37th Annual American Music Awards
The 37th Annual American Music Awards held in Los Angeles was a star-studded event, with all the big names in the music industry showing up.
Country singer Taylor Swift was the star of the evening, taking home five awards including one for ‘Artist of the Year - Female’, outnumbering Michael Jackson’s four posthumous awards including one for ‘Artist of the Year - Male’. In the Rap-Hip-Hop category, Jay-Z’s album Blueprint 3 scored. His Empire State of Mind performance with Beyonce (she won in the Soul-R&B category) brought the audience to their feet.
Beyonce also wowed with her New York, New York performance. In the ‘Band, duo or group’ category, Black Eyed Peas won two awards including ‘Artist of the Year’ while Green Day won in the Alternative Rock genre. In the country category, Keith Urban, Taylor Swift and country group Rascal Flatts took home the awards. Gospel duo Mary Mary in the ‘Contemporary Inspirational’ category, and country/pop group Gloriana from Nashville won the T-Mobile Breakthrough artiste for all genres. Whitney Houston was presented with the International Award of Excellence.
A few acts managed to raise prudish eyebrows, Carrie Underwood’s performance in a rather incomplete looking outfit being one such. Upping the shock quotient, Lady Gaga’s outrageous performances of Bad Romance and Speechless in a lit-up nude body suit left the audience in a daze! Jennifer Lopez’s performance was overshadowed by a rather bad fall, definitely a low point. Adam Lambert’s gyrating performance of his new single was dotted with sexual innuendos making it quite unwatchable for younger audiences.
Shakira, Keith Urban (who scorched the red carpet with Nicole Kidman), Eminem and Whitney Houston on the other hand, put on great performances. Rihanna looked fabulous in a ball gown that immediately propelled her to the top of the best-dressed list. Alicia Keys, Perez Hilton and Edyta Sliwinska also wowed on the red carpet. As you can imagine, the evening was quite an entertainer.