Boy bands dominate at American Music Awards
LOS ANGELES — Boy bands bested pop’s leading women in the top award categories at the American Music Awards on Sunday, but the ladies delivered the most high-octane performances including a derriere-flaunting number by Jennifer Lopez and Iggy Azalea.
British boy band One Direction won the top award of the night for artist of the year, and led the winners with three accolades in the fan-voted awards.
“It’s amazing because we worked so hard on these last two albums,” band member Liam Payne said. The five-piece band performed its latest single “Night Changes” against a night-time forest backdrop.
Katy Perry also won three awards, but did not attend the awards show because she is on tour in Australia.
Boy band power proved strong as Australian newcomers 5 Seconds of Summer won the coveted new artist of the year award.
Azalea, the newcomer Australian rapper, won favorite rap/hip hop album for “The New Classic” and favorite rap/hip hop artist over Eminem and Drake in both categories.
“As musicians, we receive so much critique and we really question what we’re doing, but I think this validates that I’m on the right path,” the 24-year-old Azalea said.
A sultry Taylor Swift performed “Blank Space” on stage and was awarded the first-ever Dick Clark Award for Excellence, in memory of the founder of the American Music Awards who died in 2012. She received the award from R&B diva Diana Ross.
“I’m so blown away to have just received an award from Diana Ross, who over the course of her career stood up for herself so many times in a period when it wasn’t popular for women to stand up for themselves,” Swift said.
Much of the three-hour awards show, aired on ABC, was dedicated to performances dominated by the ladies of pop music, including a raunchy rendition of “Booty” by Azalea and Lopez, with lots of rump-shaking.
Pop stars Grande, Selena Gomez and Nicki Minaj opted for less audacious performances showcasing their vocal talents.
Grande sang “One Less Problem” and “Break Free” with a jazz twist while an emotional Gomez sang “The Heart Want What It Wants,” rumored to be about her on-off relationship with Justin Bieber. Minaj and Skylar Grey performed their duet “Bed of Lies.”
Grande and Minaj later spiced up the stage with Jessie J with their upbeat “Bang Bang.”
NOMINEES (Winners in bold):
Dick Clark Award for Excellence
Taylor Swift
Artist of the Year
Iggy Azalea
Beyoncé
Luke Bryan
Eminem
Imagine Dragons
John Legend
Lorde
WINNER: One Direction
Katy Perry
Pharrell Williams
New Artist of the Year
WINNER: 5 Seconds of Summer
Iggy Azalea
Bastille
Sam Smith
Meghan Trainor
Single of the Year
“Fancy” - Iggy Azalea Featuring Charli XCX
“All of Me” - John Legend
“Rude” - Magic!
WINNER: “Dark Horse” - Katy Perry Featuring Juicy J
“Happy” - Pharrell Williams
Favorite Male Artist – Pop/Rock
John Legend
WINNER: Sam Smith
Pharrell Williams
Favorite Female Artist – Pop/Rock
Iggy Azalea
Lorde
WINNER: Katy Perry
Favorite Band, Duo or Group – Pop/Rock
Imagine Dragons
WINNER: One Direction
Onerepublic
Favorite Album – Pop/Rock
“Pure Heroine” - Lorde
WINNER: “Midnight Memories” - One Direction
“Prism” - Katy Perry
Favorite Male Artist – Country
Jason Aldean
WINNER: Luke Bryan
Blake Shelton
Favorite Female Artist – Country
Miranda Lambert
Kacey Musgraves
WINNER: Carrie Underwood
Favorite Band, Duo or Group – Country
Eli Young Band
WINNER: Florida Georgia Line
Lady Antebellum
Favorite Album - Country
“Blame It on My Roots: Five Decades of Influences” - Garth Brooks
“The Outsiders” - Eric Church
WINNER: “Just as I Am” - Brantley Gilbert
Favorite Artist – Rap/Hip-Hop
WINNER: Iggy Azalea
Drake
Eminem
Favorite Album – Rap/Hip-Hop
WINNER: “The New Classic” - Iggy Azalea
“Nothing Was The Same” - Drake
“The Marshall Mathers Lp 2” - Eminem
Favorite Male Artist – Soul/R&B
Chris Brown
WINNER: John Legend
Pharrell Williams
Favorite Female Artist – Soul/R&B
Jhene Aiko
WINNER: Beyoncé
Mary J. Blige
Favorite Album – Soul/R&B
WINNER: “Beyoncé” - Beyoncé
“Love In The Future” - John Legend
“G I R L” - Pharrell Williams
Favorite Artist – Alternative Rock
Bastille
WINNER: Imagine Dragons
Lorde
Favorite Artist – Adult Contemporary
Sara Bareilles
Onerepublic
WINNER: Katy Perry
Favorite Artist – Latin
Marc Anthony
WINNER: Enrique Iglesias
Romeo Santos
Favorite Artist – Contemporary Inspirational
WINNER: Casting Crowns
Hillsong United
Newsboys
Favorite Artist – Electronic Dance Music
Avicii
WINNER: Calvin Harris
Zedd
Top Soundtrack
WINNER: “Frozen”
“The Fault in Our Stars”
“Guardians of the Galaxy: Awesome Mix, Vol. 1”
