Most of Hollywood’s elite was in attendance at the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles last night for the American Music Awards.
It was a rocky start for the awards show with its host, Pitbull, failing to be the least bit entertaining and Katy Perry’s underwhelming opening performance of her new single, “Unconditionally.”
Wearing a kimono and transforming the stage to a garden for the Japanese-themed scene, Perry gave a mediocre performance that just wasn't worthy of opening the show.
The first award of the night went to Justin Timberlake for Favorite Pop/Rock Male. Timberlake also won Favorite Soul/R&B; Male and Favorite Soul/R&B; Album for “The 20/20 Experience,” which is the best-selling album of 2013.
Newcomer Ariana Grande wowed the audience with her flawless vocals on “Tattooed Heart” that even brought the hard-to-impress Lady Gaga to her feet in a standing ovation. The 20-year-old went on to win the New Artist of the Year award, solidifying her place in music.
Imagine Dragons gave an energizing performance of “Demons” and “Radioactive” with an instrumental interlude in one of the shining musical moments of the night. The band also walked away with the Favorite Alternative/Rock Artist award, beating out The Lumineers and Mumford & Sons.
“The Heist” won the Favorite Rap/Hip-Hop Album category and, in his acceptance speech via satellite from his on-tour location, Macklemore used the opportunity to promote a social cause. In a moving speech he said, “Due to the fact that we are in Florida tonight accepting this award, I want to acknowledge Trayvon Martin and the hundreds and hundreds of kids each year that are dying due to racial profiling and the violence that follows it.” Always one to use his fame to advocate for important issues, the moment wasn’t surprising coming from Macklemore.
Then came the only thing worse than Pitbull’s atrocious hosting, which was his performance with Ke$ha. The incoherentness of their collaboration had no place in a night celebrating music.
Justin Timberlake saved the show with his outstanding performance of “Drink You Away” accompanied by his orchestra.
“We’re JT and the Tennessee Kids. This is a song about alcohol,” he said.
Playing the acoustic guitar, Timberlake gave the best performance of the night that received a standing ovation by his peers.
The first-ever Icon Award by the AMAs went to Rihanna. The best-selling digital artist of all time was celebrated with a personal video message from her mentor Jay-Z and was presented the award by her mother. Rihanna also won the Favorite Soul/R&B; Female award.
Channeling Marilyn Monroe, Lady Gaga performed “Do What U Want” with R. Kelly playing his version of JFK. With the recent 50th anniversary of the iconic president’s death, the provocative homage came off as distasteful.
Miley Cyrus performed “Wrecking Ball” sans the wrecking ball, but with a bizarre intergalactic background featuring a winking cat that mouthed the lyrics along with Cyrus. The polarizing singer, who just turned 21 the day before the awards show, choked up during the emotional ballad but still gave a powerful yet peculiar performance.
The highest honor of the night, the Artist of the Year award, went to Taylor Swift, breaking the record for the most wins in that category. Swift went home with four awards, making for a total of 14 AMAs for the singer.
See the full list of last night’s winners here.
Reach the reporter at jurgiles@asu.edu or follow her on Twitter @MrsMathers94
