2006 VIDEO MUSIC AWARDS FETES BLUNT, PANIC, PEAS, AMONG OTHERS

The 2006 MTV Video Music Awards aired live East Coast time, from Radio City Music Hall in New York City. James Blunt and Gnarls Barkley were winners at the Jack Black hosted event, and key performances included Beyonce, Justin Timberlake, Shakira, Raconteurs with Lou Reed, and a slew of others.

The most notable award of the night went to Panic! At The Disco, who won for Video Of The Year for “I Write Sins, Not Tragedies.” The band was up for a total of five awards. We caught up with the band at the Atlantic/Warner Brothers Records party afterwards, and the band reflected on the win.

“Uh, it’s shocking. Very surreal. Nothing was expected like this. I don’t know. We’re just very positive, happy stunned. Probably the category we thought least possible to win, so that alone…and just the performance [at the MTV VMA’s] was worth it.”

The Black Eyed Peas continued their winning streak. Their catchy tune “My Humps” was feted for Best Hip Hop Video. Will.I.Am and Fergie accepted the award during the telecast.

[Will.i.am] “First of all, I’d like to thank all the people at wwww.blackeyedpeas.com for all their support. Thank you MTV. Thank you Seth Friedman our manager…all our fans and family. Go watch Idlewild. I’m just saying, try and support artists and new ways to put out music….and get up there if you need them beats!” [Fergie] “Thank you everyone at Interscope. Jimmy Iovine, Ron Fair, everyone who has made this happen. This is an amazing award. Thank you so much.”

James Blunt, who has fallen off the radar a bit, was a multiple award winner. The clip for his tune, “You’re Beautiful,” took home moonmen for Best Male Video and Best Cinematography. He told the audience he’d meet them all at the bar to celebrate.

“Hey, New York, New York! I want to say thank you, first of all, the American Music industry for welcoming me into this country. I want to say thank you for the radio stations who have played my music, and thank you to MTV for supporting me from the start… and thank you for you the people and the fans. I’ll see you soon. You take care, and I’ll race you to the bar!”

Other winners for the night included Chamillionaire (Best Rap Video), A.F.I.(Best Rock Video) and Kelly Clarkson (Best Female Video). A Full list of the winners is available below, and you can check out performances and speeches in their entirety at mtv.com