The 24-year-old had been due to collect the Ultimate Choice Award at the ceremony in person.

But within minutes of the show's start, presenter Victoria Justice said Miley wasn't going to make it after all.

Writing on Instagram later, Miley said her absence was down to creating "an unrealistic schedule" for herself.

"To my dearest fans, I want to say thank you from the very bottom of my heart for presenting me with the Ultimate Choice Award!" the singer said in a post which made full use of the exclamation mark.

"I am beyond bummed I couldn't make it to the show. I had every intention of being there to accept and celebrate this honour!"

Not so bummed, however, that she couldn't use the same post to plug her new single.

In an announcement she'd presumably been planning to make at the ceremony, she revealed the release date for her new track Younger Now.

"I look forward to making music for the rest of my life and I'm thankful everyday for those who listen!" she said.

"I am sending so much love and peace into the world right now because that's what we need most."

Previous winners of the Ultimate Choice prize include Selena Gomez, Ashton Kutcher and Taylor Swift.

The big winners at this year's ceremony, held in Los Angeles, included Wonder Woman, Finding Dory, Beauty and the Beast and Guardians of the Galaxy vol. 2, which took home the major film prizes.

Riverdale and The Vampire Diaries were among the TV winners, while Ariana Grande, Ed Sheeran and Fifth Harmony took home music prizes.