Gwen Stefani was hailed a “hero” at the Radio Disney Music Awards as some of the biggest stars in pop were honoured for their work.

The No Doubt singer received the Hero Award for her philanthropic efforts, as she joined a host of famous faces for the ceremony at Los Angeles’s Microsoft Theatre.

Gwen, 45, walked the red carpet with her young niece Stella before she was spotted later embracing her partner, singer Blake Shelton, during the event.

Gwen Stefani and her niece Stella arrive at the Radio Disney Music Awards at the Microsoft Theatre in Los Angeles
Gwen Stefani and her niece Stella arrive at the Radio Disney Music Awards at the Microsoft Theatre in Los Angeles (Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP)

Presenting the Hero Award to his fellow coach on the US version of The Voice, Pharrell described Gwen as “the Queen” with a “heart of gold”.

“It’s great to see people being recognised for their work, but it feels even better to see an artist being recognised for putting in the time and effort to those who really need it,” he said.

“I’m proud to be here to present the 2016 RDMA Hero Award to someone I’ve worked with quite a bit who I know, and my brother Blake Shelton knows, truly has a heart of gold.”

Gwen Stefani received Radio Disney's Hero Award
Gwen Stefani received Radio Disney’s Hero Award (Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP)

Accepting her award, Gwen said: “This is very strange because I literally grew up in Anaheim, California, right next to Disneyland. So for anything like this happening is just surreal.

“I just remember going: ‘Dad, please can I just have five dollars so I can get a microphone so I can go to rehearsal?’

“It is crazy this is happening to me. I never thought I’d make a difference. I’m so blessed to make music and share it with you and to receive your love back.”

Gwen Stefani and Blake Shelton at the 2016 Vanity Fair Oscar Party
Gwen Stefani and Blake Shelton at the 2016 Vanity Fair Oscar Party (Clint Spaulding/AP)

Organisers said more than 238 million votes were cast for the awards, which include prizes for best song to lip sync to and best break-up song.

Ariana Grande performed her number one single Dangerous Woman on a James Bond-themed stage after her track Focus won the best song to dance to award.

Justin Bieber was shown visiting a high school in Tulsa, Oklahoma, after its music funding was put under threat.

The pop superstar surprised students by interrupting their music lesson and performing an acoustic version of Love Yourself. He then revealed the school would receive a US$10,000 donation to help continue their music education.

Fans of Justin, One Direction and Taylor Swift were left disappointed as Beliebers, Directioners and Swifties were beaten to the fiercest fans award by girl group Fifth Harmony’s followers, known as Harmonizers.

Justin Bieber performs on The Purpose Tour
Justin Bieber performs on The Purpose Tour (Rob Grabowski/Invision/AP)

Best female artist was Selena Gomez, while Ed Sheeran beat Justin and Nick Jonas to be named best male artist.

Fifth Harmony – who formed on The X Factor USA in 2012 – was awarded best music group. Justin Bieber’s What Do You Mean received the award for best song to lip sync to and Taylor Swift’s Bad Blood was awarded best break-up song.

The 2016 Radio Disney Music Awards will be shown on the Disney Channel on Friday, May 27.