The 50th American Music Awards were recently held on Sunday night at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles. The event saw a star-studded lineup of well-known figures from the music industry. Knowingly, Taylor Swift stole the spotlight by winning the artist of the year award, leaving behind The Weeknd, Harry Styles, Adele, Bad Bunny, Beyoncé and Drake. Though Swift was the winner, there were several incredible moments that stole the hearts of the audiences.
Cardi B recently made a surprise appearance at the 2022 AMAs. During her appearance, the rapper brought more than her featured verse to GloRilla’s performance “Tomorrow 2.” The fellow female rap stars also coordinated outfits and fiery dance moves as they revved up the crowd.
Another iconic moment was when country queen Carrie Underwood floated down to the AMAs stage in aerial hoops. She was looking divine in a pink, blue and white jumpsuit to sing “Crazy Angels” from her recent record Denim & Rhinestones.
Genre-bending artist Lionel Richie accepted the AMA’s highest honour, the Icon Award, presented to him by Smokey Robinson. Richie gave a heartfelt speech about his journey to icon status, offering some sage advice to up-and-coming musicians about taking the opportunity to inspire others. “When you hear the word hip, it means today,” said Richie. “When you hear the word inspiring, it means forever.”
Stevie Wonder and Charlie Puth shared their favourite Lionel Richie songs on stage to honour the Icon Award recipient. Wonder kicked things off with a snippet of “Three Times a Lady,” which was followed up by Puth’s take on “Easy.” The two riffed with “All Night Long” and slowed it down with “Say You, Say Me.”
The two cross-generational stars added in a beatboxed version of “Brick House,” harmonized to “Jesus Is Love” and ended with “We Are the World,” for which they were joined by Smokey Robinson, Jimmie Allen, Melissa Etheridge, Ari Lennox, Muni Long, Dustin Lynch, Yola and Richie himself.
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