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Weird Al, Epic Rap Battles win Streamys


The YouTube series Epic Rap Battles of History and actor James Van Der Beek are among the early winners of the 5th Annual Streamy Awards. Van Der Beek, best known as Dawson from Dawson's Creek, took home the award for best actor for his role in the series Adi Shankar's Bootleg Universe.

The Streamys, which will be broadcast on VH1 on Thursday  (10 p.m. live ET/delayed PT), honor the best of YouTube and online video. The 35 advance winners were announced Monday evening during the Official Streamys Nominee Reception at the YouTube Space LA in Playa Vista, Calif. The winners in the remaining nine categories, including the audience choice awards for Entertainer of the Year and Show of the Year, will be announced during the live broadcast.

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This year's awards ceremony will be hosted by YouTube stars Grace Helbig and Tyler Oakley. Presenters include Michelle Phan, Jenna Marbles, Ciara and Paula Abdul. The show will also feature musical performances from A Great Big World ft. Futuristic, Future, OMI, Sir Mix-A-Lot and Hailee Steinfeld.

The full list of early winners:

AWARDS FOR CHANNELS, SERIES, OR SHOWS

ANIMATED - Cyanide & Happiness

BREAKOUT CREATOR (NEW CATEGORY) - Matthew Santoro

DRAMA - BlackBoxTV

INDIE - Eat Our Feelings

INTERNATIONAL - Racka Racka

NON-FICTION - Good Mythical Morning

SPIN-OFF - The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon: Backstage

SUBJECT AWARDS

ACTION OR SCI-FI - Corridor Digital

DOCUMENTARY OR INVESTIGATIVE (NEW CATEGORY) - Atari: Game Over

FASHION -Lauren Elizabeth

FOOD - Epic Meal Time

GAMING - PewDiePie

HEALTH AND WELLNESS - Blogilates

NEWS AND CULTURE - The Young Turks

SCIENCE OR EDUCATION - Vsauce

SPORTS - Dude Perfect

PERFORMANCE AWARDS

ACTOR - James Van Der Beek, Adi Shankar's Bootleg Universe

ACTRESS - Colleen Ballinger, Miranda Sings

COLLABORATION - Nice Peter, EpicLLOYD, Grace Helbig, and Hannah Hart, Epic Rap Battles of History

DANCE Dominic "D-Trix" Sandoval

ENSEMBLE CAST - Video Game High School

MUSIC AWARDS

BREAKTHROUGH ARTIST (NEW CATEGORY) - Shawn Mendes

COVER SONG - Foil (Lorde), "Weird Al" Yankovic

ORIGINAL SONG - Here, Alessia Cara

CRAFT AWARDS

CINEMATOGRAPHY - Devin Super Tramp, Devin Graham

COSTUME DESIGN - Epic Rap Battles of History, Sulai Lopez

DIRECTING - Video Game High School, Matt Arnold and Freddie Wong

EDITING - Epic Rap Battles of History, Andrew Sherman, Ryan Moulton, Daniel Turcan and Peter Shukoff

VISUAL AND SPECIAL EFFECTS - Corridor Digital, Sam Gorski, Niko Pueringer, and Jake Watson

WRITING - You Deserve A Drink, Mamrie Hart

SOCIAL VIDEO AWARDS

SHORT FORM COMEDY (NEW CATEGORY) - Logan Paul

SHORT FORM CREATIVITY (NEW CATEGORY) - SnapperHero

SNAPCHAT STORYTELLER (NEW CATEGORY) - Shaun McBride (shonduras)

CAMPAIGN AWARDS

BRAND CAMPAIGN - Crazy Plastic Ball Prank #WithDad, Roman Atwood (Nissan)

SOCIAL GOOD CAMPAIGN - #ProudToLove, Marriage Equality and LGBT Pride Month

Fans who do not have cable, can watch the awards streaming on VH1's YouTube channel or at streamys.org/content/all-access/.