"Gentleman," a rising star in the German reggae scene, took home the prize for national Artist of the Year, while British singer Robbie Williams took home the same prize in the international category, beating out Grammy-winner Usher.

German chanson singer Annett Louisan won for best German female artist, while American R&B songstress Anastacia was delighted with her win in the international female category.

But the happiest group of the year seemed to be "Silbermond." That band won best Newcomer of the Year, a prize that helped propel the band "Wir Sind Helden" to stardom last year.

Both of those bands performed live at the ceremony, along with the Giessen-based rock band "Juli," also nominated in several categories.

In all, those young German stars imbued the Echo Awards with a sense of optimism and excitement not seen in years, but press coverage of the ceremony was still heavy with exasperated rants against an industry that has long ignored homegrown talent.

"These old people traipsing on the terrain of youth - that always turned me off," wrote Joachim Lottmann for the Sueddeutsche Zeitung, going on to call most German pop music "industry dirt made by old sacks and slapped with the label ‘hot music.’"

Ulf Lippitz, writing for Spiegel Online, meanwhile complained about the venue for the awards, a massive hotel erected on a desolate site in the Berlin district of Neukoelln. "The industry presented itself within this idyllic schmuddel for one reason: It is in crisis. They have to save money."

But where last year’s Echo Awards were marked by anxious anticipation of an upturn, the industry this year seems to have finally steadied its footing on the path to recovery. "Musicians patted each other on the shoulder. Seldom has the breadth of German artists been so great, their successes so visible," Lippitz wrote.

The metal band "Rammstein," famous for their growling lyrics and bad attitude at these events, accepted their award for best live act of the year with a curt "Danke."

"Without question," wrote Nana Heymann for the Berlin daily Tagesspiegel, "Rammstein’s appearance at the beginning of the show was by far the most off-key and daring thing that this sunny spring day had to offer. There were no pleasing statements, no toothy grins for the photographers. Compared to them, everyone else looked like they belonged in a school choir."

Several journalists mentioned the cruel fate of the bands "Soehne Mannheims" and "Juli," who were beaten in the category "Best Download" by a cartoon crocodile named "Schnappi." They needed little other than to quote child star Little Joy, who accepted the award: "Thank you to all of my fans for downloading me!"