Tokio Hotel Remember Their 'Overwhelming' VMA Win Over Taylor And Miley

For all the legends who have won a VMA for Best New Artist — like Nirvana, Lady Gaga, and Eminem — there really are also a handful of iconic artists who have lost (pour one out for Madonna, Kanye, and Rihanna). Looking back at the 2008 nominees, as an example, the list reads like a murderer's row: Taylor Swift, Miley Cyrus, Katy Perry, and Jordin Sparks were all up for the prize. They would go on to be four of the hugest pop stars of the decade, nevertheless on that VMA night 10 years back, they watched from crowd because The perfect New Artist trophy got handed to an audience of goth-punk rockers from Germany: Tokio Hotel.


You probably remember the musical group as a staple of the mid-aughts emo scene: Think black guyliner, sexy androgyne, and melodramatic song lyrics. On the back of anthems like "Monsoon" and "Ready, Set, Go!", Tokio Hotel earned legions of fierce fans who were also cool for the Jonas Brothers, and by '08, they became surprise contenders for the VMAs' most coveted vote of confidence.


"We were super, super nervous," singer Bill Kaulitz told MTV News this week about attending their first VMAs. Right now, even looking back and thinking about it, I get back that nervousness. We couldn't sleep the night before, it was such a big deal."


It was a large deal, considering Tokio Hotel were underdogs in the race. Taylor, Katy, Miley, and Jordin all had burgeoning careers in the U.S., And Tokio Hotel were still relatively fresh and unknown in several circles. Bill admits they felt "disoriented" by the U.S., Where "everything was new and nerve-wracking," and that made the VMAs majorly intimidating. Nevertheless the musical group had a plan for building a lasting statement: They were told that some artists pull off fancy entrances for the awards shows (that same year, T-Pain arrived on the back of an elephant), so they hatched a scheme.


"We thought, 'How can we make ourselves recognizable?'" Mentioned guitarist Tom Kaulitz. "Because we knew people were probably going to look at us like, 'Oh, this is a German musical group, no one we know.' So we thought, 'We have to have a big entry,' and we determined to have this monster truck printed with our album artwork."


But despite pulling out all of the aids in averting for their attention-demanding arrival, winning an award was the furthest thing from their minds. Bill, for one, was "super nervous" about the prospect of even having to speak on stage, considering his English wasn't excellent and the musical group mostly relied on translators at the time.


"I was like, 'I can't be spontaneous!'" Bill explained. Although then each person was like, 'No, we're sure you're not even gonna win.' That didn't even cross our minds, to be honest."


That changed once, prior to the show, the musical group filmed a skit with fellow nominee Cyrus and got some surprising intel.


"Her manager discussed to our publicist [and said], 'Did the males prepare something for tonight?' And our publicist was like, 'No, we didn't prepare anything because I'm sure Miley is gonna win, or Katy,'" Bill mentioned. "And she was like, 'I don't know about that! I heard some rumors, you better prepare!' So our publicist mentioned, 'Well, maybe we should,' and I was like, 'There's no fucking way, that's not gonna happen!'"


Just hours later, Lauren Conrad and Gossip Girl heartthrob Chace Crawford took the stage to announce The perfect New Artist winner. Once they read Tokio Hotel's name, the musical group had the exact reaction you'd imagine: total and complete astonishment.


"I think I didn't even mention much, I was so overwhelmed. It looked like a weird dream," Bill remembers about his flustered acceptance speech. "I completely didn't remember everything I wanted to do. It was such a rush!"


After their big win, the musical group stayed up for 48 hours straight and "partied the night away" at a bash thrown by their record label. Bill and Tom remember that night super fondly, although plenty has changed since then. These days, Tokio Hotel's four original members are still with each other, and in the decade since the '08 VMAs, they've released three more studio albums, including 2017's Dream Machine. There was a time, shortly right following the VMAs, where Bill admits the musical group got "burned out," although they've since remedied that by seizing creative control and self-producing their own albums. To hear Bill tell it, "we got a lot more confident."


And because you're probably wondering: Yes, the band's developments encompasses their fashion as well — gone are the days of Costs gravity-defying mane. The proof is in the pics.


"I looked at the photographs at the VMAs and my hair was the most," Bill laughed. "That was a time once we were the most extreme — like, I completely looked like Cher. And yes it routinely took, like, two bottles of hairspray every morning. Yeah, we've certainly changed a lot. Nevertheless I love that we have that history, and I like looking back."


Though Tom insists the musical group is "of course" going to bring back beloved hits like "Ready, Set, Go!" On tour someday, they're firmly focused on the future. Case in point, Bill and Tom phoned MTV News from a recording studio in Los Angeles, where they're plotting their next album — they aspire to put out some new music toward the end of this year or the starting of next year. And as for that Moon Person trophy they won 10 years back? It's sitting on a shelf in that very same studio, bringing back a sweet, wild memory because the musical group embarks on their next chapter.