POP icon Rick Astley has been shortlisted for an MTV Europe Music Award alongside the likes of Green Day, U2 and Britney Spears!

The 1980s singing star, from Newton-le-Willows, famous for his number one smash ‘Never Gonna Give You Up’, will be keeping his fingers crossed at the glitzy awards ceremony at Liverpool’s Echo Arena next month.

The Best Act Ever category, voted for by music fans, also sees Rick up against German glam-rockers Tokio Hotel and Christina Aguilera.

His place on the coveted shortlist was secured after the recent bizarre Internet campaign, which saw an estimated 25 million YouTube users tricked into watching the video for ‘Never Gonna Give You Up’.

The practice has been dubbed ‘Rickrolling’.

As reported in the Star last year, Rick also recently turned the clock back for a nostalgic world tour in which he performed alongside fellow 80s icons Paul Young, Bananarama and Curiosity Killed the Cat.

The fifteenth MTV Europe Music Awards will see the likes of Duffy, The Killers, Beyonce and Kid Rock performing in front of thousands of fans in Liverpool on Thursday, November 6.

Richard Godfrey, organiser of the awards, beamed: “The line-up for the fifteenth MTV Europe Music Awards is shaping up to be one of the finest in the history of the awards. With these four artists joining the line-up, the show promises to be a show-stopping night of great live performances.”

In 2007 the MTV Europe Music Awards - broadcast across Europe, the US and Asia - reached a total television audience of more than 30 million people.

This year it will be broadcast on 21 different channels, in more than 40 countries across Europe.