logo
Janet Jackson, SZA, And More Highlights From 2025 American Music Awards

Janet Jackson, SZA, And More Highlights From 2025 American Music Awards

Yahoo3 days ago

The 2025 American Music Awards, the 'largest fan-voted award show,' celebrated the most 'iconic' artists on Monday (May 26) live from the Fontainebleau Las Vegas.
Hosted by Jennifer Lopez, the show included performances from Gloria Estefan, Renée Rapp, Becky G, and Janet Jackson. Winners were announced by Shaboozey, Jordan Chiles, Kai Cenat, Tiffany Haddish, Wayne Brady, and more.
Jackson took home the coveted Icon Award and performed a medley of 'Someone To Call My Lover' and 'All For You.' Her dynamic set marked the singer's first live television performance in years. During her acceptance speech, she expressed how 'honored and grateful' she is especially since she doesn't consider herself to be an icon.
'My family, myself— our dream wasn't ever to be famous. We weren't raised like that. We always had a special love for music, dancing, and singing and fame came with the result of hard work and dedication,' Jackson continued. 'My story, my family's story is truly an American's story. This would have only happened in America. The one thing that I hope for is that I've been an inspiration to others and artists to follow their dreams and succeed.'
SZA snagged wins for Favorite Female R&B Artist and Favorite R&B Song. She shouted out Kai Cenat's Streamer University and praised her fans for their unwavering support.
See the full list of 2025 American Music Awards winners below.
ARTIST OF THE YEAR Billie Eilish
NEW ARTIST OF THE YEAR Gracie Abrams
ALBUM OF THE YEAR Billie Eilish – HIT ME HARD AND SOFT
SONG OF THE YEAR Billie Eilish – 'Birds of a Feather'
COLLABORATION OF THE YEAR Lady Gaga & Bruno Mars – 'Die With a Smile'
SOCIAL SONG OF THE YEAR Doechii – 'Anxiety'
FAVORITE TOURING ARTIST Billie Eilish
FAVORITE MUSIC VIDEO Lady Gaga & Bruno Mars – 'Die With a Smile'
FAVORITE MALE POP ARTIST Bruno Mars
FAVORITE FEMALE POP ARTIST Billie Eilish
FAVORITE POP ALBUM Billie Eilish – HIT ME HARD AND SOFT
FAVORITE POP SONG Billie Eilish – 'Birds of a Feather'
FAVORITE MALE COUNTRY ARTIST Post Malone
FAVORITE FEMALE COUNTRY ARTIST Beyoncé
FAVORITE COUNTRY DUO or GROUP Dan + Shay
FAVORITE COUNTRY ALBUM Beyoncé – COWBOY CARTER
FAVORITE COUNTRY SONG Post Malone featuring Morgan Wallen – 'I Had Some Help'
FAVORITE MALE HIP-HOP ARTIST Eminem
FAVORITE FEMALE HIP-HOP ARTIST Megan Thee Stallion
FAVORITE HIP-HOP ALBUM Eminem – The Death Of Slim Shady (Coup De Grâce)
FAVORITE HIP-HOP SONG Kendrick Lamar – 'Not Like Us'
FAVORITE MALE R&B ARTIST The Weeknd
FAVORITE FEMALE R&B ARTIST SZA
FAVORITE R&B ALBUM The Weeknd – Hurry Up Tomorrow
FAVORITE R&B SONG SZA – 'Saturn'
FAVORITE MALE LATIN ARTIST Bad Bunny
FAVORITE FEMALE LATIN ARTIST Becky G
FAVORITE LATIN DUO or GROUP Julión Álvarez y su Norteño Banda
FAVORITE LATIN ALBUM Bad Bunny – DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS
FAVORITE LATIN SONG Shakira – 'Soltera'
FAVORITE ROCK ARTIST Twenty One Pilots
FAVORITE ROCK ALBUM Twenty One Pilots – Clancy
FAVORITE ROCK SONG Linkin Park – 'The Emptiness Machine'
FAVORITE DANCE/ELECTRONIC ARTIST Lady Gaga
FAVORITE SOUNDTRACK Arcane League of Legends: Season 2
FAVORITE AFROBEATS ARTIST Tyla
FAVORITE K-POP ARTIST RM
More from VIBE.com
Jennifer Lopez Announces Upcoming Las Vegas Residency While Hosting 2025 AMAs
Eminem Beats Out Kendrick Lamar For Hip-Hop Awards At 2025 AMAs, Social Media Reacts
Kai Cenat Seemingly Hints At Amazon, Netflix Bids To Buy Streamer University

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Justin Bieber Sells Entire Music Catalog for $200 Million as Financial Woes Push Him to the Brink
Justin Bieber Sells Entire Music Catalog for $200 Million as Financial Woes Push Him to the Brink

Yahoo

time19 minutes ago

  • Yahoo

Justin Bieber Sells Entire Music Catalog for $200 Million as Financial Woes Push Him to the Brink

