THE 40th ANNUAL AMERICAN MUSIC AWARDS
By: Hope Wilkos, Writer/Blogger Photographer: George Whylie Videographer: Maxine NolanDick Clark always stood by his belief, “Lets bring together the year’s most popular artists and let the music speak for itself.” That is exactly what it did as we celebrated the 40th Annual American Music Awards at the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles on Sunday evening, November 18, 2012. Although the sounds have metamorphosed over the years, the energy and the enthusiasm never seems to falter.
Forty years was a major milestone and memorable moments were brought out of the vault to take us back in time. The big screen brought us Beyonce singing ‘All the Single Ladies’ and Michael Jackson introduced his little sister Janet and who can forget Whitney thanking her fans and her family? Since the American Music Awards is a show that is one of many of Dick Clark’s creations, it seemed only fitting that a special tribute was paid to him with the music and song of his good friend, Stevie Wonder. Dick Clark’s widow seemed to be enjoying the moment as she sat in the audience. The evening opened with the sounds of the unbelievable Usher.
As with any award show, it all began on the Red Carpet. With the holidays right around the corner, the celebrities may have felt the urge to dress up in gold, glitter, metallics and sequins and bedazzle as they made their way into the theatre.
Of course, Nicki Minaj always has to stand out in the crowd but on this evening, she decided to look like a prom queen in a simple Monique Lhuiller bright yellow strapless gown. Her makeup was probably the flashiest part of the entire ensemble. She was one of the big winners of the night taking home multiple awards.
Pink chose a metallic bronze Catherine Deane gown that just seemed to flow flavorfully as it combined sheer elegance with a laser cut leather bodice. Her look completely changed as she gave a riveting performance of her new song, “Try”. Pink donned rainbow-colored body-paint as she exhibited extraordinary dexterity with her acrobatic skills in an amazing scene of anguish and emotion with flames flickering in the background as she sang and danced with a partner.
The newest rage is GANGNAM Style which ended the award show getting everyone out of their seats as it takes the world by storm. The most stylish gentleman of the evening was PSY himself in black sequined pants with a leather tuxedo jacket and bow tie knot. He has made his mark on the dance and fashion world.
Another big winner of the evening was the all-time winner Taylor Swift. Year after year she takes the prize for musical talent and style. She wore a gold embellished Zuhair Murad Pre-Fall 2012 mini with plunging back. She accessorized with a pair of Jimmy Choos and beautiful smoky eyes to accentuate her complexion and straight blunt bangs.
Taking us back and then bringing us forward is the hot band ‘No Doubt’ who are back out on tour. Fashion puts one step forward as Gwen Stefani stayed in tune with her band and differentiated the group in bold black. Their career as a band is back on track and as they performed on stage, it felt like they had never taken a hiatus.
It was a night of American Idol Alumni as Carrie Underwood walked the Red Carpet in a purple beaded Abed Mahfouz gown fitting tight against her fabulous figure and she was adorned in rose-gold Jacob & Co. chandelier earrings. Her long blond locks complimented the outfit. She treated us to song with the melody of ‘Two Black Cadillacs’ all dressed in black almost gypsy-like.
Kelly Clarkson also gave a performance as she began the tune as if she was being judged on American Idol and led into a medley of her biggest singles. She has come so far and gets ten stars. She has recently released a brand new album.
Teen queen meets glamorous grownup as wide-eyed Carly Rae Jepsen was glowing in a peach halter sequined gown. She was thrilled to have won her very first award and one of the biggest honors of the evening as Old Navy’s Favorite New Artist.
There were some other classic looks that were festive and full of gold and silver. Brandy combined black and gold in a glorified futuristic look meets Grecian goddess with boot shoes to match. Kerry Washington was the epitome’ of fashion as she wore a very feminine yellow lace dress from Stella McCartney pairing the dress with peach shoes, interesting combination for sure.
Hollywood glamour had met its match as Jenny McCarthy wore a form-fitting strapless black bodice and gold sequined maxi skirt by Dolce & Gabbana with her hair in an updo.
We saw the likes of so many more sequined and shiny sweethearts like Heidi Klum, Kimberly Cole and Hayden Panettiere.
Jordin Sparks dared to be different in a skin-revealing geometric print dress layered over black fishnet. Cyndi Lauper always sets herself apart from the crowd and that is what makes her so unique.
The world seemed to have Bieber fever as Justin Bieber stole the night not only with his music but with the amount of awards that he took home. His mom was by his side looking almost as young as him the entire evening and he gave thanks to the best mom in the world. He performed with Nicki Minaj, a strange combination but it certainly worked.
Ryan Seacrest seems to keep the Dick Clark legacy alive and he always has a certain presence that captivates a crowd. Randy Jackson, one of the evening’s presenters, wanted all to keep in their minds and their hearts the victims of Hurricane Sandy and offered a plea to donate to the American Red Cross. The evening brought with it so many top name artists performing live on stage with a vigor that had audiences dancing in their seats.
American Music Award nominees were selected based on sales and airplay and what is different about this award show is that the fans pick the winners. For the first time, the genre of Electronic Dance Music had its own category and the very talented David Guetta took this first-time ever award. The non-televised awards went to Katy Perry for Pop/Rock Female Artist, Beyonce for Soul/R&B Female Artist, Adele for Contemporary Artist and Shakira for Latin Artist.
Here is a list of the winners:
Artist of the year: Justin Bieber
New artist of the year: Carly Rae Jepsen
Pop/rock female artist: Katy Perry
Pop/rock male artist: Justin Bieber
Pop/rock band, duo or group: Maroon 5
Pop/rock album: Justin Bieber, “Believe”
Country female artist: Taylor Swift
Country male artist: Luke Bryan
Country band, duo or group: Lady Antebellum
Country album: Carrie Underwood, “Blown Away”
Rap/hip-hop artist: Nicki Minaj
Rap/hip-hop album: Nicki Minaj, “Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded”
Soul/R&B female artist: Beyonce
Soul/R&B male artist: Usher
Soul/R&B album: Rihanna, “Talk That Talk”
Alternative rock artist: Linkin Park
Adult contemporary artist: Adele
Latin artist: Shakira
Contemporary inspirational artist: tobyMac
Electronic dance music artist: David Guetta
It was a night filled with musical excitement. Not only was a live audience there to witness all the stellar performances and awards bestowed upon the talented artists but an audience that stretched to 190 countries around the globe watched in awe as well.
PHOTO CREDITS: Getty Images, WireImage and Kevork Djansezian
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