This year’s American Music Awards winner is definitely Taylor Swift. The rest of the evening is rather mixed. There are laughs, boos and expressions of condolence.
Big, bigger, Taylor Swift: At the 50th American Music Awards (AMAs) on Sunday evening (local time), the 32-year-old was able to turn all six nominations into trophies, including in the top category as artist of the year. With that, Swift increased her own record from 34 to 40 awards – she is also the musician with the most AMA awards in the history of the awards ceremony, ahead of Michael Jackson with 26 awards.
Things didn’t fare quite so well for the night’s most-nominated favorite, Bad Bunny. The Latin star won in just two out of eight possible categories. Meanwhile, there was joy at Maneskin: The Italian ESC winners from 2021 were able to take home the trophy for the best rock song (“Beggin”) after they went away empty-handed last time.
Wayne Brady moderated
The three-hour ceremony moderated by US entertainer Wayne Brady. In changing colorful suits and in front of a neon backdrop in the style of “Miami Vice”, the comedian led through the evening with all sorts of self-deprecating gags and singing interludes. He himself does not know exactly how he ended up on this stage. In any case, the central message is: just be yourself.
Brady’s dig at the recent Oscars, where Hollywood star Will Smith slapped his fellow actor Chris Rock in front of the cameras, elicited embarrassed laughter. “Nobody’s going to gossip here today,” Brady joked.
Commemorating the victims of the bloody deed
In places, however, Taylor Swift mood also became serious. This is how the moderator commemorated the victims of a bloody crime in a nightclub in Colorado Springs that is popular with gays, lesbians and the trans community. A gunman had killed 5 people and injured 25 others the day before. Some of the award winners also used their moment to express their condolences. Dove Cameron, who won Best Newcomer, dedicated her award to the LGBTQ community. “I want to remind everyone how important the visibility of queer people is,” said the 26-year-old in her acceptance speech.
Chris Brown’s award for Best R&B Artist caused mixed reactions. Brown a history of being known for violence against women. “Calm down,” singer Kelly Rowland responded to boos from the audience as she accepted the award in his place.
Pink enthusiastic – Lionel Richie honored
On the other hand, there were standing ovations for singer Pink, who undertook a musical journey Taylor Swift through time to the year 1978 and paid tribute to the “Grease” actress, who died in August, with Olivia Newton-John’s “Hopelessly devoted to you”. Rapper Cardi B had a surprise appearance. She joined Glorilla in the performance of their song
Two pianos rolled onto the stage at the end of the show in honor of Lionel Richie. Soul legend Stevie Wonder and singer Charlie Puth thrilled in a duet with a medley of his most famous songs. The 73-year-old received the “Icon Award” this year – since the music award launched in 1973, Lionel Richie been the only artist to represented on the AMA stage in each of the five decades.
The American Music Awards are – along with the Grammys, for example – one of the most important awards in the US music industry. They are awarded in categories such as pop, country, hip-hop, rock and R&B. The nominations are based on the musicians’ album sales figures, and fans can vote for the winners online.