(MENAFN- Arab Times) American girls love British boys: One Direction won artist of the year at the American Music Awards, taking home three honors and was the night's big winner next to Katy Perry, who didn't attend the show. One Direction also won favorite band, duo or group - pop/rock and favorite album - pop/rock for "Midnight Memories" at the fan-voted show on Sunday night.
"This has been a real perfect day ... America feels like a second home to us," Liam Payne said onstage with his band mates when they won the night's first award. The group released its new album, "Four," last week. Perry won three honors as well, including single of the year for No. 1 hit "Dark Horse," favorite female artist - pop/rock and favorite artist - adult contemporary.
Though she was absent - she's on tour in Australia - the 2014 AMAs was still jam-packed with star power at the Nokia Theatre L.A. Live. Breakthrough Australian newcomer Iggy Azalea, who was the top nominee with six, won favorite album - rap/hip-hop for "The New Classic" and favorite artist - rap/hip-hop, taking down rap heavyweights Eminem and Drake.
"This award is the first award I've ever won in my entire life, and it means so much to me that it is for best hip-hop because that's what inspired me to move to America and pursue my dreams, and it's what helped me when I was a teenager to escape and to get through my life and to better times," the 24-year-old rapper said, as her mentor T.I. stood beside her. "And it means so much that I can stand here against Eminem and Drake and come out with this," she continued.
Hit
Azalea performed her massive hit, "Fancy," which was nominated for single of the year, as well as her new song, "Beg for It." Australian boy band 5 Seconds of Summer won new artist of the year, and they also performed a cover of The Romantics' "What I Like About You."
Taylor Swift kicked off the AMAs as a mad woman and man eater by feeding a boy a poisonous apple, holding burning roses and giving crazy eyes during a performance of her song about her dating life.
She was aggressive, grabbing her male dancers by their blazers and singing in character on bended knee when performing her new No. 1 hit, "Blank Space." She even removed part of her dress to reveal a shimmery, leg-revealing gold number. She later received the first-ever Dick Clark Award for Excellence, presented by Diana Ross.
"To the fans who went out and bought over a million copies of my last three albums, what you did by going out and investing in music and albums is you're saying you believe in the same thing I believe in - that music is valuable and that music should be consumed in albums and albums should be consumed as art and appreciated," said Swift, who recently removed her music from streaming service Spotify.
Ariana Grande took the stage to sing lounge-y, piano-versions of her upbeat hits "Problem" and "Break Free." She followed that with a duet of her latest hit, "Love Me Harder," with The Weeknd, as Grande's older brother jumped up in joy, MAGIC! leader Nasir Atweh sang along and Heidi Klum bopped her head.
She returned again to sing "Bang Bang" with Nicki Minaj and Jessie J, who kicked off the song in the crowd. She was rubbing against Khloe Kardashian, singing closely in front of her boyfriend, R&B singer Luke James, and dancing next to Swift and Sam Smith.
Smith, who also performed, won favorite male artist - pop/rock.
"Genuinely from my heart I didn't think I was going to be winning this. This is unreal," the British singer said, who beat Pharrell and John Legend. "But mainly, thank you to my fan base. You guys are amazing, and last year I wrote an album about being lonely and tonight, I couldn't feel further from lonely, so thank you so much."
Mary J. Blige performed "Therapy," a new song she wrote with Smith and host Pitbull performed with R&B singer Ne-Yo. Fergie gave a hip-hop flavored performance of her comeback single, "L.A. Love (La La)," while Selena Gomez slowed it down for the emotional "Heart Wants What It Wants."
Beyonce, who didn't attend, won favorite female artist - soul/R&B and favorite album - soul/R&B for her self-titled effort. Luke Bryan took home favorite male artist - country.
"I wanna thank God above for letting me tour night in and night out on the road. I want to thank the fans for making it possible to stand up here and win the awards," he said, also thanking "my band, my crew, bus driver, momma and them, you know."
