6 things you missed at the AMAs
Some of the flashiest names in music turned out for the American Music Awards in Los Angeles on Sunday, led by boy-band phenomenon One Direction, which brought home three awards including artist of the year. The night's other highlights:
The newbies win big. This year's most nominated artist, Iggy Azalea, snapped up two awards, including rap/hip-hop artist and album (for debut The New Classic). Newcomer Sam Smith took the prize for pop/rock male artist, beating out veterans Pharrell Williams and John Legend. The breakout stars invaded the stage for performances as well: Smith, singing latest hit I'm Not the Only One with A$AP Rocky, and Azalea, with a medley of Fancy and new single Beg For It (sans featured artist Mø).
Taylor Swift takes a stand for albums. Here's another twist of the knife in Swift's ongoing battle with Spotify, after she recently removed her catalog from the streaming service. Receiving the first-ever Dick Clark Award of Excellence, presented to her by Diana Ross, the pop star took time to thank the "beautiful" Ross and late "visionary" Clark. She also thanked fans for the record sales weeks of one million-plus for her last three albums, including 1989, which proved that "music is valuable and should be consumed in albums."
Swift rules the Space. Speaking of Tay, she kicked off the show with the debut performance of her latest single Blank Space, which hit No. 1 on Billboard's Hot 100 this past week. Delivering a crazy-eyed recreation of its much-discussed music video, Swift fed suitors poison apples, flung them across the stage, and set rose petals ablaze.
Garth Brooks makes rare appearance. Donning his signature black cowboy hat, the country veteran had the crowd on its feet for a rendition of new single People Loving People, broadcast from his last of five nights in Greensboro, N.C.. Brooks is in the midst of his comeback tour, in support of his first album in 13 years, Man Against Machine, and tonight marked a rare live TV performance for the star.
Selena Gomez unleashes the waterworks. Not long after Swift's bestie Lorde owned the stage with her stark Yellow Flicker Beat performance, Gomez got somber singing new song The Heart Wants What It Wants for the first time live. By the end of the breakup anthem, both Gomez and Swift were teary-eyed (unsurprising, given that it's reportedly about Gomez's on-and-off beau Justin Bieber).
J. Lo's backside takes center stage. Jennifer Lopez and her caboose made an appearance at the tail end of the show, closing out the night with a steamy rendition of latest single Booty with Iggy Azalea. In what was highly reminiscent of Beyoncé's own Partition performances, J. Lo and Azalea writhed on stage bathed in a kaleidoscopic light show, grabbing a stripper pole and grinding up against one another. If this doesn't resuscitate the song's disappointing charts performance, we're not sure what will.
