LAS VEGAS – From some steamy moments from host and performer Jennifer Lopez to well-earned plaudits for some of the music industry’s most enduring artists, this year’s American Music Awards offered a musical buffet.
The two-hour show, held for the first time at the intimate theater at Fontainebleau Las Vegas, also spotlighted performers including SZA, Gracie Abrams, Eminem and artist of the year Billie Eilish, who is touring Europe and sent her thanks via video.
Eilish won in all of her seven nominated categories, while Beyoncé, Bruno Mars, Lady Gaga and Post Malone also landed in the winners circle.
The fan-voted event brought vibrant performances from newcomers, including Benson Boone and Alex Warren, to legends Gloria Estefan ‒ making her AMAs return after 30 years ‒ and Lifetime Achievement Award winner Rod Stewart.Need a break? Play the USA TODAY Daily Crossword Puzzle.More: Rod Stewart receives Lifetime Achievement Award at AMAs, performs ‘Forever Young’
When Jennifer Lopez told us a couple of days before the AMAs that her opening performance would include dancing, she may have undersold it.
What this woman is capable of doing on stage at 55 can only make her younger peers gape in awe.
Leading with a few verses from her 2012 hit with Pitbull, “Dance Again,” Lopez sang robustly in a hall of mirrors before donning a VR headset, slinking onto the stage in a sparkly bodysuit and kickstarting a 23-song, six-minute romp that allowed the triple threat to showcase her limber moves and dramatic camera stares.