40th Anniversary American Music Awards Wrap-Up
Shannan Singletary ’16 / Emertainment Monthly Staff
Justin Bieber walked away as the big winner at the 40th Anniversary American Music Awards on Sunday night, beating out big name stars such as Maroon 5 and Katy Perry for the title of Artist of the Year.
Bieber also won the Pop/Rock Artist of the Year and Pop/Rock Album of the Year categories. Other big winners include Nicki Minaj who won two awards for favorite rap/hip hop artist and album, and Taylor Swift who won her fifth consecutive AMA for favorite female country artist.
Carlie Rae Jepson, famous for her hit viral song “Call Me Maybe,” walked away with the coveted best new artist of the year award, beating out big name artists such as Fun., Goyte, J. Cole, and One Direction.
One Direction had the biggest disappointment of the night, not leaving with a single title despite their three nominations and huge American success in the past year.
The award show also included some electrifying performances. P!nk performed a beautiful dance routine to go along with her song “Try,” in a recreation of the song’s dance routine, and Taylor Swift put on an electrifying performance that included a mid-song costume change to her new dubstep-esque hit “I Knew You Were Trouble.”
The highlight of the evening though had to be the closing number when internet sensation Psy performed his hit song “Gangnam Style” that had the whole crowd out of their seats dancing along. In a surprise twist, Psy was joined onstage during the performance by MC Hammer and the two mashed the new dance craze with Hammer’s 1991 hit “2 Legit 2 Quit.”
In honor of the AMA’s 40th anniversary, the show spent some time looking back at some of the most memorable performances in its history. The night also paid tribute to Dick Clark, the creator of the American Music Awards, who passed away earlier this year. Homage was also paid to the late Whitney Houston by singer Brandy.