‘Queen’ Gwen Stefani lauded as a hero at Disney music bash

Gwen Stefani was hailed a hero at the Radio Disney Music Awards, where the biggest stars in pop were honoured for their work.

The No Doubt singer received the Hero Award for her philanthropic efforts, as she joined a host of famous faces for the ceremony, at Los Angeles’s Microsoft Theater.

Stefani, 45, walked the red carpet with her niece, Stella, and Stefani later embraced her partner, singer Blake Shelton.

Pharrell Williams, presenting the Hero Award to Stefani, his fellow coach on the US version of The Voice, described her as “the queen” with a “heart of gold”.

“It’s great to see people being recognised for their work, but it feels even better to see an artist being recognised for putting in the time and effort to those who really need it,” Pharrell said.

“I’m proud to be here to present the 2016 RDMA Hero Award to someone I’ve worked with quite a bit, who I know, and my brother Blake Shelton knows, truly has a heart of gold.”

Accepting her award, Stefani said: “This is very strange, because I literally grew up in Anaheim, California, right next to Disneyland. So, anything like this happening is just surreal.

“I just remember going: ‘Dad, please can I just have five dollars, so I can get a microphone, so I can go to rehearsal?’

“It is crazy this is happening to me. I never thought I’d make a difference. I’m so blessed to make music and share it with you, and to receive your love back.”

Organisers said 238m votes were cast for the awards, which include prizes for ‘best song to lip sync to’ and ‘best break-up song’.

Ariana Grande performed her number-one single, ‘Dangerous Woman’, on a James Bond-themed stage. Her other song, ‘Focus’, won the ‘best to dance to’ award.

Fans of Justin Bieber, One Direction, and Taylor Swift were disappointed, as Beliebers, Directioners, and Swifties were beaten to the ‘fiercest fans’ award by Harmonizers, girl group, Fifth Harmony’s followers.

Selena Gomez was voted best female artist was , while Ed Sheeran was named best male artist.

Fifth Harmony were awarded best music group. and Bieber’s ‘What Do You Mean’ was ‘best song to lip sync to’.

The 2016 Radio Disney Music Awards, are on the Disney Channel, on May 27