One Direction named MTV's 2012 Artist of the Year

• One Direction is MTV's 2012 Artist of the Year.
• Carly Rae Jepsen's 'Call Me Maybe' is song of the year
• The group also made Barbara Walters' most fascinating people of 2012 list

NEW YORK — They're platinum. They're fascinating. And now One Direction is MTV's 2012 Artist of the Year.

MTV says the fivesome are "the clear choice for the top spot" after a year that included two No. 1 albums, hits such as What Makes You Beautiful and a sold-out world tour.

One Direction's Louis Tomlinson calls Thursday's honor "the icing on the cake."

MTV's team of music staffers chose Carly Rae Jepsen's Call Me Maybe as song as the year.

One Direction placed third on the U.K. version of The X Factor in 2010 and made their U.S. debut in March with the No. 1 album Up All Night. Their sophomore album, Take Me Home, was the year's third-highest debut.

The group also made Barbara Walters' most fascinating people of 2012 list.