Katy Perry Is MTV's First-Ever 'Artist Of The Year'

Hard to believe, but the first name - both chronologically and in popularity - in cable music networks has never doled an annual "Artist Of The Year" award.

Harder to believe? Despite the fact that MTV's internal panel of "experts" gifted British chanteusse Adele with Song Of The Year honors for her hit "Rolling In The Deep," the inaugural Artist Of The Year honor went to Katy Perry and her number-one-hit streak of five chart-topping singles.

Quantity over quality? Well, maybe. Perry's feat of sending five singles from Teenage Dream ties a feat previously achieved only by Michael Jackson with his album Bad. Perry is currently going for sole possession of the record with her latest single "The One That Got Away."

“You just really felt her presence in pop culture throughout the year,” Chief of Music Programming Amy Doyle said. 

Adele, meanwhile, had a pretty great year herself despite major throat surgery late in the year. Doyle reportedly considered "Rolling In The Deep" an obvious winner, with Adele being followed runners-up Nicki Minaj with "Super Bass" and Rihanna with "We Found Love."

“I loved the song the moment I wrote it,” Adele said. “The melody and the beat added some conviction to it. I think that’s why people connected with it.” 

Adele will be competing against Perry again at the 2012 Grammy's Feb. 12, when the two go head-to-head in the Record of the Year and Best Pop Solo Performance categories.

In other awards, Skrillex was named Electronic Dance Music Artist of the Year, and 30 Seconds To Mars received the honor of having their performance of "Hurricane" named Best MTV Life Performance of the Year.

Doyle believes that awards like these that are voted on by a final internal seven-member panel could help MTV re-emphasize its musical roots and bring together both its online and televised sects. She'd reportedly like to see the awards become an annual tradition.