Kardinal Offishally Comes Out On Top at 2006 MMVAs

06/19/06 5:00pm

by Scott Bryson (CHARTattack)

The 17th annual MuchMusic Video Awards descended on Toronto's Queen Street on Sunday night, and the sidewalk-packing event saw anxious kids lining up for prime spots as early as 5 a.m.

The night's big winner was Kardinal Offishall, who took home three awards for his video and song "Everyday (Rudebwoy)" — best video, best director and the VideoFACT award. Offishall was the night's only multiple winner.

"This is real good right here," Offishall said on stage. "This is for all my hip-hop people from east to west.

"It's funny though, that I'm not in the best hip-hop category."

In an effort to one-up themselves and previous MMVAs, MuchMusic made it their mission to rope in every celebrity they could get their hands on for this year's gala. Paris Hilton deemed the show worthy of her appearance, as did Amanda Bynes, Elisha Cuthbert and where-are-they-now starlet Tori Spelling.

The 2006 MMVAs also included an inexplicable appearance by the night's most out-of-place actor, CSI's Eric Szamada. For the majority of the broadcast, the CBS show's star seemed too dazed to speak coherently or multi-syllabically.

The musicians were also getting in on the night's one-upping activities with some dramatic appearances on the red carpet. Canadian Idol second-runner-up Jacob Hoggard and his tow-along band Hedley surprised the crowd by showing up in a paddy wagon driven by scantily clad police babes. They later went on to display the Hedley tattoo on Hoggard's butt.

Offishall, in a similar fashion, made his way to the red carpet in a fire truck. He was followed by Massari, who arrived with two Lamborghinis.

Half-Canadian indie darlings Metric managed to outshine most, if not all of the night's performers, by avoiding the evening's "I can do it bigger than you" mantra. Careful not to get lost amidst the sound-alike might-be-emo/might-be-punk offerings of Hedley, Simple Plan, Yellowcard and Fall Out Boy, Metric performed "Monster Hospital" with an unusual amount of reserve. After being introduced by Cuthbert as one of "the biggest indie bands ever," the foursome wowed the crowd while keeping things simple and unusually understated.

Rounding out the night's performances were spots by radio-darling Rihanna, Canadian icon Nelly Furtado, an acoustic performance by City And Colour's Dallas Green and a swoon-causing serenade from the former Mr. Jessica Simpson, Nick Lachey.

Here are the 2006 MMVA winners:

Video: Kardinal Offishall featuring Ray Robinson — "Everyday (Rudebwoy)"
Director: Kardinal Offishall featuring Ray Robinson — "Everyday (Rudebwoy)"
Post-production: The Trews — "So She's Leaving"
Cinematography: Buck 65 — "Devil's Eyes"
Pop Video: Massari — "Be Easy"
MuchLOUD Rock Video: Nickelback — "Photograph"
MuchVibe Rap Video: Classified — "No Mistakes"
Independent Video: Metric — "Poster Of A Girl"
MuchMoreMusic Award: Michael Buble — "Save The Last Dance For Me"
French Video: Stephanie Lapointe — "La Mer"
International Video — Artist: Rihanna — "S.O.S. (Rescue Me)"
International Video — Group: Green Day — "Wake Me Up When September Ends"
VideoFACT: Kardinal Offishall featuring Ray Robinson — "Everyday (Rudebwoy)"
Favourite Canadian Group: Simple Plan — "Crazy"
Favourite Canadian Artist: City And Colour — "Save Your Scissors"
Favourite International Group: Fall Out Boy — "Dance Dance"
Favourite International Artist: Kelly Clarkson — "Because Of You"