Nov 24, 2015

American Music Awards: Taylor Swift And One Direction Lead Winners

An absent Taylor Swift dominated the American Music Awards, winning three prizes, including album of the year and song of the year.

One Direction also fared well, being named favourite group and artist of the year, for the second year in a row.
Jared Leto made a moving speech about terror attacks in Paris, recalling the time his band played at The Bataclan.
Celine Dion then sang Edith Piaf’s Hymne a L’Amour against a backdrop of Parisian landmarks.


“Tonight we honour the victims of the unimaginable violence that took place in Paris and around the world,” said Leto, who sings with rock band 30 Seconds to Mars.
“France matters. Russia matters. Mali matters. Syria matters… The whole world matters. Peace is possible.”

Celine Dion performed in front of a montage of Parisian scenes, including images of the tributes left outside The Bataclan, where 89 people died

The Paris attacks were very much on the minds of the other performers and nominees.

Singer-songwriter Charlie Puth said he had been in Paris a few weeks before the attacks and was heartbroken by the news.

“I want to write a song for Paris,” he told the ABC News.

Ashton Irwin of 5 Seconds of Summer, said the attacks “will change what we write about in the future”.

“We have a young fan base, and were almost the communicators of what’s going on in the world.”

Award winners

However, the rest of the awards show took a less sombre tone.

Host Jennifer Lopez opened the ceremony with an extended dance routine, set to a medley of the year’s biggest hits – including Mark Ronson’s Uptown Funk, Taylor Swift’s Bad Blood and Drake’s Hotline Bling.

Audience members Nicki Minaj and The Weeknd, whose songs were included in the mix, looked somewhat bemused by the honour.

Alanis Morissette performed her breakthrough hit You Oughta Know, which turns 20 this year, accompanied by Demi Lovato; while Charlie Puth and Meghan Trainor locked lips at the end of an impassioned performance of their duet Marvin Gaye.

Jennifer Lopez’s dance medley was a spectacular start to the show

Charlie Puth and Meghan Trainor insisted they were “just friends” despite their on-stage embrace

Ariana Grande brought her grandmother Marjorie to the ceremony

Harry Styles’ floral print suit was widely discussed on social media

Actress Anna Kendrick skewered the cliches of acceptance speeches as she collected the best soundtrack prize for her film Pitch Perfect 2.

Reading out a “thank you” list, she praised arranger and producer Alana Da Fonseca and music director and vocal producer Deke Sharon, adding “you only made me want to kill myself three times”.

“You’re a ruthless little group of sociopaths and I admire that about you,” she added.
She then thanked music producer Harvey Mason Jr “for not telling anyone about that hooker we buried”, before giving her final shout-out to executive producers Julianne Jordan and Julia Michaels, exclaiming: “I don’t like you at all!”

One Direction addressed their upcoming “hiatus” as they collected the ceremony’s top prize, artist of the year, telling fans: “We’re gonna go on a little break, gonna spend some time with our families.”

They were not the only multiple award-winners: The Weeknd and Nicki Minaj both took home two trophies, with Minaj scooping the hip-hop album of the year prize for the third time in her career.

The Weeknd set the stage on fire – literally – as he performed his single, The Hills

Anna Kendrick was joined by the cast of Pitch Perfect 2 as she accepted the prize for best soundtrack

Nicki Minaj said her award-winning The Pinkprint was the “hardest album I’ve ever had to do, write [and] perform every night”

Coldplay were joined onstage by dancing gorillas

Ariana Grande was the surprise winner of best female, beating Taylor Swift. She used her speech to thank her grandmother, who accompanied her to the show.

The singer said her “nonna” had contributed to her victory, telling her before the show: “Ariana I went on the computer. I voted, so I think you’ll win.”

Earlier, Marjorie Grande was seen dancing in the front row as her granddaughter performed a cabaret version of her latest single. Focus.

The evening ended with a three-song medley by comeback kid Justin Bieber, riding high on the success of his new album, Purpose, which topped the US charts last week.