Carrie Underwood was named favorite female artist - country and the soundtrack for "Frozen," the year's top-selling album, won top soundtrack.
"It's amazing because we worked so hard on these last two albums," band member Liam Payne said. The five-piece band performed its latest single "Night Changes" against a night-time forest backdrop.
"As musicians, we receive so much critique and we really question what we're doing, but I think this validates that I'm on the right path," the 24-year-old Azalea said.
A sultry Taylor Swift performed "Blank Space" on stage and was awarded the first-ever Dick Clark Award for Excellence, in memory of the founder of the American Music Awards who died in 2012. She received the award from R&B diva Diana Ross.
"I'm so blown away to have just received an award from Diana Ross, who over the course of her career stood up for herself so many times in a period when it wasn't popular for women to stand up for themselves," Swift said.
Much of the three-hour awards show, aired on ABC, was dedicated to performances dominated by the ladies of pop music, including a raunchy rendition of "Booty" by Azalea and Lopez, with lots of rump-shaking.
Pop stars Grande, Selena Gomez and Nicki Minaj opted for less audacious performances showcasing their vocal talents.
Accepting the award from Motown legend Diana Ross, Swift appeared to dish out a new round of criticism, albeit obliquely, against the streaming service Spotify from which she has pulled her music.
Swift's latest album, "1989," enjoyed the highest sales of any US album in its first week in 12 years. It far outpaced industry expectations by selling two million copies in the United States in its first three weeks.
After the album came out, Swift pulled her entire catalog from Spotify, accusing the fast-growing streaming service of devaluing music by not paying enough back to artists.
Spotify's Swedish founder Daniel Ek hit back that the company has paid $2 billion to artists and songwriters since its 2008 launch, creating a rare source of new revenue in the beleaguered industry.
Swift opened the evening by performing the album's latest single "Blank Space," in which the 24-year-old singer - playing at her reputation for short-lived relationships - held a burning rose as she pushed back suitors who pranced around her holding open picture frames.
Hip hop bad boy Lil Wayne also took to the stage in a passionate dance with actress and singer Christina Milian, his rumored girlfriend.
They performed "Start a Fire" - with ABC television editing out some lyrics from the broadcast. The track is expected to be on Lil Wayne's upcoming album "Tha Carter V," which is scheduled for release on Dec 9 after repeated delays.
Winners
* Artist of the year: One Direction
* New Artist of the year: 5 Seconds of Summer
* Single of the year: Katy Perry featuring Juicy J - "Dark Horse"
* Favorite male artist - pop/rock: Sam Smith
* Favorite Female Artist - Pop/Rock: Katy Perry
* Favorite Band, Duo or Group - Pop/Rock: One Direction
* Favorite Album - Pop/Rock: One Direction - "Midnight Memories"
* Favorite Male Artist - Country: Luke Bryan
* Favorite Female Artist - Country: Carrie Underwood
* Favorite Band, Duo Or Group - Country: Florida Georgia Line
* Favorite Album - Country: Brantley Gilbert - "Just As I Am"
* Favorite Artist - Rap/Hip-Hop: Iggy Azalea
* Favorite Album - Rap/Hip-Hop: Iggy Azalea - "The New Classic"
* Favorite Male Artist - Soul/R&B: John Legend
* Favorite Female Artist - Soul/R&B: Beyonce
* Favorite Album - Soul/R&B: Beyonce - "Beyonce"
* Favorite Artist - Alternative Rock: Imagine Dragons
* Favorite Artist - Adult Contemporary: Katy Perry
* Favorite Artist - Latin: Enrique Iglesias
* Favorite Artist - Contemporary Inspirational: Casting Crowns
* Favorite Artist - Electronic Dance Music: Calvin Harris
* Top Soundtrack: Frozen. (Agencies)
By Mesfin Fekadu
Legal Disclaimer:
MENAFN provides the information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.