Los Premios MTV gala honors best Latin pop, rock

Paola Turbay arrives at the 'Los Premios MTV 2009' on Thursday, Oct. 15, 2009, at the Gibson Amphitheatre in Universal City, Calif. [Agencies]

UNIVERSAL CITY, Calif. – MTV rolled out its raucous red carpet to honor the best of the year's pop, rock and reggaeton from Latin America with its eighth annual Los Premios MTV awards in Los Angeles on Thursday.

The red carpet outside the Gibson Amphitheater in Universal City attracted hip hop stars 50 Cent and Snoop Dogg.

"I just love Latin music, Latin people, Latin women," Snoop Dogg said. "I'm here to support."

Calle 13's Rene Perez was scheduled to host the show, along with Canadian-Portuguese singer Nelly Furtado.

Eduardo Cabra — Perez's brother and the other half of Calle 13 — said Perez will do well as master of ceremonies. He jokingly said that Perez took lessons from Don Francisco, the buffoonish host of "Sabado Gigante," Univision's long-running variety show.

"Kidding, kidding," he said.

The Puerto Rican reggaeton duo, Wisin y Yandel, lead with six nominations, with Mexican pop diva Paulina Rubio nominated in five categories.

Mexico City's alt-psychedelic band Zoe and Lady Gaga, a New York City dance artist famous for her glam rock look, are each nominated for four "lenguas," the pink tongue-shaped statue inspired by Kiss' Gene Simmons.

The show will also feature performances by 50 Cent, The Backstreet Boys, Shakira, Mexican signer-songwriter Ximena Sarinana, Spanish balladeer Alejandro Sanz and Colombian soap star turned vallenato singer Carlos Vives.

For the first time, the awards show kicked off in different cities — Mexico City, Bogota and Buenos Aires, Argentina — where six regional awards were presented. Parts of those events will be broadcast at the Los Angeles gala.

The nominees are selected by a group of music industry professionals. Fans and MTV viewers then voted online for the winners.