Around the awards track: Ronni Chasen touched the 'queen of the West' | Jesse Tyler Ferguson wants to host the Tonys

? Nearly 1,000 mourners on a crisp and windy Sunday overflowed from the chapel at Hillside Memorial Park to remember slain Oscar consultant Ronni Chasen. Speakers included her filmmaker brother Larry Cohen, who recalled to mourners how he gave his sister — "my little companion" — her first celebrity encounter when he took her to see Roy Rogers and Dale Evans at a rodeo in New York City where Chasen briefly met Evans. On their subway ride home, Evans bragged to strangers, beaming, "I touched the queen of the West! I touched the queen of the West!" L.A. TIMES

? Now that his TV show has won the Emmy as best comedy series, Jesse Tyler Ferguson wants to host the Tonys. He says of his wish, which he tweeted last week, "I'm not joking around. Thanks to 'Modern Family' I'm in a place where I might actually bring viewers to the Tony Awards that might not necessarily tune in otherwise …. At my core I'm a song and dance man …. Basically, everything Neil Patrick Harris does I want to do." NEW YORK POST

? Gossipmeisters say Miley Cyrus pulled the plug on singing "Every Rose Has Its Thorn" at the American Music Awards because of rumors that the man who wrote and sang it, Bret Michaels, had a fling with her mom.  TMZ

? Cher says that there are just some moments at award shows that you will remember forever, like when Lady Gaga turned to her at the MTV VMAs and said, "Here, Cher, will you hold my meat purse?" MTV

? For the second time in his career, director Chang Tso-chi won best picture at the Golden Horse Film Awards, which are equivalent to the Oscars in Taiwan. Previously, he won in 2002 for "The Best of Times." On Saturday, he prevailed for "When Love Comes" — no shocker since it led with the most nominations: 14. However, the big surprise: He lost best director to Chung Mong-hong for "The Fourth Portrait." SIDNEY MORNING HERALD

? The International Emmys will be held tonight. British tube fare, as usual, leads with the most nominations. ASSOCIATED PRESS

-- Tom O'Neil

Photo: Jesse Tyler Ferguson in "Modern Family." Credit: ABC

American Music Awards 2010: A family-friendly show is free of controversy

Last year Adam Lambert's kiss at the American Music Awards sent the Internet tongues wagging, but this year it was Usher and his protg, Justin Bieber, who gathered the most attention at the annual music fete, held at downtown L.A.'s Nokia Theatre and broadcast on ABC — albeit with less controversy.

The pair took home six trophies at the show, which celebrates the United States' most popular musical artists. Bieber won four trophies, including artist of the year, while Usher, who signed the teen in 2008, received two, including favorite male R&B performance. Bieber is the youngest artist to ever win artist of the year.

But the American Music Awards are usually short on drama and long on performance, and this year was no exception. The winners are determined by a combination of fan voting, radio play, record sales and online video play, so as a result it's a popularity contest, not a critical judgment.