TORONTO - Drake and Justin Bieber are likely to receive warm welcomes as they each experience their first taste of the MuchMusic Video Awards tonight.
Drake leads all artists with seven nominations going into the streetside awards bash, while the 16-year-old Bieber has four.
Both are scheduled to perform at the outdoor stage by Much headquarters at 299 Queen Street West in Toronto.
Pop group Hedley has six nominations going into the show while Alexisonfire, Belly, Billy Talent, Classified and Stereos have three nods each.
Other performers for the show will include glam-pop "American Idol" runner-up Adam Lambert, Katy Perry, Ke$ha, Down With Webster and Marianas Trench.
Teen queen Miley Cyrus will co-host the bash with a team of Much VJs and will also take the stage for a performance.
The 17-year-old follows in the footsteps of last year's Disney-bred hosts, the Jonas Brothers.
Nickelback took home a leading three nominations then (they have another two nods this year), but electro-pop oddball Lady Gaga stole the show with a visually ambitious performance of a medley of her hits.
Though a number of big names are vying to similarly take the spotlight tonight, few performers are likely to rival the crowd reaction received by homegrown stars Drake and Bieber, both of whom are nominated for the first time this year.
Teenage fans lined up for days to nab coveted wristbands to grant entry into the show more than a week before the festivities.
And a small cluster of fans were already standing in line in the blazing heat yesterday afternoon in the hopes of securing a prime spot for tonight's show.
Sections of Queen Street, meanwhile, were closed to traffic as crews worked to assemble the show's sets and artists soundchecked in the sunshine.
The show's list of presenters is also filled with teen favourites, including "Twilight" actors Ashley Greene, Kellan Lutz and Xavier Samuel, TV stars Shenae Grimes, Snooki and Pauly D of "Jersey Shore" fame and "Gossip Girl" star Jessica Szohr and musical artists Nikki Yanofsky, Karl Wolf and Lights.
Watch the MMVAs live tonight at 9 p.m. ET / 6 p.m. PT on MuchMusic.
