From Cardi B's dramatic looks and BTS' trifecta trophies to Olivia Rodrigo dressed to be a winner, here's a short recap of the 2021 AMAs.
2021 American Music Awards: Live and In-Person
This year, the American Music Awards returned to an in-person event with several big music stars gracing the red carpet for the event. The AMAs were held on November 21 at the Microsoft Theater in LA and were hosted by Cardi B; the second female rapper to do so after Queen Latifah.
From BTS to Olivia Rodrigo, several stars took the stage to make it a memorable night. BTS also won Artist of the Year; won last year by Taylor Swift; who this year won Favorite Female Pop Artist and the Favorite Pop Album awards, breaking her own record for most AMA wins in history.
Whilst Megan Thee Stallion was slated to perform "Butter" with BTS, she had to pull out "due to an unexpected personal matter," leaving fans disappointed. Luckily, BTS performed on "Butter" anyway; because the show must go on!
BTS also performed "My Universe" along with Coldplay, which marked the South Korean group's first in-person award show performance since the start of the pandemic.
Silk Sonic took the stage with their hit "Smokin Out the Window", while Olivia Rodrigo gave a stunning performance of her hit song "Traitor."
Many more performances marked the night; Jennifer Lopez performed a single from her upcoming movie, "On My Way," Maneskin performed their trending hit "Beggin", but perhaps the most notable moment of the night was New Kids on the Block and New Edition coming together for an iconic "Battle of Boston" boy band showdown. They also performed a medley of their greatest hits and their reunion brought all six members on the stage.
The MCs
As for the masters of ceremony, Cardi B was the main show host. Billy Porter presented the award for Latin Album. JoJo Siwa presented the Pop Duo/Group; Machine Gun Kelly presented New Artist of the Year and Winnie Harlow introduced Zoe Wees for her performance of "Girls Like Us." Ansel Elgort and Rachel Xegler were also on the presenters' list for the Favorite Artist - Rock award.
The Nominees and Winners
Next, we come to the awards and nominations. The nominations were announced on Spotify's morning show, The Get Up ABC's, Good Morning America, and the AMA Twitter account on 28 October 2021.
Olivia Rodrigo bagged the most nominations followed by The Weeknd and then Bad Bunny, Doja Cat, and Giveon. BTS made history by being the first Asian Artists to receive AOTY at the AMAs. They also received the award for Favorite song - Pop for “Butter.”
Additionally, Cardi B received the Favorite Hip-Hop Song award for "Up," adding to the female-dominated wins of the night. Megan Thee Stallion may not have been able to perform, but she definitely became one of the big winners of the night by taking home several awards; Favorite Female Hip-Hop Artist, Favorite Trending Song for "Body," and Favorite Hip-Hop Album award for her album Good News.
Doja Cat walked away with the awards for Favorite Female R&B Artist, Favorite R&B Album, and Collaboration of the Year for “Kiss Me More” feat. SZA.
Olivia Rodrigo won New Artist of the Year, Kanye West won Favorite Artist - Gospel, and Lil Nas X won Favorite Music Video for Montero (Call Me By Your Name.) The Favorite Male Artist - Pop was won by Ed Sheeran whilst the Favorite Male Artist - Hip Hop was won by Drake.
Favorite Female Country Artist was won by Carrie Underwood; with Luke Bryan winning in the Male category. The favorite Male Latin Artist was won by Bad Bunny and the Female category was won by Becky G.
Machine Gun Kelly brought home the bacon with the Favorite Rock Artist award and Carrie Underwood walked away with Favorite Inspirational Artist.
Former American Idol contestant, Gabby Barrett, won Favorite Country Song and the Favorite Country Album. Favorite Latin Album was bagged by Bad Bunny for" El Ültimo Del Mundo" and Kali Ulchis got a shiny new trophy with the Favorite Latin Song for "Telepatia".
To see the full winner list, head over to the official AMA website.
Big congratulations to all the nominees, winners, performers, and everyone who simply had a blast at one of the biggest nights in showbiz!
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