The 2019 American Music Awards have been filled with wins, the breaking of records, stellar (and not so stellar) performances, fashion and of course, Taylor Swift.
Before we even get to the AMA awards and performances that stunned us, the red carpet walk is all we can talk about at FIB. The good, the bad, and the much-appreciated weird; let’s take a look at the best looks from the 2019 AMA awards.
You can bet we were living for Lizzo’s custom Valentino tangerine dress and her now infamous tiny Valentino bag:
In signature Billie Eilish fashion, she wore an oversized Burberry design with a touch of silver sparkle that was giving us medieval armour vibes.
Camila Cabello lived out our collective fairy tale fantasy with this tulle dream and matching Rapunzel braid:
Meanwhile, her boyfriend Shawn Mendes took on the role of a 70s daydream:
Lil Nas X basically became the colour green:
While Post Malone was a chess board:
And harking back to her Reputation era fashion (think snake skin, blacks and greens), Taylor Swift stunned in this shimmery number:
AMA Peformances: The Good and The Bad
The night opened with a performance from Swift’s bestie Selena Gomez, which has received some responses for how off-key it is…
Performance de Selena Gomez aux #AMAs (24/11): pic.twitter.com/q2YtUnKRYj
— Selena Gomez Source (@SSFRMedias) November 25, 2019
The song’s powerful message has become overwhelmed by the criticism she receives for this performance, but she finished stronger for her second track, Look at Her Now.
Halsey
One of the first awards for the evening, Favourite Pop/Rock Song was won by trailblazer Halsey for her hit song Without Me. When accepting the award she asked her audience its worth, explaining that they were “supposed to be some kind of validation,” but that its worth was in the “soul-crushing and heart-ache inducing work of writing” the song. (Was this a hit at the Grammys for their snub?)
Lizzo
The AMAs continued with Lizzo’s ballad Jerome, which was performed soulfully and added another dimension to her chart-topping success for Grammy nominated record Truth Hurts, and her current hit Good As Hell.
Camila Cabello and Shawn Mendes
The next performance came from very-much-in-love Camila Cabello and Shawn Mendes, who performed their Grammy nominated song Senorita and seriously packed on the PDA. But at this point, we kind of expect that from the couple.
They also went on to win Collaboration of The Year for the song.
Billie Eilish
Best New Artist was awarded to Billie Eilish, whose fiery performance of All The Good Girls Go To Hell had an important message about Climate Change; with her shirt reading: “NO MUSIC ON A DEAD PLANET.”
And Biggest of all: Taylor Swift
Taylor Swift was the headliner of the night, sweeping the floor with a staggering six awards, most notably Artist of the Decade, Artist of the Year and Favourite Pop/Rock Album. Taylor now holds the record for the most decorated AMAs artist in history, surpassing Michael Jackson who has 24, Taylor ending the night on 29.
It seems that the whole world has been holding its breath in anticipation of Swift’s performance, especially with the controversy surrounding Scooter Braun’s possession of her masters, and then denying her the right to perform her songs for the awards show.
After a public statement made by her former label Big Machine Label Group announcing she could finally perform her old hits at the ceremony, Swift kept quiet, and in true Taylor fashion she let her performance and music speak for herself.
Opening with her powerful anthem The Man which ponders whether she would be more successful if she was a male, her costuming and lyrics said all she needed to say in terms of the Scooter Braun controversy. By wearing a white shirt with her previous albums (that Braun now owns) written across it in gaol-like font, the metaphor was loud and clear: they’ve been locked up, and she rightfully wants them back.
The seven girls that run up on the stage and dance with her also symbolic of her seven albums and their meaning. (If you feel the need to, you can also buy some merch that features the same style here…)
After removing the blouse, we get a dazzling gold bodysuit and performance of her very first hit Love Story which transcended into a medley of I Knew You Were Trouble, Blank Space, Shake It Off and ending with Grammy nominated song Lover.
Swift was joined by her Reputation touring partner Camila Cabello and Halsey for Shake It Off, emphasising the powerful influence of women.
Misty Copeland and Craig Hall accompanied her final song, Lover with a ballet performance. The piano which Swift played was also covered in the titles of some of her albums and songs, continuing the metaphor and her overall message: I rightfully deserve to own my own music.
Her honour of Artist of The Decade was presented by song writing legend Carole King, and in her acceptance speech she explains to King “you taught me that’s a possibility” that “artists could transcend so many different phases and changes in people’s lives.” She thanked her fans “for being the reason why [she was] on this stage” concluding with “I love you with all my heart.”
When the night closed, the name on everyone’s lips was Taylor Swift and that comes as no surprise.
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