Katy Perry at NARM Music Awards: 'Long Live EMI!'

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Katy Perry and Lionel Richie were big winners at the NARM Music Awards in Los Angeles Thursday night, which capped the annual music-business conference.

NARM's artist of the year was Perry, whose Teenage Dream album continued to generate hits more than a year after its summer 2010 release.

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Richie, whose latest album Tuskegee skyrocketed to No. 1 on the Billboard 200 a few weeks ago, took home the organization's Chairman's Award for Sustained Creative Achievement, and thanked his former bandmates while accepting his award, saying "without the Commodores I would not be me.

As for Perry, "Katy's music was absolutely everywhere over the past year, and her dominance of the singles charts is a nearly unprecedented accomplishment," said NARM chairman Jim Donio. "She has unquestionably blossomed into a true global superstar and has earned this award in every sense of the word."

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Perry also made a business-related comment to her label during her acceptance speech, referring to the still-pending merger of Universal and EMI. When thanking the EMI team, she said, "Long live EMI -- you haven't taken us down yet, Universal!"

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