The 49th Annual American Music Awards were held on November 21, 2021, at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles, acknowledging the most acclaimed artists, singles, and albums of 2021.
Korean boy band BTS stole the show after they became the first Asian group in history to win the Artist of the Year at the awards, and this also marks BTS’s third consecutive year winning Favorite Pop Duo or Group.
There were a lot of live performances that took place at the awards as well, BTS and Coldplay took the stage together at the 2021 American Music Awards for the inaugural live rendition of their joint single “My Universe.” The performance took place shortly before BTS won Favorite Pop Duo or Group.
Other musicians included Bad Bunny, Diplo, Jennifer Lopez, Bruno Mars, and Anderson .Paak joined forces as Silk Sonic, Mickey Guyton, and Tyler, The Creator. The Italian rock group and Eurovision winners Maneskin also made their U.S. awards show debut. Kane Brown was to perform "One Mississippi" from Tennessee State University and New Edition and New Kids on the Block were to perform together for the first time.
It's was surely a great night for rapper Cardi B as well. She hosted the award show, and was also nominated in three categories, including Favorite Female Hip-Hop Artist as well as Favorite Music Video and Favorite Hip-Hop Song for her single "Up." Cardi B won in the Favorite Hip-Hop Song category, adding to the five AMA trophies she already has on her shelf.
In terms of nominations, Rodrigo got seven, including both Artist of the Year and New Artist of the Year. The Weeknd followed closely behind with six, while Bad Bunny, Doja Cat, and Giveon each received five. Olivia Newton-John and Justin Bieber were tied for four awards.
Here is a full list of artists who won at the American Music Awards this year:
ARTIST OF THE YEAR: BTS
NEW ARTIST OF THE YEAR: Olivia Rodrigo
COLLABORATION OF THE YEAR: Doja Cat ft. SZA "Kiss Me More"
FAVORITE TRENDING SONG: Megan Thee Stallion "Body"
FAVORITE MUSIC VIDEO: Lil Nas X "MONTERO (Call Me By Your Name)"
FAVORITE MALE POP ARTIST: Ed Sheeran
FAVORITE FEMALE POP ARTIST: Taylor Swift
FAVORITE POP DUO OR GROUP: BTS
FAVORITE POP ALBUM: Taylor Swift "evermore"
FAVORITE POP SONG: BTS "Butter"
FAVORITE MALE COUNTRY ARTIST: Luke Bryan
FAVORITE FEMALE COUNTRY ARTIST: Carrie Underwood
FAVORITE COUNTRY DUO OR GROUP: Dan + Shay
FAVORITE COUNTRY ALBUM: Gabby Barrett "Goldmine"
FAVORITE COUNTRY SONG: Gabby Barrett "The Good Ones"
FAVORITE MALE HIP-HOP ARTIST: Drake
FAVORITE FEMALE HIP-HOP ARTIST: Megan Thee Stallion
FAVORITE HIP-HOP ALBUM: Megan Thee Stallion "Good News"
FAVORITE HIP-HOP SONG: Cardi B "Up"
FAVORITE MALE R&B ARTIST: The Weeknd
FAVORITE FEMALE R&B ARTIST: Doja Cat
FAVORITE R&B ALBUM: Doja Cat "Planet Her"
FAVORITE R&B SONG: Silk Sonic (Bruno Mars, Anderson .Paak) "Leave The Door Open"
FAVORITE MALE LATIN ARTIST: Bad Bunny
FAVORITE FEMALE LATIN ARTIST: Becky G
FAVORITE LATIN DUO OR GROUP: Banda MS de Sergio Lizárraga
FAVORITE LATIN ALBUM: Bad Bunny "EL ÚLTIMO TOUR DEL MUNDO"
FAVORITE LATIN SONG: Kali Uchis "telepatía"
FAVORITE ROCK ARTIST: Machine Gun Kelly
FAVORITE INSPIRATIONAL ARTIST: Carrie Underwood
FAVORITE GOSPEL ARTIST: Kanye West
FAVORITE DANCE/ELECTRONIC ARTIST: Marshmello
