2009 American Music Awards Recap

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Taylor Swift was once again a huge winner at an awards show, the country/pop star took home five awards, including Artist of the Year, at the 37th American Music Awards this past Sunday night.

Beating out the likes of Michael Jackson, Lady GaGa and Eminem for Artist of the Year, Swift accepted her award via video link-up from London. She said, “Music has never been openly about competition and to even be mentioned in a category with Michael Jackson, who will be missed and loved forever, is an unimaginable honor.” The late King of Pop won four awards including Favorite Male Artist Soul/R&B and Favorite Male Artist Pop/Rock. His brother Jermaine accepted each award, wearing MJ’s famous sparkling white glove.

The three-hour show, beamed live from Los Angeles, featured performances from Lady GaGa, Rihanna, Eminem, Jay-Z and Alicia Keys, Shakira, Carrie Underwood, Kelly Clarkson, Jennifer Lopez, Green Day and Adam Lambert.

Check out photos, the winner’s list and some of the night’s highlights below!

Here are some highlights:

Janet (Miss Jackson if you’re nasty) kicked off the night with an eight-minute medley of her hits including “Control”, “What Have You Done For Me Lately”, “I Miss You Much”, “If I Was Your Girl” and more.

Shakira performed her song “Anything You Want” surrounded by dancers, who even took to the isles to shake it.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oPIb6ifo53w[/youtube]

Alex Rodriguez of the New York Yankees introduced Jay-Z and Alicia Keys, who performed their smash hit “Empire State of Mind”.

Nicole Kidman and Kate Hudson came out to introduce the Black Eyed Peas, who’s lead singer Fergie co-stars in the forthcoming movie Nine with the two actresses. The group played two songs, “Meet Me Halfway” and “Boom Boom Pow”, even mixing in the instrumental for “Smells Like Teen Spirit” by Nirvana at the end.

Ne-Yo then came out to introduce the next musical guest, none other than Rihanna. The pop star performed the songs “Wait Your Turn (The Wait Is Ova)” and “Hard” off of her new album Rated R.

Then Lady Gaga hit the stage, singing her new single, “Bad Romance”, and dressing as wildly as ever. During the performance, the pop star smashed a glass case that had a piano in it, and she got behind the keys to play her song “Speechless”.

Perez Hilton then grabbed a mic to tell everyone what was up next and made a joke about not getting into any fights, obviously referring back to his mix-up with will.i.am of the Black Eyed Peas. Wah-wah…

Drake, Kid Cudi and Jeremih all hit the stage to introduce the next performer, Mary J. Blige. The Queen of Hip-Hop/Soul got the whole crowd, including Jay-Z, moving to her song “I Am”.

Next, Jennifer Lopez hit the ring, with an impressive entrance dressed as a boxer, complete with an introduction from the legendary voice of professional boxing Michael Buffer. J-Lo then went on to perform her new single “Louboutins”. While doing some tricky choreography, Lopez slipped and hit the deck, but quickly bounced up without missing a beat, while husband Marc Anthony watched.

Alicia Keys then took the stage for the second time, this time without the help of her piano and dressed in some super-tight pants, to perform the song “Try Sleeping with a Broken Heart” off her forthcoming album The Element of Freedom.

Seth Green hit the stage to introduce Eminem, who performed “Crack a Bottle” with 50 Cent. Em then performed his part of the Drake song, “Forever”.

Timbaland took the stage right after Eminem to perform “Morning After Dark” with Nelly Furtado and SoShy.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gajf5r5nL2A[/youtube]

Keri Hilson and Toni Braxton then came out to present the award for Favorite Rap/Hip-Hop Male. In no surprise, Jay-Z was the winner, giving the Brooklyn legend his second AMA for his career. He then proceeded to thank New York, Alicia Keys and the fans.

Oh… and then there was that whole Adam Lambert fiasco…

Yeesh!

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