MANILA, Philippines - The crisp, infectious drum beats beats to apl.de.ap?s ?Bebot? opened the 2008 Myx Music Awards held Wednesday night at the Meralco Theater. The wake-upper amply compensated for the long delay and gaps that hamper shows being ?taped as live.?

There were embarrassing, laughable moments. Receiving a special Favorite Ringtone award for ?Catch Me I?m Falling,? Toni Gonzaga quipped: ?Narinig ko nga ang mga friends ko e, ?yun ang ring tone ng phones nila ... ?

Guest performer Nancy Castiliogne, introduced as a dancing queen of sorts, was caught having difficulty keeping in step due to her high-heeled shoes while doing a lip sync of a forgettable tune.

There were sarcastic and provocative remarks as well. Myx segment host Jett Pangan, asked by Katya Santos if he had really requested for her to be his co-presenter, replied: ?Totoo. What are we in power for??

Another presenter, NU 107 female DJ Dylan, shared the stage with new Journey vocalist Arnel Pineda, and wisecracked: ?We?re both virgins in this show ... Why don?t we devirginize each other??

Riding a skateboard

The band Sandwich showed its unpredictable sense of fun when it played a full-volume version of a new song, ?Procrastination,? with vocalist Raymund Marasigan riding a skateboard. Marasigan would later appear with former Eraserhead band mate Marcus Adoro to present the Favorite Indie Artist award to Up Dharma Down.

Though owned by ABS-CBN, the Myx production team crossed lines by inviting GMA 7 artists Ogie Alcasid, Janno Gibbs, Jaya, Regine Velasquez and Kyla in the tribute performance for Gary Valenciano. Myx boss Andrei Alvarez handed out a Magna Award to Valenciano for 25 years of outstanding contributions to contemporary Filipino music.

A special award was also given to apl.de.ap for promoting Pinoy culture with his own compositions in the Black Eyed Peas albums. Apl took the occasion to perform a new song, ?Island,? from his own forthcoming solo CD.

Moments before presenting the Favorite Music Video award to Sponge Cola, Valenciano was heard saying ?I can feel it in my bones.? He meant that he and apl would be working together soon. At that point, however, it was learned that apl wanted to hook up with Parokya ni Edgar.

A quick look at the big winner would reveal the obvious: Sarah Geronimo, who was in San Francisco, has an army of local fans that delivered the text votes for her to snag four awards.

Never mind content; it?s a popularity contest, and the girl?s quite a performer.

2008 Myx Music Awardees
Favorite Music Video ? ?Tuliro? by Sponge Cola
Favorite Song ? ?Ikaw? by Sarah Geronimo
Favorite Artist ? Sarah Geronimo
Favorite Female Artist ? Sarah Geronimo
Favorite Male Artist ? Erik Santos
Favorite Group ? Sponge Cola
Favorite Rock Video ? ?Vampire Social Club? by Chicosci
Favorite Mellow Video ? ?Alam ng Ating Mga Puso? by Rachelle Ann Go
Favorite Urban Video ? ?Like That? by Billy Crawford
Favorite Collaboration ? ?Pag-ibig na Kaya? by Rachelle Ann Go and Christian Bautista
Favorite Remake ? ?Love Will Lead You Back? by Kyla
Favorite New Artist ? Sam Concepcion
Favorite Indie Artist ? Up Dharma Down
Favorite International Music Video ? ?Teenagers? by My Chemical Romance
Favorite Guest Appearance in a Music Video ? Kim Chiu and Gerald Anderson (?Loveteam? by Itchyworms)
Favorite Media Soundtrack ? ?Tuloy Pa Rin? by Sponge Cola (?Pedro Penduko at ang Mga Engkanto?)
Favorite Myx Celebrity VJ ? Sarah Geronimo
Favorite Myx Bandarito Performance ? Zelle
Myx Magna Award ? Gary Valenciano
Special Citation ? apl.de.ap