TORONTO - Marianas Trench had lofty aspirations for their debut red-carpet entrance at the MuchMusic Video Awards two years ago.

They rented a two-man bicycle, wore matching tuxedos and purchased a party-sized sub sandwich. The Vancouver pop-punk quartet planned on hopping on the bike and riding down to the annual Toronto awards bash.

Not exactly the best-laid plans, but boy did they ever go to waste.

"The four of us got on the bicycle and immediately broke it, so all we could do is walk," explained the band's gregarious frontman, Josh Ramsay. "The funny thing is, on TV, you see everyone make their entrance and it's all timed well, but in reality you're sitting in a car lineup for like two hours.

"So there's like, the four of us in these tuxes in the blazing-ass hot sun, holding a sandwich that's starting to smell pretty wrong ... for like, hours."

Of course, what would the MMVAs - which take place Sunday (MuchMusic, 9 p.m. ET) - be without some unexpected detours?

This year's show will be co-hosted by the Jonas Brothers and boasts a shinier collection of stars than the show has drawn in recent years.

Performers include electro diva Lady Gaga, the Black Eyed Peas and "American Idol" winner Kelly Clarkson, while presenters include such teen-approved celebs as Taylor Lautner and Rachelle Lefevre of "Twilight" and Audrina Patridge and Brody Jenner of "The Hills."

Nickelback, who will also perform, and R&B singer Danny Fernandes lead with five nominations each. Marianas Trench are next with four nominations, and Ramsay says he was shocked by his band's tally.

"Dude, I couldn't believe it," he said. "We were hoping to get one, so we were all very stoked when we found out that we got that many."

Ramsay will be less surprised if this year's show contains some typically memorable scenes.

"I think the MMVAs are the most sort of ridiculous, over-the-top, zany, anything-can-happen kind of show," he said.

Certainly, the show has documented no shortage of outlandish celebrity behaviour in the past few years.

For instance, there was the showdown between Canadian TV personality Mary Jo Eustace and former "Beverly Hills 90210" star Tori Spelling, who had taken up with Eustace's ex-husband, Dean McDermott.

Or the time Avril Lavigne wrote MMVA on her backside and then mooned the cameras. Or how about when Geri Halliwell, who had recently split from the Spice Girls, shouted, "I need a good Canadian man to fertilize my eggs" before presenting a trophy?

Some of that raunch doesn't exactly mesh with the Jonas Brothers' squeaky clean image, but the show's organizers aren't worried about that.

"(The Jonas Brothers) know it's a live television show, they know they only have control over what they're saying and doing," said Sheila Sullivan, director of programming for Much MTV Group. "If someone happens to pull their pants down, a la Avril Lavigne a few years ago, they'll deal with it. They'll be fine."

Sullivan acknowledges that this year's lineup trumps the rain-soaked show from a year ago, which was headlined by a reformed New Kids on the Block and Barbadian pop star Rihanna.

But poor ratings didn't provide the impetus to boost the star power this time around, she said. In fact, 372,000 viewers tuned in to last year's show, the highest since 2004, when 393,000 people watched Kanye West and the Beastie Boys perform.

This year's ratings will certainly be helped by the Black Eyed Peas - whose fifth studio album, "The E.N.D." debuted at No. 1 on the Canadian charts this week - and Gaga, who is keeping tight-lipped about her performance other than hinting she'll perform "LoveGames."

Sullivan says Gaga has been spending much of her own time on the phone with MMVAs organizers mapping out the details of her performance.

Indeed, Gaga says she wants to make sure her performance is unique.

"Something I'm very conscious of is I think it's very boring when pop singers do the same (thing) over and over again," Gaga said in a telephone interview. "I think it's important to really make art and really make memorable moments in storytelling. You've got the world's attention for four minutes, why would you say the same thing over and over gain?

"Just like I did my Lady Gaga on 'American Idol,' I did Lady Gaga on 'Dancing with the Stars' ... I will do Lady Gaga for the MuchMusic Awards."