The most telling moment of the 2015 American Music Awards wasn’t captured on air during Sunday’s three-hour telecast. And Taylor Swift swept Song of the Year, Favorite Pop/Rock Album and Favorite Adult Contemporary Artist. Held at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles on 22 November, the night featured performances from the hottest acts in pop and ended with One Direction winning the top award. Justin Bieber, who closed the show, effectively literalized the cleansing he’s been after following several years of tabloid troubles with a performance of “Sorry” that had him drenched in a simulated downpour.
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“Make some noise for Prince, ladies and gentlemen”, the singer said.
It was a full-on show from the start with J. Lo opening the awards with her 1999 single Waiting For Tonight before launching into an incredible 10-minute medley of modern hits including Mark Ronson and Bruno Mars’s Uptown Funk, Taylor Swift’s Bad Blood and Drake’s Hotline Bling. Her other nominations included Favorite Pop/Rock Female Artist (which was won by Ariana Grande, who sang Focus), Collaboration of the Year (which went to Where Are You Now by Jack U featuring Justin Bieber) and Artist of the Year (which was given to One Direction, who performed Perfect).
“The 23-year-old dancer and choreographer’s skills have been in high demand over the past few years, and Jennifer Lopez is just one of the A-list names on Parris” roster of clients. Ed Sheeran was also named favourite male artist (pop/rock). Twitter was convinced that she was throwing shade at the pop singer.
Nicki Minaj won two awards, Favorite Rap/Hip-Hop Female Artist and Album, and The Weekend also won two awards, Favorite Soul/R&B Male Artist and Album. But if you want any clue as to the inanity of awards shows such as this, just look to the LA Times’ live blog of the event, which helpfully reminded us that D’angelo probably never had a chance.
Bieber, who also is set to perform, already has room to celebrate: Billboard announced Sunday his new album, “Purpose”, will debut at No. 1 on its charts Monday after selling 649,000 equivalent albums. Little did he know, he would be taking the stage again later to accept his second AMA – for Favorite R&B/Soul Artist. The performance comes ahead of next month’s highly-anticipated new “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” film.
Celine Dion was in top form as she beautifully sang “Hymne à L’Amour” in French – even driving some audience members to tears.
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One of the biggest talking points came courtesy of Meghan Trainor and Charlie Puth, who took audiences by surprise with a steamy kiss after their duet “Marvin Gaye“. Oscar nominee and singer Hailee Steinfield, who has a hit with “Love Myself”, sang and danced along.
