AMAs 2011: Swift wins top prize, LMFAO leaves a bad taste

Taylor Swift was named artist of the year at the 2011 American Music Awards and thanked her fans numerous times before admitting that she "has no idea what to say." Swift had reason to be surprised this time. She wasn't the favorite here, because Adele's "21" is the top-selling album of the year and the AMAs are nothing more than a popularity contest.

Yet Swift won favorite country album for "Speak Now," the second time she's won such an award at the fan-voted proceedings. "I ended up writing lots of these songs at 4 a.m. and on tour buses and wrote it by myself, so the fact that you would honor it like this means a lot," Swift said. Elsewhere on the award tip, male pop chameleon Bruno Mars won favorite male artist, and Adele's "21" was named favorite pop/rock album

Earlier in his performance, Drake didn't spend a lot of time at the American Music Awards. With his album "Take Care" no doubt set to debut atop the charts this week, his performance here was assured and reserved rather than a victory lap. Drake performed "Headlines" and was backed wtih a live band and a stage outfitted in little more than red lights. 

"Headlines" may not be "Take Care's" strongest cut, but it's one in which Drake shows off his swagger more than his emotional turmoil. "I guess it really is just me, myself and all my millions," Drake rapped, an artist who isn't enjoying his hip-hop spoils so much as increasingly becoming a loner because of them. 

Later, Black Eyed Pea will.i.am performed his "T.H.E. (The Hardest Ever)" with Jennifer Lopez. Each artist was essentially black lighted, but it couldn't hide will.i.am's love 'em or hate 'em silliness, with lyrics in which he claims he will call Jesus to defeat your demon pal and declared that one could work or be the boss, all while electronic effects bounce and squiggle. It all went way south, however, when Mick Jagger was shown on an out-of-sync video attempting to act relevant.

And then there was the grand finale, hyped all night as one not to be missed. Instead, it was little more than reason to never take the American Music Awards seriously. In fact, I practically feel as if I should now apologize on behalf of Pop & Hiss for devoting any space on the Internet to justify a show that did little more except shorten everyone's life by three hours. 

AMAs 2011: Hot Chelle Rae wins; Mary J. Blige comes to the rescue

Pop & Hiss will be posting live throughout the night. There may be typos. 

Two hours in Sunday night and the American Music Awards finally offered a musical performance worth celebrating. R&B star Mary J. Blige gave a scorching vocal take on her "Mr. Wrong," and then took a moment to make sure audiences paused to remember the recently departed Heavy D. 

For her performance, Blige gradually ramped up the tension, reasserting herself as one of the most striking and dominant singers in pop and R&B. Lyrically, it may not be Blige's sharpest single, with the artist inviting heartbreak with more or less open arms, but nothing Blige touches sounds frivolous. As the song builds, it becomes less about the deadbeat she's attracted to and her anger at her own weakness at not letting go, and she marked the occasion by digging deep rather than aiming for the heavens.

AMAs 2011: Jennifer Lopez, OneRepublic embarrass themselves

Pop & Hiss will be posting live throughout the night. There may be typos.

This is a post largely about a couple of songs that don't even deserve to be written about. Jennifer Lopez gave what will surely be the most cringe-inducing, embarrassing performance of the night at Sunday's American Music Awards with her "On the Floor." It wasn't that Lopez wasn't really wearing any clothes, as audiences expect that nowadays. Instead, it was Lopez's choice of an accessory, which in this case was a car. When the actual commercial ran not too long after the performance, the only difference was the emphasis on the name of the brand. 

Worse, however, was OneRepublic, which arrived simply to tell the world that it'd been living quite well off its one massive hit, "Apologize." New song "Good Life" is little more than a city-by-city list of where the band has thrown away cash. "My friends in L.A., they don't know," sang Ryan Tedder, "where I've been the past few years." He then told us: China, Paris, Colorado, etc. Fascinating, Ryan. Tell us more. 

AMAs 2011: Kelly Clarkson goes all 'Newsies'

Pop & Hiss will be posting live throughout the night.

As the American Music Awards closed in on Hour No. 1 on Sunday night, Kelly Clarkson performed her "Mr. Know It All," giving the song a "Newsies"-like makover for the live presentation. If the chorus of the tune was instantly jarring, and the media-are-evil theme was long tired before the tune even began, Clarkson's deft mix of rock and vintage pop gave the song some old-school musical pizazz.   

