Beyonce Knowles and Corinne Bailey Rae were the big winners at the MOBO Awards in London last night. Bailey Rae took Best UK Female and Best UK Newcomer, while Knowles took three prizes, Best International Female and Best Song and Best Video for 'Déjà Vu'. Def Jam chief Jay-Z also arguably won three prizes, given that he guested on his fiancée's award winning track, as well as winning a Best International Male award in his own right.
However, neither Beyonce nor Jay-Z were in attendance to pick up their awards at the event - a fact which caused some boos among the audience as Ms Knowles' second award of the evening was announced. Host Gina Yashere responded by joking that Beyonce's non-attendance meant she could take the award home herself.
Other winners included Lemar, who won Best UK Male, Black Eyed Peas, who took the Best Group prize, Batman Samini, who won the Best African Act award, Sean Paul, who won Best Reggae Act, Nu Life, who won Best Gospel Act, and Akala, who was named Best Hip Hop Artist. Veteran soul performer Sam Moore received a lifetime achievement award, and closed the show by performing two songs - a duet with Keisha White of 'I Can't Stand The Rain' and a rendition of possibly his most famous hit, 'Soul Man'.