AMAs 2021: BTS dominate star-studded awards ceremony hosted by Cardi B

Olivia Rodrigo, Bad Bunny and Machine Gun Kelly also among the night’s winners

JoJo Remembers Her First AMAs & Talks Vulnerability and Upcoming Tour | AMAs 2021

The American Music Awards took place tonight (Sunday 21 November) at the Microsoft Theatre in Los Angeles.

BTS dominated the night, picking up several awards and performing live. Host Cardi B also introduced performances from the likes of Olivia Rodrigo, BTS, Italian rock band Maneskin, and Bruno Mars and Anderson Paak’s collaborative project, Silk Sonic.

Cardi herself took home the award for Favourite Hip-Hop Song, while Rodrigo received the Best New Artist Award.

BTS triumphed with two of the top prizes: Artist of the Year and Favourite Pop Song (”Butter”).

Contrary to other awards shows – in which a jury of industry figures decides winners – the honourees at the American Music Awards were chosen entirely based on votes by fans.

Read more:

1. ‘It’s brutal out here’: How Olivia Rodrigo’s acerbic pop speaks for an anxious generation
2. Queen Cardi B: the people’s pop culture icon
3. Best-dressed stars from the AMAs red carpet
4. Winners list in full

The liveblog is now closed

Key Points

• Megan Thee Stallion forced to pull out of performing
• Why Cardi B is the queen of our hearts
• The best-dressed stars on the red carpet
• Winners in full

[21 November 2021 23:35 · Roisin O'Connor]

Stars turn up to the AMAs red carpet

J Lo is here! And a whole heap of other stars

[22 November 2021 00:08 · Roisin O'Connor]

Megan Thee Stallion drops out of AMAs due to ‘unexpected personal matter'

Megan Thee Stallion will no longer perform at the American Music Awards due to an “unexpected personal matter”.

The “Hot Girl Summer” rapper had been due to perform alongside BTS at Sunday (21 November) night’s awards show with a rendition of their hit song “Butter”.

However on Saturday (20 November), Megan tweeted that she would no longer be joining the K-pop group for the performance.

“Hotties I was so excited to go to the @AMAs and perform with @BTS_official, but due to an unexpected personal matter, I can no longer attend,” she wrote, adding that she was “so sad” to be missing the show.

“I really can’t wait to hit the stage with my guys and perform #BTS_Butter real soon,” she added.

Full story here.

[22 November 2021 00:11 · Roisin O'Connor]

The best-dressed celebrities on the AMAs 2021 red carpet

My colleague Chelsea has been watching the celebrities arriving on the red carpet, and picking out the most brilliant and daring outfits...

[22 November 2021 00:14 · Roisin O'Connor]

The full list of nominations for the 2021 AMAs

The 2021 American Music Awards, hosted by Cardi B this year, will take place tonight at the Microsoft Theatre in Los Angeles.

Nominations for the awards ceremony were announced last month, placing Olivia Rodrigo in the lead with a total of seven nominations.

Contrary to other awards shows where a jury of industry figures decides the winners, at the American Music Awards, these are picked entirely based on votes by fans.

Here is the full list of nominations:

[22 November 2021 00:30 · Roisin O'Connor]

Queen Cardi B: the people’s pop culture icon

The stripper-turned-rapper has become one of the most recognisable cultural figures of the past 10 years thanks to her hits and hilarious social media presence. As she steps up to host the AMAs, Annabel Nugent explores why she’s so watchable

[22 November 2021 01:05 · Kevin Perry]

Bruno Mars and Anderson .Paak open AMAs 2021

Bruno Mars and Anderson .Paak have kicked things off tonight with a suitably smooth rendition of “Smokin Out The Window” from their collaborative Silk Sonic project.

[22 November 2021 01:10 · Kevin Perry]

Bad Bunny wins Favourite Latin Album

After a brief introduction from Cardi B, during which the mention of BTS draws a huge reaction from the crowd, actor Billy Porter presents the award for Favourite Latin Album to Bad Bunny for his record El Último Tour Del Mundo.

[22 November 2021 01:20 · Kevin Perry]

Machine Gun Kelly wins Favourite Rock Artist

West Side Story co-stars Ansel Elgort and Rachel Zegler present the award for Favourite Rock Artist to Machine Gun Kelly. He’s all smiles collecting the prize, which he dedicates to aspiring musicians: “Not just the rock artists, but all the artists who are rock stars.” He adds in closing: “I read a headline that said the age of the rock star is dead, but it looks pretty alive to me!”

[22 November 2021 01:25 · Kevin Perry]

Coldplay and BTS drive fans wild with live performance of ‘My Universe’

The sight of Chris Martin joining forces with BTS sends the audience into a fever pitch of excitement that rivals the delirium of Beatlemania. There are fireworks too, but it’s BTS who provide the pyrotechnics.

[22 November 2021 01:34 · Kevin Perry]

BTS wins Favourite Pop Duo or Group

An ebullient JoJo Siwa, who is currently appearing in Dancing With The Stars, presents the award for Favourite Pop Duo or Group to BTS. They take the opportunity to pay tribute to their fans, who are in full voice celebrating the win: “All we want to do is spread love through music and performance, but without you guys, the Army, we could have never done nothing.”