Moments later, Enrique Iglesias showcased his "I Like How It Feels," a song full of stomping, hand-clapping beats, given an American club gloss courtesy of RedOne. Iglesias would have been better to stick with "I Like How It Feels" rather than switch into "Tonight (I'm Lovin' You)," which is more anonymous of a club hit, despite the latter getting a boost from Ludacris.

AMAs 2011: Nicki Minaj, Justin Bieber, Band Perry are first up

Pop & Hiss will be posting live throughout the night.

The 2011 American Music Awards opened with a pairing of international superstar DJ David Guetta and the supersonic vocal stylings of Nicki Minaj. The evening is a slightly pared award show, because some of the biggest names in pop are not set to perform, including Kanye West, Taylor Swift, Lady Gaga and Adele, although the latter is nursing sore vocal cords. 

Guetta, grinning wider than any Jim Henson creation, did his best to set a level of high-energy Minaj. The set was a sort of giant, "Transformer"-like speaker, and Minaj made sure to make one strut around the stage to show the crowd that she did indeed have speakers on her buttocks. Whether they were working speakers, however, is a question that will have to be left for the hard-hitting award-show press corps. 

The two performed a medley of hits such as "Turn Me On" and "Super Bass." For the latter, cameras cut to Swift and GOB (Girlfriend-of-Bieber) Selena Gomez singing along. Minaj performed in front of what looked to be a giant plasma ball, and backup dancers draped her flexible, rubber-tube covered Christmas lights. 

Adele, Lady Gaga, Katy Perry lead American Music Awards nods

Who runs the American Music Awards? Girls. Those aren't the exact lyrics to Beyoncé single "Run the World (Girls)," but it's a fitting way to summarize the top nominees for the popularity contest that is the annual award show.

Adele, Katy Perry, Lady Gaga, Rihanna and Taylor Swift dominate the nominees, with the chart-topping Brit racking up four nods and the other pop divas each landing three. The ladies, minus Rihanna, will compete in the big race -- artist of the year -- against the lone male nominee in the field: Lil Wayne.

Ladies also took charge of the favorite pop/rock album category with Adele's "21," Gaga's "Born This Way" and Rihanna's "Loud" going up against one another.

American Music Awards 2010: Rihanna, Katy Perry, Santana, Ke$ha and all the performances, graded

What follows are instant grades of every performance at tonight's American Music Awards. This post was written off-site from the AMAs at the LAT HQ, and strived to be as fast, coherent and accurate as possible. You have been warned. This post was updated constantly throughout the night, with the last update occurring at 8:53 p.m. PST. 

There may be typos. Photos from the red carpet can be found on The Envelope.

1. Rihanna, "Love the Way You Lie (Part 2)" & "What's My Name" and "Only Girl (In the World)."  And the annual major-label popularity contest that is the American Music Awards gets underway with a shaky start. Rihanna can be captivating, as she is on much of "Rated R." But after a brief few seconds of "Love the Way You Lie," performing above what looked to be a futuristic set of spikes, she drops any sense of contemplation. At the start, it was the dark, sci-fi-like "Tron" atmospheres Rihanna sported on award shows while promoting "Rated R," and though her singing is a bit wobbly, the song strikes such a somber tone that you're on her side. But for Rihanna, being depressed is soooo 2009, and she drops the serious tone for some booty-shaking pop-by-numbers. Hey, it sells better. More curious than either of her recent songs, however, is the handkerchief-like accessory she has used to add a dash of color to her hot pants. Yet clearly that's where the viewers' focus shouldn't be heading. Also, when will award-show producers learn that a medley isn't a good look for anyone? C-.

Enrique Iglesias & Pitbull. "Tonight" & "I Like It." In a performance that should have been sponsored by the Ibiza board of tourism, Iglesias' club anthem gets some added intensity via a drum line. The Grammys, mind you, don't have a lock on marching band-enhanced songs. The medley started with "Tonight," which despite its laser light show and uneventful groove, at least showed off Iglesias' chops. "I Like It," however, does no such thing, going for the electronic-infused David Guetta/Black Eyed Peas overindulgence of synth and sugar. But for sing-along choruses and energy-boosting numbers, one can do worse B-.

