ATP - One Direction might have
debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard charts behind Justin Bieber, but they won the
top award at Sunday’s American Music Awards.
“This is a testament to how
incredible our fans are,” Louis Tomlinson said onstage at the Microsoft Theater
in Los Angeles.
“We just want to thank everyone
that’s helped us in the last five years,” Liam Payne added.
The band won the top award at
last year’s show — as a quintet with Zayn Malik. They also won favorite duo or
group — pop/rock Sunday night.
Bieber, who won best
collaboration with Diplo and Skrillex, closed the night with a medley of his
hits, including “Sorry,” ”Where Are U Now” and “What Do You Mean.” Purple laser
lights beamed from the stage as the singer danced and sang for the loud
audience. He ended it drenched after standing under a waterfall.
Billboard announced Sunday his
new album, “Purpose,” will debut at No. 1 on its charts Monday after selling
649,000 equivalent albums. It beat out One Direction’s “Made In the A.M.,”
which sold 459,000 equivalent albums.
Bieber’s performance wasn’t the
only well-received one: Celine Dion paid tribute to the victims of the recent
Paris attacks by singing Edith Piaf’s “Hymne à L’Amour” in French as some
audience members cried.
Jared Leto, who introduced
Dion, said his band 30 Seconds to Mars recently performed at the Bataclan, the
Paris concert hall where 89 people were killed in the Nov. 13 attack.
Dion earned a rousing applause
after her performance, which started with the Eiffel Tower projected behind
her.
The Weeknd’s performance was
also a favorite, and he walked away with two awards, and presented the first
one from Prince.
“Make some noise for Prince,
ladies and gentlemen,” the singer said after picking up favorite album —
soul/R&B for “Beauty Behind the Madness.”
Nicki Minaj was also a double
winner, taking home favorite artist and album — rap/hip-hop. She encouraged her
feverish fans to “find their voice.”
“I want to just thank you, the
fans, for allowing me to change and have a different voice every time I come
back out (with a new album),” Minaj said. “And please find your voice and find
your purpose before it’s too late. Love you.”
Other girls at the awards show
encouraged their peers: Zendaya and Hailee Steinfeld danced excited as Selena
Gomez performed onstage; Fifth Harmony and Rebel Wilson sang as Demi Lovato was
in strong form with “Confident”; and Gomez sang as Grande performed “Focus” in
a shimmery number.
Meghan Trainor and Charlie
Puth’s performance got additional attention after the singers made out onstage
after singing their song, “Marvin Gaye,” which features the lyrics: “Let’s
Marvin Gaye and get it on.”
“I’m still laughing at Charlie
and Meghan smooching,” Bryan said onstage after winning favorite male artist —
country.
Bryan beat out Jason Aldean and
Sam Hunt, who won new artist of the year.
Host Jennifer Lopez kicked off
the AMAs in a dance routine that highlighted some of the year’s biggest hits
like “Where Are U Now,” ”Anaconda,” ”Uptown Funk!” and “Hotline Bling.” She
also impressively sang in almost a cappella form.
Taylor Swift, who is out of the
country shooting a music video, was the top nominee with six. She won song of
the year for “Blank Space,” favorite album — pop/rock for “1989” and favorite
artist — adult contemporary
Swift lost favorite female
artist — pop/rock to Grande, who was shocked when accepting the honor.
“I think I owe a lot of this to
my nonna who made sure to remind me that she voted. She goes, ‘Ariana, I went
on the computer, I voted, so I think you’ll win,'” Grande said in an Italian
accent.
The three-hour show, which
aired on ABC, also included a clip from the upcoming “Star Wars” film.
Performers included Coldplay, Gwen Stefani, Alanis Morissette, 5 Seconds of
Summer and Carrie Underwood, who won favorite female artist — country.
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