LOS ANGELES (CelebrityAccess) — Ariana Grande took top honors at the 2016 American Music Awards on Sunday night, winning the award for Artist of the year. As a part of the prize, Grande will have her own channel on Sirius XM for the next year.
Canadian R&B star Drake, who had a record-breaking 13 AMA nominations this year, won awards for Best Rap Artist, Song and Album and in what may be a new low for product placement, Drake also debuted a new Apple commercial during the show, which featured him working out and lip syncing to Taylor Swift's "Bad Blood."
"Thank you very much. Me and Nina were on 'Degrassi' together by the way," Drake said while accepting the award for best album from presenter Nina Dobrev. "I really want to thank everybody who helped me make this album … I want to thank the city of Toronto, and of course I want to thank the fans and my parents. My dad's here tonight."
Justin Bieber won the award for Best Male Pop artist, pop song and pop album for his hit Purpose while his former paramor Selena Gomez won for best female pop artist.
Award show habitué Carrie Underwood took honors for top female country artist, while Blake Shelton collected the award for best make country artist. Tim McGraw won the Favorite Country Song for “Humble and Kind.” Florida Georgia Line also won favorite country group.
Fallen pop star Prince's sister Tyka Nelson was on hand to accept the award for best soundtrack for Purple Rain on his behalf. She offered a moving speech about her brother, telling the audience:
"Prince defied the odds, a Black teen from Minneapolis with a goal to electrify the world. He had the courage to be different. With his vision and god-given talent, he is still one of the world's most respected and loved artists."
The night was not without some controversy and pop-punk band Green Day used their performance of their new song "Bang Bang" for a political statement, chanting "No Trump, no KKK, no fascist USA" six times. The phrase likely references identical chants that have featured in anti-Trump protests around the U.S.
British singer-songwriter Sting was presented with the "Award of Merit" and performed a medley of some of his greatest hits.
Held at the Microsoft Theater at LA Live in Downtown Los Angeles, the awards this year were hosted by Gigi Hadid and Jay Pharoah.
The “2016 American Music Awards” was produced by dick clark productions. Allen Shapiro and Mike Mahan are Executive Producers. Larry Klein, Barry Adelman and Mark Bracco are Producers.
The full list of winners
Artist of the year: Ariana Grande
New artist of the year: Zayn
Collaboration of the year: "Work from Home," Fifth Harmony feat. Ty Dolla $ign
Tour of the year: Beyonce
Video of the year: "Sorry," Justin Bieber
Pop/rock female artist: Selena Gomez
Pop/rock male artist: Justin Bieber
Pop/rock band, duo or group: Twenty One Pilots
Pop/rock song: "Love Yourself," Justin Bieber
Pop/rock album: "Purpose," Justin Bieber
Country female artist: Carrie Underwood
Country male artist: Blake Shelton
Country band, duo or group: Florida Georgia Line
Country song: "Humble and Kind," Tim McGraw
Country album: "Storyteller," Carrie Underwood
Rap/hip-hop artist: Drake
Rap/hip-hop song: "Hotline Bling," Drake
Rap/hip-hop album: "Views," Drake
Soul/R&B female artist: Rihanna
Soul/R&B male artist: Chris Brown
Soul/R&B song: "Work," Rihanna feat. Drake
Soul/R&B album: "Anti," Rihanna
Latin artist: Enrique Iglesias
Alternative rock: Twenty One Pilots
Adult contemporary: Adele
Contemporary inspirational: Hillsong United
Electronic dance music: The Chainsmokers
Soundtrack: "Purple Rain"
Award of merit: Sting
