Rickrolling turns Rick Astley into an improbable 'best act ever'

It was not quite the expected result given that U2, Britney Spears and even the Beatles were in contention. But in what will serve as a cautionary tale for the music world of the dangers in soliciting the public vote, Rick Astley, the 1980s crooner, last night was awarded the title of best act ever at the MTV Europe Music Awards.

Astley, who topped the charts in 1987 with Never Gonna Give You up before disappearing, is the subject of a phenomenon known as Rickrolling, through which his army of online fans have tricked more than 20 million internet browsers into clicking on links to a video of his hit single. And as MTV executives found out last night, Rickrollers have turned their attention to ensuring that the bequiffed singer is rewarded for their efforts.

The music channel decided to invite nominations for the best-ever act in September, but did not suggest that Astley, 42, be included in the category. However, as soon as his fans realised that they could nominate the artist, they voted in droves, ensuring that he got on to the shortlist, alongside acts such as U2.

The awards, which feature ten categories voted for by viewers, garnered 79 million votes last year. This time Astley received more than 100 million, eclipsing the total votes received by every other winner combined.

“We've been well and truly Rickrolled,” said Richard Godfrey, a senior vice-president at MTV and executive producer of the awards. “We wanted to see who our audience would nominate and, given that we're in Liverpool, we thought it would be someone like the Beatles. But before the nominations were even announced he shot into the lead.”

Initially worried by Astley's inclusion, MTV set up a team to try to cut out block votes. It was to no avail.

A separate poll of MTV viewers on whether Astley's nomination should stand also fell victim to Rickrolling, attracting 20 million votes - 99.98 per cent of which were in favour of the star's presence. Mr Godfrey said: “People set up computer programs to bombard the website. They could be sitting in Croydon, but they made it look like they were voting from the Philippines. We put in all sorts of blocks because we wanted to be as fair as possible, but it made no difference.”

Last night's ceremony, held at Liverpool's Echo Arena, included performances by Beyoncé, Pink, the Killers, and Take That. Kanye West, the American hip-hop star, performed his number one single American Boy in front of a picture of Barack Obama.

Also in the audience was Sir Paul McCartney, who was presented with the Ultimate Legend award by Bono, the U2 singer. Spears, despite being vanquished by Astley in one category, scooped Act of 2008 and Album of the Year for Blackout.

Mr Godfrey said that MTV had “begged” Astley to come and sent a delegation to his manager. He added: “[Rick] has become a lovely joke. People have a lot of affection for him. It shows he has the most active fans. This is a digital phenomenon.”

Astley, who has described the phenomenon as “very bizarre”, refused to attend the awards but thanked fans.