The American Music Awards were held on Monday, turning Las Vegas into BTS army headquarters. The band, back from their hiatus, opened the night, which was held at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, with a taped performance, won Artist of the Year and had fans roaring throughout the telecast. “Everyone is belting out their songs during commercial breaks,” Yahoo’s Taryn Ryder reported from inside the show. “I don’t know the last time I’ve seen anything like this at an awards show.”
Queen Latifah, who wore a floor-length fur coat on the red carpet in the 94-degree heat, was a stellar host, and performances were a delightfully weird mix of nostalgia (Hootie & the Blowfish, New Kids on the Block with Keith Urban and Billy Idol) and now (Karol G, Maluma, Teddy Swims, Teyana Taylor and Twenty One Pilots,).
The presenters were also a mixed bag, including musicians (Hilary Duff and Ludacris), actors (Meg Stalter and Paul W. Downs), comedians (Nikki Glaser and Matt Rife) and lots of reality stars.
Awards highlights include:
BTS for Artist of the Year
Sabrina Carpenter for Album of the Year
Katseye for New Artist of the Year
Sombr for Best Rock/Alternative Album
We covered it all: surprise guests, viral moments, performance mishaps, updates, winners, backstage moments and everything you didn’t see on TV.