Drum roll please! The American Music Awards are always one of the biggest nights in music, bringing together the best of the best for explosive performances and honor those who put out incredible work over the last year. And boy, did 2020 need some tunes! While The Weeknd , who won the first award of the night, and Roddy Ricch led the pack with 8 nominations each, Megan Thee Stallion wasn’t that far behind with 5 nominations. Meanwhile, Justin Bieber, Taylor Swift, Lady Gaga, and Doja Cat all tied with 4 nominations each.
So, who walked away with the top honors? Well, throughout the night, names were called and awards were handed out. But, as Taraji P. Henson said ahead of the big show, the AMAs is much more than just winning awards. “The AMAs bring together the music community to celebrate what really drives all artists – the fans,” said Taraji. “I’m proud to take the stage as this year’s host – and also a fan – for what promises to be an electrifying night of music.”
The night kicked off with an unexpected, but star-studded red carpet. Stars taking turns in front of the cameras included Dua Lipa, New Edition, and Megan Fox on the arm of her BF Machine Gun Kelly. Their photo-op marked the first time the couple had walked a red carpet at a Hollywood event since they started dating in May — aka, in the middle of the pandemic. MGK, who also performed and was nominated at the AMAs, look at his girl lovingly as they smiled for the cameras.
And then there were the performance — holy smoke! Kicking off the night, Justin Bieber and Shawn Mendes performed, for the first time, their new duet, Monster, for all the world watching. But things just heated up from there. Megan The Stallion also debuted her latest hit, Body, and you saw quite a bit of hers as she worked it on stage. Later, Billie Eilish recreated her music video look on-stage with her first live performance of her hit, Therefore I Am, and Dua Lipa took us all for a ride with her intergalactic performance of Levitating.
But the stand out performance of the night clearly went to the queen herself, Jennifer Lopez. Joined by Maluma, the pair got, well, nothing short of steamy on the AMAs stage, singing two songs off the soundtrack of their upcoming movie, Marry Me. All we have to say is… did A.Rod approve of this!?
But back to the winners. Last year, Taylor Swift became the winningest person in AMAs history when she took home her 25th AMA and beat Michael Jackson‘s previous record of 24. Well, add win #26, #27, and #28 to the list, as she walked away with 3 more awards tonight, including the big award of the night, Artist of the Year! She sent a video message to her fans (see below), thanking them for their support and reassuring them that they’ll be getting some more new (old) music very soon. In fact, it looked like she sent the video from inside the recording studio! Fun!
Other big winners of the night included The Weeknd, who won almost all his nominated categories, Doja Cat, and Bad Bunny. See the full list here:
Artist of the Year
Justin Bieber
Post Malone
Roddy Ricch
Taylor Swift
The Weeknd
BIG congratulations to @taylorswift13! Shes taking home the award for Artist of the Year! #AMAs pic.twitter.com/XfBOTPU5Nc
— American Music Awards (@AMAs) November 23, 2020
Collaboration of the Year
Cardi B (featuring Megan Thee Stallion) — “WAP”
DaBaby (featuring Roddy Ricch) — “Rockstar”
Dan + Shay with Justin Bieber — “10,000 Hours”
Lady Gaga & Ariana Grande — “Rain On Me”
Megan Thee Stallion (featuring Beyoncé) — “Savage Remix”
Favorite Album — Latin
Anuel AA — Emmanuel
Bad Bunny — Las Que No Iban a Salir
Bad Bunny — YHLQMDLG
Favorite Duo or Group — Pop/Rock
BTS
Jonas Brothers
Maroon 5
New Artist of the Year
Lewis Capaldi
Doja Cat
DaBaby
Lil Baby
Roddy Ricch
Megan Thee Stallion
Why don't you say congratulations to your #AMAs New Artist of the Year, @DojaCat! pic.twitter.com/KLf5kpySTB
— American Music Awards (@AMAs) November 23, 2020
Favorite Song — Rap/Hip-Hop
Cardi B ft. Megan Thee Stallion — “WAP”
DaBaby ft. Roddy Ricch — “Rockstar”
Roddy Ricch — “The Box”
Favorite Song — Soul/R&B
Chris Brown (featuring Drake) — “No Guidance”
Summer Walker — “Playing Games”
The Weeknd — “Heartless”
Favorite Female Artist — Latin
Becky G
KAROL G
Rosalía
Favorite Song — Country
Dan + Shay with Justin Bieber — 10,000 Hours
Maren Morris — The Bones
Blake Shelton (featuring Gwen Stefani) — “Nobody But You”
Favorite Song — Pop/Rock
Lewis Capaldi — “Someone You Loved”
Dua Lipa — “Don’t Start Now”
Post Malone — “Circles”
Roddy Ricch — “The Box”
The Weeknd — “Blinding Lights”
Winning now, performing later! @DUALIPA accepts the #AMAs for Favorite Song – Pop/Rock. Congrats! pic.twitter.com/g1RyiHY6qh
— American Music Awards (@AMAs) November 23, 2020
Favorite Album — Soul/R&B
Doja Cat — Hot Pink
Summer Walker — Over It
The Weeknd — After Hours
Favorite Male Artist — Soul/R&B
Chris Brown
John Legend
The Weeknd
Favorite Music Video
Doja Cat — “Say So”
Future (featuring Drake) — “Life Is Good”
Lady Gaga and Ariana Grande — “Rain On Me”
Taylor Swift — “Cardigan”
The Weeknd — “Blinding Lights”
Favorite Female Artist — Pop/Rock
Dua Lipa
Lady Gaga
Taylor Swift