American Music Awards: Taylor Swift and One Direction Lead Winners

An absent Taylor Swift dominated the American Music Awards, winning three prizes, including album of the year and song of the year. 

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One Direction also fared well, being named favourite group and artist of the year, for the second year in a row. Jared Leto made a moving speech about terror attacks in Paris, recalling the time his band played at The Bataclan.

Celine Dion then sang Edith Piaf’s Hymne a L’Amour against a backdrop of Parisian landmarks. “Tonight we honour the victims of the unimaginable violence that took place in Paris and around the world,” said Leto, who sings with rock band 30 Seconds to Mars. “France matters. Russia matters. Mali matters. Syria matters… The whole world matters. Peace is possible.”  

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The Paris attacks were very much on the minds of the other performers and nominees. Singer-songwriter Charlie Puth said he had been in Paris a few weeks before the attacks and was heartbroken by the news. Ashton Irwin of 5 Seconds of Summer, said the attacks “will change what we write about in the future”. “We have a young fan base, and were almost the communicators of what’s going on in the world.”  

However, the rest of the awards show took a less sombre tone. Host Jennifer Lopez opened the ceremony with an extended dance routine, set to a medley of the year’s biggest hits – including Mark Ronson’s Uptown Funk, Taylor Swift’s Bad Blood and Drake’s Hotline Bling. Audience members Nicki Minaj and The Weeknd, whose songs were included in the mix, looked somewhat bemused by the honour. Alanis Morissette performed her breakthrough hit You Oughta Know, which turns 20 this year, accompanied by Demi Lovato; while Charlie Puth and Meghan Trainor locked lips at the end of an impassioned performance of their duet Marvin Gaye.

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The full list of winners was:

ARTIST OF THE YEAR

• Luke Bryan
• Ariana Grande
• Maroon 5
• Nicki Minaj
• One Direction – winner
• Ed Sheeran
• Sam Smith
• Taylor Swift
• Meghan Trainor
• The Weeknd

NEW ARTIST OF THE YEAR

• Fetty Wap
• Sam Hunt – winner
• Tove Lo
• Walk The Moon
• The Weeknd

SONG OF THE YEAR

• Wiz Khalifa featuring Charlie Puth: See You Again
• Mark Ronson featuring Bruno Mars: Uptown Funk
• Ed Sheeran: Thinking Out Loud
• Taylor Swift: Blank Space – winner
• The Weeknd: Can’t Feel My Face

COLLABORATION OF THE YEAR

• Wiz Khalifa featuring Charlie Puth: See You Again
• Rihanna & Kanye West featuring Paul McCartney: FourFiveSeconds
• Mark Ronson featuring Bruno Mars: Uptown Funk!
• Skrillex & Diplo featuring Justin Bieber: Where Are U Now – winner
• Taylor Swift featuring Kendrick Lamar: Bad Blood

FAVOURITE MALE ARTIST – POP/ROCK

• Nick Jonas
• Ed Sheeran -winner
• Sam Smith

FAVOURITE FEMALE ARTIST – POP/ROCK

• Ariana Grande – winner
• Taylor Swift
• Meghan Trainor

FAVOURITE DUO OR GROUP – POP/ROCK

• Maroon 5
• One Direction – winner
• Walk The Moon

FAVOURITE ALBUM – POP/ROCK

• Ed Sheeran: x
• Sam Smith: In The Lonely Hour
• Taylor Swift: 1989 – winner

FAVOURITE MALE ARTIST – COUNTRY

• Jason Aldean
• Luke Bryan – winner
• Sam Hunt

FAVOURITE FEMALE ARTIST – COUNTRY

• Kelsea Ballerini
• Miranda Lambert
• Carrie Underwood – winner

FAVOURITE DUO or GROUP – COUNTRY

• Zac Brown Band
• Florida Georgia Line – winner
• Little Big Town

FAVOURITE ALBUM – COUNTRY

• Jason Aldean: Old Boots, New Dirt
• Florida Georgia Line: Anything Goes -winner
• Sam Hunt: Montevallo

FAVOURITE ARTIST – RAP/HIP-HOP

• Drake
• Fetty Wap
• Nicki Minaj – winner

FAVOURITE ALBUM – RAP/HIP-HOP

• J. Cole: 2014 Forest Hills Drive
• Drake: If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late
• Nicki Minaj: The Pinkprint – winner

FAVOURITE MALE ARTIST – SOUL/R&B

• Chris Brown
• Trey Songz
• The Weeknd – winner

FAVOURITE FEMALE ARTIST – SOUL/R&B

• Beyonce
• Mary J. Blige
• Rihanna – winner

FAVOURITE ALBUM – SOUL/R&B

• Chris Brown: X
• D’Angelo and The Vanguard: Black Messiah
• The Weeknd: Beauty Behind the Madness – winner

FAVOURITE ARTIST – ALTERNATIVE ROCK

• Fall Out Boy – winner
• Hozier
• Walk The Moon

FAVOURITE ARTIST – ADULT CONTEMPORARY

• Ed Sheeran
• Taylor Swift – winner
• Meghan Trainor

FAVOURITE ARTIST – LATIN

• Enrique Iglesias – winner
• Ricky Martin
• Romeo Santos

FAVOURITE ARTIST – CONTEMPORARY INSPIRATIONAL

• Casting Crowns – winner
• Hillsong United
• MercyMe

FAVOURITE ARTIST – ELECTRONIC DANCE MUSIC (EDM)

• Calvin Harris – winner
• David Guetta
• Zedd

TOP SOUNDTRACK

• Fifty Shades of Grey
• Empire: Original Soundtrack from Season 1
• Pitch Perfect 2 – winner