Frankfurt gears up for Gangnam Style at MTV awards

The MTV Europe Music Awards will rock Frankfurt's Festhalle concert venue on Sunday, with Barbadian R&B singer Rihanna leading the nominations and all eyes on Korean dance sensation Psy.

Psy's hit Gangnam Style, which is up for the Best Video award, has been viewed more than 670 million times and received a record-breaking 4.9 million "likes" on Facebook since being released in mid-July.

The satirical video featuring Psy's horse riding-inspired dance has sparked a wave of copycat versions from Eton schoolboys to Californian lifeguards and has even caught the attention of United Nations chief Ban Ki-moon.

Psy will become the first South Korean artist to perform at the annual awards, one of the pop industry's biggest nights outside the United States, when he takes the stage on Sunday. German model and presenter Heidi Klum, who this year filed for divorce from singer husband Seal, will host the awards and said she had been practising her Gangnam moves in case she gets called on to dance.

"My kids are obsessed with the song, even though it's Korean and they have no idea what he's talking about," she told reporters ahead of the event. Klum, who comes from the town of Bergisch Gladbach just two hours away from the 2012 host city, is also looking forward to some home comforts. "I'll be eating a lot of German food," she said, adding jokingly that she would probably eat too much schnitzel and "gain a few pounds."

Despite being billed as the Europe Music Awards, the vast majority of nominees are traditionally North American, and 2012 is no exception. Alongside Psy, acts due to take the stage at the show include country singer Taylor Swift, 14-time Grammy winner Alicia Keys, the Killers and Carly Rae Jepsen. In a world where careers are so often made by social media sites like YouTube, some have questioned the relevance of a TV music channel like MTV.

American indie-pop band fun., who are up for three awards, hit the big time after the song We Are Young was featured in an advert for Chevrolet during the US Superbowl. "I don't think that you can ever replace the impact that music videos have," the band's guitarist Jack Antonoff told Reuters when asked about the importance of MTV against social media channels. "I think the more that social media takes over, the more importance you put upon the old ways."

Heading the nominations is party-loving Rihanna, with nods in six categories, including Best Song and Best Video for We Found Love. Following close behind with five nominations is country star Swift, and other top nominees include Justin Bieber and Katy Perry, with four each, while Lady Gaga, who cleaned up last year with four prizes, is in the running for three awards.

Rihanna is favourite for Best Song and Best Female, according to odds offered by British bookmakers William Hill, while Gangnam Style is tipped to win Best Video. The EMA awards were last held in Frankfurt in 2001. Last year's awards in Belfast attracted 23 million viewers on all platforms and 158 million votes worldwide.

. (Reporting by Victoria Bryan and Maria Sheahan; editing by Mike Collett-White)