The American Music Awards were on CBS tonight. It’s the 50th anniversary, except last year there was no show.
The AMAs were always a second run show to the Grammys. No one who performed on them was allowed on the Grammys.
Last year they were usurped by another sketchy awards deal, the Billboard Music Awards. Dick Clark Productions produces all these shows, and they’re owned by the same company as Variety, the Hollywood Reporter, Billboard, Rolling Stone, and the Golden Globes.
Tonight’s show had no host, no audience, and no awards. It was a two hour clip job with some excellent live performances mixed in. A paid group of screaming young people — very Dick Clark American Bandstand — danced and jumped up and down in a mosh pit. It was an infomercial for something.
The highlights were live performances: Jennifer Hudson was sensational singing Whitney Houston, Nile Rodgers funked it out performing “Le Freak.” British singer Raye showed off her incredible voice on “It’s a Man’s Man’s World.” Chaka Khan’s “I’m Every Woman” was the perfect ending — familar and unthreatening. Producers had so little material that they let the songs run long, which was satisfying.
The lineup of performers and music was tame, tailored to the older CBS audience. No rap appeared until fifteen minutes before the show ended, and that was just Nelly, now a friendly rapper.
Well, the AMAs couldn’t hurt you. They were just a way for CBS to buy themselves time before introducing their regular Sunday night programming. Another AMAs will air on Memorial Day weekend 2025, well after the Grammys, and we’ll be back to normal — whatever that is!
