Rap superstar Cardi B made her hosting debut, pulling off seven different looks and revving up the crowd at the 49th annual American Music Awards held at the Microsoft Theatre in Los Angeles.

Before the star-studded ceremony began, 21 of the 32 fan-voted winners were unveiled on TikTok. Taylor Swift, the most decorated artist in AMA history, was awarded Favourite Female Pop Artist and Favourite Pop Album for “Evermore”, while Bruno Mars and Anderson Paak’s collaborative project Silk Sonic won Favourite R&B song for “Leave the Door Open”.

Korean pop sensation BTS was high like the moon, scoring the coveted artist of the year win.

Doja Cat and Megan Thee Stallion were the top winning female artists at this year’s AMAs, also with three awards.

The “WAP” rapper was named favourite female hip-hop artist, her “Good News” winning for favourite hip-hop album and her “Body” was crowned favourite trending song, a new award this year. Doja Cat won collaboration of the year for “Kiss Me More” featuring SZA, favourite female R&B artist, and favourite R&B album for “Planet Her.”

Newcomer Olivia Rodrigo had the most nominations of the night, with seven, while The Weeknd had six. The “drivers license” singer won new artist of the year.

Other winners include Machine Gun Kelly for favourite rock artist award, Ed Sheeran for favourite male pop artist, Becky G for favourite female Latin artist, and Kanye West for favourite gospel artist.

Here are some of the noteworthy celebrities on the red carpet.

Here are the winners:

  • Artist of the year – BTS
  • New artist of the year – Olivia Rodrigo
  • Collaboration of the year – Doja Cat ft. SZA, “Kiss Me More”
  • Favourite trending song – Megan Thee Stallion, “Body”
  • Favourite music video – Lil Nas X, “MONTERO (Call Me By Your Name)”
  • Favourite male pop artist – Ed Sheeran
  • Favourite female pop artist – Taylor Swift
  • Favourite pop duo or group – BTS
  • Favourite pop album – Taylor Swift, evermore
  • Favourite pop song – BTS, “Butter”
  • Favourite male country artist – Luke Bryan
  • Favourite female country artist – Carrie Underwood
  • Favourite country duo or group – Dan + Shay
  • Favourite country album – Gabby Barrett, Goldmine
  • Favourite country song – Gabby Barrett, “The Good Ones”
  • Favourite male hip-hop artist – Drake
  • Favourite female hip-hop artist – Megan Thee Stallion
  • Favourite hip-hop album – Megan Thee Stallion, Good News
  • Favourite hip-hop song – Cardi B, “Up”
  • Favourite male R&B artist – The Weeknd
  • Favourite female R&B artist – Doja Cat
  • Favourite R&B album – Doja Cat, Planet Her
  • Favourite R&B song – Silk Sonic (Bruno Mars, Anderson .Paak), “Leave the Door Open”
  • Favourite male Latin artist – Bad Bunny
  • Favourite female Latin artist – Becky G
  • Favourite Latin duo or group – Banda MS de Sergio Lizárraga
  • Favourite Latin album – Bad Bunny, El Último Tour Del Mundo
  • Favourite Latin song – Kali Uchis, “Telepatía”
  • Favourite rock artist – Machine Gun Kelly
  • Favourite inspirational artist – Carrie Underwood
  • Favourite gospel artist – Kanye West
  • Favourite dance/electronic artist – Marshmello
Kehindé Fagbule
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Self-identifies as a middle child between millennials and the gen Z, began writing as a 14 year-old. Born and raised in Lagos where he would go on to obtain a degree in the University of Lagos, he mainly draws inspiration from societal issues and the ills within. His "live and let live" mantra shapes his thought process as he writes about lifestyle from a place of empathy and emotional intelligence. When he is not writing, he is very invested in football and sociopolitical commentary on social media.