s So Sorry.

The only category in which they lost was People’s Choice: Favourite Canadian Group. This tied the group for the most awards won in a single night.

Other winners included Ottawa emcee Belly (MuchVIBE Best Rap Video for Ridin), Sam Roberts (Best Post-Production for Them Kids) and Nova Scotia rockers Wintersleep (VideoFACT Best Independent Video for Weighty Ghost). The award for Best International Video (Group) went to Linkin Park for Bleed It Out, while R & B princess Rihanna won for Best International Video (Artist) for Don’t Stop The Music and the MuchMusic.com Most Watched Video award for Umbrella.

Thousands of fans lined the area around the MuchMusic headquarters - some since the previous night - to secure a spot to watch the spectacle, though many fled when the skies opened up shortly before 8 p.m.

Queen Street became a makeshift red carpet, and stages were erected in a nearby parking lot and on the rooftop.

Performers included rappers Kardinal Offishall and Flo Rida; reggae boy wonder Sean Kingston; made-for-TV group Girlicious; Canadian rockers Simple Plan and Hedley; and Rihanna.

Celebrity guests included Gossip Girl star Chace Crawford; The Hills reality stars Whitney Port and Brody Jenner; Spice Girl Mel C; blogger Perez Hilton, and hockey player Jason Spezza.

“We try and make sure there’s something for everyone in the show. We try to make it as eclectic as possible,” said Sheila Sullivan, director of programming at MuchMusic and the show’s supervising producer, in an interview with the Post earlier in the week.

“We’re always trying to think of new performance areas, new stunts, more bands - every year, our goal is to make it bigger and better,” she said. “We’re continually challenging ourselves in order to ensure the show evolves. There’s no use doing status quo.”

The night’s biggest draw was boy band pioneers New Kids on The Block, performing for only the second time since announcing their reunion earlier this year. “It’s incredible,” said red carpet host Hannah Simone. “The reaction to those boys reuniting and coming to this show has been amazing. And I’m saying a silent prayer that they sing Step by Step.”