Demi Lovato Gives Her Heart During VMA Pre-Show Performance

Days before the 2012 MTV Video Music Awards, pre-show performer Demi Lovato promised a spectacle that "everyone's going to be surprised by." Well, "The X-Factor" judge delivered, with a high-energy remix of her Unbroken single, "Give Your Heart a Break."

Clad in all black, from her sparkly mini-dress to booties and bejeweled leather jacket, the songstress strode down the red carpet outside Staples Center, accompanied by the lilting strains of her ballad. Lovato shook fans hands before taking her place on center stage, as a flourish of pyrotechnics blazed behind her.

After several moments, Lovato then descended the stage to once again greet fans, while never skipping a beat of her number. A flash of fireworks heralded her return to stage before thousands of red confetti hearts rained down (a fitting conclusion for a song called "Give Your Heart a Break").

In the minutes leading up to Lovato's performance, MTV News' Sway announced that Lovato and her song "Skyscraper" had won a Moonman for Best Video With a Message, beating out Rise Against ("Ballad of Hollis Brown"), Kelly Clarkson ("Dark Side"), Gym Class Heroes ("The Fighter"), K'Naan feat. Nelly Furtado ("Is Anybody Out There?") and Lil Wayne ("How to Love"). At the conclusion of her pre-show performance, Lovato accepted the award from Sway, sharing her enthusiasm:

"I can't even tell you what it means to me," she said. "It's so amazing that I'm touching one of these. I always watched the VMAs growing up, and now I'm holding one."

The 2012 MTV Video Music Awards are going live tonight from Staples Center in Los Angeles at 8 p.m. ET/P! T. But b efore it all goes down, don't miss our pre-show with Demi Lovato at 7 p.m.! And head over to VMA.MTV.com to vote on Best New Artist and Most Share-Worthy Video!