Miley Cyrus, "Forgiveness and Love." A ballad in search of a Garry Marshall film. C-

Diddy Dirty Money, "Coming Home." Another attempt at reincarnation from Sean Combs, featuring the rap mogul flanked by a pair of knock-out women. At least Diddy seems aware that the world is bored with looking at him. This song flirts with contemplation, but it settles for pandering, with its repetitive -- yet gratingly memorable -- "I'm coming home" refrain. It's the kind of obvious, boardroom-crafted hit that feels as if it's going to show up in countless video montages and movie trailers for at least the next 11 months. But perhaps a preemptive D- can save us.

On the American Music Awards red carpet: Checking in with Taio Cruz, Trey Songz, Gavin Rossdale and Mike Posner

Unlike MTV's VMAs show, the American Music Awards telecast isn't typically known for its spontaneity.

But before taking the AMAs stage Sunday evening, Bush frontman Gavin Rossdale said he wasn't quite sure how his performance alongside guitarist Carlos Santana would play out.

Rehearsals between the two had been "very fluid," Rossdale said. "They change a lot. It's very organic. There's no set arrangement, so we never know what's going to happen."

Rossdale was one of the few performers who took the time to talk to reporters on the red carpet, while Rihanna, Katy Perry, Miley Cyrus, Pink and others rushed inside after posing for photographs. We also didn't catch a glimpse of Willow Smith, the 10-year-old daughter of Will and Jada whose single, "Whip My Hair," has become a viral smash.

Rossdale, who is married and has children with singer Gwen Stefani, said he'd consider allowing his children to become entertainers as well.

"They can do anything, as long as they don't get injured, or injure someone else," he joked.

American Music Awards producer Larry Klein dishes on potential highlights of Sunday's show

As one of the biggest record buying weeks (Kanye West!! Nicki Minaj!! Justin Bieber!! Robyn!! Ke$ha!?) in recent history approaches, it’s only fitting that the American Music Awards closes out the year, and butters up the populace for the Grammy nominations announcement next month.

The broadcast, in its 38th year, airs at 8 p.m. Sunday on ABC. The East Coast will see the show live from the Nokia Theatre, which, bummer for us, means they're more likely to experience the (best) unplanned moments, such as Jennifer Lopez’s tumble last year, which was edited from the West Coast airing. The three-hour show is to feature 18 music performances -- and, of course, a few awards tossed in to make it official.

Pop & Hiss caught up with AMA producer Larry Klein on Friday during last-minute rehearsals for the show at downtown's Nokia, where he offered his thoughts on a few potential highlights.

Sorry Lady Gaga, no Grammy changes to best new artist category -- for now

 

One of the breakout artists of 2009, fashion-conscious pop-star Lady Gaga showed off her ability to break glass on last night's "American Music Awards." But there are limits to her power.

Speculation that the Recording Academy would consider changing its eligibility rules for the best new artist category was shot down this morning by an official spokeswoman for the group. Ballots already have been returned for the 2010 gala, nominees for which will be announced Dec. 2, and there are no further rule changes on tap until after the Jan. 31 ceremony.

"First-round ballots were due back in early/mid-October, so it would be extremely challenging to change the rules now with nominations being announced next week," said the Recording Academy spokeswoman. "Any changes to be made will be considered after this year's show and therefore would not affect the current rule, which does disqualify her."

Lady Gaga was nominated at the 2009 awards for her single "Just Dance," which was submitted in the best dance recording field. The fine print says an artist who has previously received a nomination at a prior ceremony cannot be in the running for best new artist at future Grammys -- unless, of course, the artist was a "non-featured" performer on the previously nominated track, such as a minor guest on a song.

Sunday night, Entertainment Weekly's Music Mix blog wrote that Recording Academy chief Neil Portnow was considering changes to the best new artist category that would allow Lady Gaga to be nominated. Said the EW post: "We asked Portnow if the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences might consider a rule change to let the year’s biggest breakout act compete for the prestigious prize. 'Yes,' Portnow said. 'The awards and nominations committee meets to review the rules every year. We change the rules frequently. We recognize that situation is not perfect, and we are looking at ways to figure it out.' "