Bieber and Gaga stir up the crowd

Stratford teen's unscheduled appearance and performances by pop queen are talk of show

And the crowd went Gaga.

The ineffable Lady, dressed in a robin's-egg blue wig and a black leather-studded body suit, opened the 2011 MuchMusic Video Awards with a performance of "The Edge of Glory" that drew prolonged screams of appreciation from the thousands massed along Queen St. W. outside of MuchMusic headquarters.

Gaga also closed the show, emerging from a plastic egg in black feathered costume to sing her hit "Born This Way."

Selena Gomez, who's dating Canadian pop sensation Justin Bieber, did double duty as co-host and performer, 10 days after being rushed to a Los Angeles hospital for treatment of nausea and fatigue.

"You guys may not know this, but I love everything about Canada," Gomez told the cheering crowd, citing hockey and Saskatchewan as among her favourite Canadian things.

Bieber shocked his shrieking fans with an unscheduled appearance at the awards.

He claimed the first trophy handed out on the show: his "Somebody to Love," featuring Usher, tied for best International Video of the Year by a Canadian with Drake's "Find Your Love."

Onstage with his girlfriend, Bieber joked that he was meeting Gomez for the first time. "You're very beautiful. Maybe we could go out sometime?" he quipped.

"Somebody to Love" also claimed the fan-voted "Ur Fave" New Artist prize.

Lady Gaga also claimed two prizes: International Video of the Year, Artist for "Judas" and Ur Fave International Video for "Born This Way."

The only other double winner was English singer Taio Cruz, who claimed MuchMusic.Com Most Streamed Video and Most Watched Video for "Dynamite."

The Video of the Year trophy went to R&B singer Shawn Desman for "Electric/Night Like This." Fefe Dobson took the Ur Fave Video award for "Stuttering."

Other performers included Canadian pop/rock star Avril Lavigne, rapper Snoop Dogg (who was also a presenter), Bruno Mars, City and Colour, the Black Keys, Down With Webster, Simple Plan, Far East Movement and Fefe Dobson.

Source: The Stratford Herald / Edited-Shortened: Beliebers United