How Old Is Cher

Her outfit may have left mouths agape on the red carpet but serial pop shocker Lady Gaga was in for a surprise of her own at the MTV Video Music Awards in Los Angeles today when she came face-to-face with mega-diva Cher.

Gaga went a bit ga-ga when the 64-year-old Grammy winner walked on stage - dressed in her infamous If I Could Turn Back Time see-through bodysuit  - to present her with an award for Bad Romance.

"I never thought I'd be asking Cher to hold my meat purse," Gaga said as she handed Cher her handbag.
In all, the 24-year-old singer, real-name Sefani Germanotta, bagged eight Video Music Awards from a record 13 nominations.

She overshadowed country starlet Taylor Swift to claim the first prize, barely managing to get across the stage in her elaborate costume: a flowing multi-layered dress and towering animal skin heels. She later changed into a short, bottom-baring number that looked like layers of flesh. She also appeared to have a raw steak balancing on her head.

Her single Bad Romance won best female video, beating a field that included Swift's Fifteen.

"Tonight, little monsters, we are the cool kids at the party," Lady Gaga said, using her term of affection for her fans.

But Swift did manage to steal back the spotlight when she took to the stage to sing a song about her 2009 awards run-in with microphone-grabbing rapper Kanye West.

The country starlet had promised a get-square with West and delivered in the form of a ballad including the none-too-subtle lyrics: "Thirty-two and still growing up/Lost your balance on the tightrope/It's never too late to get back."

The song has been interpreted as a peace offering to West, who also took to the stage to perform. Rihanna and Eminem, who was up for eight awards, opened the show with a medley of songs.

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Grudge match: Taylor Swift to take on Kanye
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Gaga also won best dance music video for Bad Romance, and best collaboration for Telephone, featuring Beyonce.

The ceremony's second award, best rock video, went to actor Jared Leto's rock band 30 Seconds to Mars and its clip for Kings and Queens.

Award presentations at the MTV awards are often little more than distractions from the performances. Canadian teen pop idol Justin Bieber raised the decibel level to ear-splitting as he performed on an outdoor stage for legions of screaming female fans.

Beforehand, host Chelsea Handler got in a few jabs at the 16-year-old's expense. "Imagine how good his music will be when he sees a vagina," she said.

Handler, who also implored winners to be on their worst behaviour, wasted little time reminding the audience of last year's big controversy, when West interrupted Swift's acceptance speech.

She described the issue as "the big black elephant in the room".

MTV, owned by Viacom, will probably be the night's big winner. Last year's ceremony drew 9 million viewers, a 6 per cent increase over 2008 and the largest turnout since 2004.