The former teen star performed an acoustic version of his summer smash What Do You Mean? followed by the dance hit Where Are U Now and a rain-soaked version of the current UK number one, Sorry.

Demi Lovato and Alanis Morissette performed an explosive version of You Oughta Know

Justin Bieber was drenched during his closing performance
The full list of winners was:

ARTIST OF THE YEAR
Luke Bryan
Ariana Grande
Maroon 5
Nicki Minaj
One Direction – winner
Ed Sheeran
Sam Smith
Taylor Swift
Meghan Trainor
The Weeknd

NEW ARTIST OF THE YEAR
Fetty Wap
Sam Hunt – winner
Tove Lo
Walk The Moon
The Weeknd

SONG OF THE YEAR
Wiz Khalifa featuring Charlie Puth: See You Again
Mark Ronson featuring Bruno Mars: Uptown Funk
Ed Sheeran: Thinking Out Loud
Taylor Swift: Blank Space – winner
The Weeknd: Can’t Feel My Face

COLLABORATION OF THE YEAR
Wiz Khalifa featuring Charlie Puth: See You Again
Rihanna & Kanye West featuring Paul McCartney: FourFiveSeconds
Mark Ronson featuring Bruno Mars: Uptown Funk!
Skrillex & Diplo featuring Justin Bieber: Where Are U Now – winner
Taylor Swift featuring Kendrick Lamar: Bad Blood

FAVOURITE MALE ARTIST – POP/ROCK
Nick Jonas
Ed Sheeran -winner
Sam Smith

FAVOURITE FEMALE ARTIST – POP/ROCK
Ariana Grande – winner
Taylor Swift
Meghan Trainor

FAVOURITE DUO OR GROUP – POP/ROCK
Maroon 5
One Direction – winner
Walk The Moon

FAVOURITE ALBUM – POP/ROCK
Ed Sheeran: x
Sam Smith: In The Lonely Hour
Taylor Swift: 1989 – winner

FAVOURITE MALE ARTIST – COUNTRY
Jason Aldean
Luke Bryan – winner
Sam Hunt

FAVOURITE FEMALE ARTIST – COUNTRY
Kelsea Ballerini
Miranda Lambert
Carrie Underwood – winner

FAVOURITE DUO or GROUP – COUNTRY
Zac Brown Band
Florida Georgia Line – winner
Little Big Town

FAVOURITE ALBUM – COUNTRY
Jason Aldean: Old Boots, New Dirt
Florida Georgia Line: Anything Goes -winner
Sam Hunt: Montevallo

FAVOURITE ARTIST – RAP/HIP-HOP
Drake
Fetty Wap
Nicki Minaj – winner

FAVOURITE ALBUM – RAP/HIP-HOP
J. Cole: 2014 Forest Hills Drive
Drake: If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late
Nicki Minaj: The Pinkprint – winner

FAVOURITE MALE ARTIST – SOUL/R&B
Chris Brown
Trey Songz
The Weeknd – winner

FAVOURITE FEMALE ARTIST – SOUL/R&B
Beyonce
Mary J. Blige
Rihanna – winner

FAVOURITE ALBUM – SOUL/R&B
Chris Brown: X
D’Angelo and The Vanguard: Black Messiah
The Weeknd: Beauty Behind the Madness – winner

FAVOURITE ARTIST – ALTERNATIVE ROCK
Fall Out Boy – winner
Hozier
Walk The Moon

FAVOURITE ARTIST – ADULT CONTEMPORARY
Ed Sheeran
Taylor Swift – winner
Meghan Trainor

FAVOURITE ARTIST – LATIN
Enrique Iglesias – winner
Ricky Martin
Romeo Santos

FAVOURITE ARTIST – CONTEMPORARY INSPIRATIONAL
Casting Crowns – winner
Hillsong United
MercyMe

FAVOURITE ARTIST – ELECTRONIC DANCE MUSIC (EDM)
Calvin Harris – winner
David Guetta
Zedd

TOP SOUNDTRACK
Fifty Shades of Grey
Empire: Original Soundtrack from Season 1
Pitch Perfect 2 – winner

 Source: jumpfon

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