30 Seconds To Mars Thank Fans For Best Live MTV Performance Win

On Tuesday afternoon (December 13), 30 Seconds to Mars took home the inaugural Best Live MTV Performance award for their stirring, scintillating "Unplugged" version of "Hurricane."

Thanks to the votes of their fans, 30STM withstood a late charge from Paramore's "Brick by Boring Brick" to win the honor. Now, with their trophy firmly in hand, they're reacting to their triumph — and, as always, sharing their glory with their fervent Echelon fanbase.

"This is so incredible. We had an amazing time doing ['Unplugged'], and thank you to everybody who voted," frontman Jared Leto said. "Once again, the unstoppable Echelon. We love you guys.

"If it wasn't for the Echelon, we wouldn't have ever won a single award," he continued. "I think that's the blessing of living in this digital age, is that people have a voice, and the Echelon Nation out there has made their voice heard again and again, and we're so proud that they're able to gather together, to organize themselves, to fight for a common cause and to make dreams a reality. It's pretty special."

In a week when there was no shortage of highlights for the band — they were awarded their hard-earned gold record plaques for the This Is War album and entered the "Guinness Book of World Records" with a sold-out, celebratory show in New York — Leto counts their Best Live Performance win as one of the biggest moments. It was almost enough to bring a tear to his steely-blue eyes.

"We're very surprised. ... It's been an insane week already. We got a gold record, we did a Guinness World Record-breaking show," he laughed. "There's gonna be a few tears rolling down these hardened, leathery, road-dog cheeks."

All this week, watch "AMTV" on MTV every day at 8 a.m. ET for our Best of 2011 lists. Then, come to MTVNews.com at 5 p.m. as we reveal our top picks of the year!