American Music Awards

By: Alison Chodak

LOS ANGELES, C.A.- On Oct. 9, 2018 the American Music Awards took place at 8 p.m. on ABC and was hosted by Tracee Ellis Ross.  It was a big night for Taylor Swift who broke the record for most American Music Awards. She won three including Artist of the Year and in total has won 23 American Music Awards. 

 Other celebrities that won awards were, Cardi B, Post Malone, Khalid, Camila Cabello (who won twice), Carrie Underwood, Shawn Mendes, Migos and XXXTentacion. Many celebrities that won also performed during the event. Shawn Mendes and Zedd performed their new song “Lost in Japan.” Zedd started the song playing the piano and Mendes had his guitar the entire performance. Another performer was Jennifer Lopez, she sung her song “Limitless” which was super powerful and strong. This especially left a huge impact as it had to do with women’s rights. These performances were outstanding and entertaining to watch. 

 Since, XXXTentacion passed away earlier this year, his mother accepted his award for Favorite Album in the Soul/R&B in his honor. This wasn’t the only tribute made that night.  Panic at the Disco! sang Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody” which was a recording from Australia. It was sung exactly how Queen sings it and many people in the audience were thrilled to see this tribute happen, especially since the “Bohemian Rhapsody” movie is coming to theaters soon.

Aretha Franklin’s tribute had different African American singers singing classic gospel songs. Starting off with Aretha Franklin’s close friend, Gladys Knight singing “Amazing Grace,” followed by Donnie McClurkin singing “Climbing Higher Mountains.” This led to CeCe Winans singing “Mary Don’t You Weep.” Then a whole choir joined in the aisles with Ledisi singing, “How I Got Over.” Lastly, it ended with Mary Mary singing “Old Landmark.” This was a wonderful tribute that so many people enjoyed and it ended the show beautifully.

Tracee Ellis Ross was a phenomenal host. Each outfit she wore was designed by a different African American designer. There was also talk about registering to vote throughout the night. Tracee Ellis Ross wore a shirt saying, “I am a voter” and talked about how important it is to vote. Billy Eichner dedicated his speech to voting for equal rights for women, the LGBTQ community, people of color and the importance of climate change. He mentioned Taylor Swift and how she thought it was important to register to vote. Lastly, on her final speech on winning her third award, Taylor Swift talked about how crucial it is to vote and using your voice.

The night ended up being a huge success for many artists who performed and received awards. That’s a wrap for the American Music Awards 2018.