The 10th Annual Shorty Awards
April 2018. New York City, PlayStation Theater
Celebrating its
10th anniversary, the Shorty Awards continue to honor the best
influencers, celebrities, brands and agencies on social media, across Snapchat,
Instagram, YouTube, Twitter and other platforms. The show returned to
PlayStation Theater in the heart of Times Square in New York City for the
ceremony on April 15, amplified by the sponsorship of DIRECTV NOW.
Over 800 influencers, brands, agencies and guests packed the theater for the ceremony, which featured a cocktail reception, a seated dinner and an after party at the Moxy Hotel. The staged event streamed live on YouTube and DIRECTV NOW’s Twitter feed to over 9 million viewers (and counting!) internationally, as fans all over the globe tuned in to watch their favorite social media stars.
Kicking off the festivities, Queer Eye’s Fab 5 hosted the teal carpet, interviewing the social media royalty as they arrived at the event.
Singer, songwriter, and actress Keke Palmer hosted the show and kept the audience entertained while presenters including Casey Neistat, Olympic gold medalist Laurie Hernandez, Ronny Cheing & Roy Wood Jr. of the Daily Show gave out awards.
This was the most competitive show to date, as over 7 million votes poured in from fans all over the world, a record for participation. Winners of the signature Whale-Tail Trophy included MKBHD, Backpack Kid, Spencer Pratt, Fuck Jerry, Vlog Squad, and Topher Brophy. JJ Watt was honored with the Shorty Phenom Award for his philanthropic work for hurricance victims and Erica Garner received an award posthumously for the Best in Activism category.
Rising star, musical artist Betty Who amazed the crowd with energetic performances of her songs “Mama Say”, “Ignore Me”, and an energizing cover of Donna Lewis’ song “I Love You Always Forever”.
Empire is proud to partner with The Shorty Awards for our fourth year and we congratulate all the 2018 winners, as well as an even larger congratulations to TEN successful years of the Shorty Awards!