The South Korean girls group Girls ' Generation beat the likes of Miley Cyrus , Justin Bieber , Lady Gaga and its compatriot Psy to win the top award for video of the year at the inaugural YouTube Music Awards . The K-pop group , which is one of Asia 's biggest musical acts , won for the video `` I Got a Boy . '' While massively popular in Asia , the reaction to its win from the American audience was muted -- with scattered applause , but mostly a long , deafening silence . Meet the 'YouTube famous ' While Girls ' Generation may be unknown to an American audience , the pop group is a national phenomenon in Korea . The group 's record releases are a national event with every news outlet running stories and inciting fans to near-hysteria . The group might be likened to an Asian version of Spice Girls , with pop sounds , costumes and synchronized dancing . The members sing and also rap . The YouTube Music Awards nominees were based on views , likes and comments and subscriptions over the last 12 months and fans voted for the winners . The `` I Got a Boy '' video features the nine members in a pink house and then moves to the girls gyrating in front of random settings . They intermittently have random English lyrics , but mostly sing in Korean . It 's not the group 's first foray into the United States , as the ladies appeared on the `` Late Show with David Letterman '' and also `` Live ! With Kelly '' last year . Artist of the Year went to rapper Eminem and the award ceremony , which was streamed live online , was hosted by actor Jason Schwartzman and musician Reggie Watts . The awards reflect the growing tendency for people to turn to the internet , rather than television or radio , for music and video . However , according to Variety magazine , at most 220,000 people watched the event online , a fraction of the 10.1 million who tuned in for the MTV Video and Music Awards in August .
South Korea 's Girls ' Generation wins year 's best video at YouTube awards . The K-pop group beat Miley Cyrus , Justin Bieber and Lady Gaga . Score: 6 The inaugural YouTube awards were streamed online .