Justin Bieber sold his treasured 300-song catalog in a desperate bid to line his empty pockets. Sources say the former teen idol shopped his life's work to Hipgnosis Songs Capital for a reported $200 million in 2022 to keep his head above water. A new documentary charges Justin, 31, was near 'financial collapse,' with one industry insider claiming that despite rolling up between $500 million and a billion dollars during his career, he 'was broke.' 'Selling this catalog was like selling a part of himself,' a source says. 'But given the choices he's made, he had no options.' As the National ENQUIRER has reported, the onetime chart-topping pop icon has reportedly lived like a king, splurging on high-end real estate, elaborate parties and private jets — despite not working in years. His last studio album was 2021's Justice and, before joining SZA for her Grand National Tour concert at SoFi Stadium on May 23, the last time he performed live was in February 2024. Despite that, 'he's blowing through cash like there's no tomorrow,' says an insider. That includes dropping a small fortune on six lavish homes and reportedly splashing out $300,000 at the upscale restaurant Nobu during this year's Coachella music fest. Just as troubling, sources say Justin has alienated himself from his former inner circle — unfollowing his former manager Scooter Braun and his assistant Allison Kaye, who juggled nearly every aspect of his life before quitting in January. The 'Sorry' singer also cut ties with his head of security and road manager, Kenny Hamilton, and longtime pal and head of his fashion brand, Ryan Good, who was the best man at his 2018 wedding to model Hailey Baldwin. 'Justin is managing himself through his own family office now, and there's skepticism on if he can do it alone,' veteran music executive Chris Anokute said. The What Happened to Justin Bieber? documentary claims the star's massive debt hit def-con proportions when he chose to walk away from a reported $90 million payday after abandoning his Justice world tour in 2022. Sources say he canceled the tour to prioritize his health after being diagnosed with type 2 Ramsay Hunt syndrome, a virus that inflames the nerves and causes shingles and chickenpox. In a statement shared on social media at the time, Justin said, 'After getting off stage, the exhaustion overtook me, and I realized that I need to make my health the priority.' 'Justin gave up his songs to save his life,' a source says. 'Now he's working without a net.'

The Weeknd brings ‘After Hours Til Dawn' back to Soldier Field, closing a chapter on the bad boy you can dance to
The Weeknd brings ‘After Hours Til Dawn' back to Soldier Field, closing a chapter on the bad boy you can dance to

Chicago Tribune

time31 minutes ago

  • Chicago Tribune

The Weeknd brings ‘After Hours Til Dawn' back to Soldier Field, closing a chapter on the bad boy you can dance to

Three years ago, Abel Tesfaye — better known as The Weeknd — first brought his 'After Hours Til Dawn Tour' to Soldier Field. An acclaimed spectacle, the tour that started on such a high eventually brought the artist to his lowest low. In September 2022, during a show at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles near the end of his tour's North American leg, The Weeknd abruptly lost his voice while performing 'Can't Feel My Face.' The incident, brought on by 'self-imposed pressure' and stress, he said, left the artist reckoning with the realities of the world he'd built since breaking out of his underground, internet anonymity into global superstardom. It inspired a complete overhaul of his latest album, 'Hurry Up Tomorrow' (released Jan. 31), as well as a companion film of the same title, with actors Jenna Ortega and Barry Keoghan co-starring alongside Tesfaye in what's been widely regarded as a hyper-stylized, hollow vanity project. Upon the album and film's releases, Tesfaye announced he'd be leaving his famed moniker behind. He felt he had 'said everything he could say' under the Weeknd name and was looking to explore different creative avenues musically. Despite the critical reception for his ventures outside of music, fans showed up in droves Friday night for the first of two nights of the 'After Hours Til Dawn Tour' (part deux), and to say goodbye (sort of). After opening sets from Mike Dean and Playboi Carti, the lights went down and a deep, crimson haze eclipsed the stage. Brooding and slightly ominous, it was a similar production to what graced the lakefront stadium in the summer of 2022, with a mainstage rising from a city of ruins, multiple runways and a towering, chrome Stargirl replacing what had been the moon. Tesfaye wasted no time getting right into the thick of it. Flanked by nearly three dozen shrouded and masked dancers, one of R&B's most enigmatic figures appeared as a glam Darth Vader or space-age Phantom of the Opera — ready to lead his followers through a celebration of excess, contradiction and dissociation like no one else can. Lyrically, The Weeknd's signature is oscillating between yearning lover boy and the worst guy you'd meet at the afters, set to a breakbeat pace. His career, both on the mic and on film ('Uncut Gems,' 'The Idol'), is built upon various layers and dynamics of who is ultimately the same person: himself. A hedonist hustler never satisfied. The predator and the prey. Secure in his insecurities and wreaking havoc because of it. As one concertgoer shared in passing, 'His music does remind you of a bad boyfriend, but when they make you like them again.' Is it survival mode? Maybe. For over the past decade, it has worked — making Tesfaye a cultural force. Adeptly walking the ever-thinning line between sexy and sleazy, he's undeniably one of modern pop music's most influential hitmakers and collaborators. For Stephanie Escobedo, longtime fan and owner of Through the Body Dance & Fitness Studio in West Town, the artist's latest album and film project heightened the anticipation ahead of this weekend's shows. 'It's visually beautiful, like a giant music video,' Escobedo said of the movie. 'I liked the imagery and how he played himself because he can't act for (expletive). I thought it was a cool omission of how awful of a person he was and how he used the two characters of Jenna and Barry to portray sides of himself. 'From what I understand,' she continued, 'he's going to step away from The Weeknd persona and just go by Abel. I'm interested to hear how Abel sounds, as opposed to this version of him I've loved since 2011.' For just over two hours, there were no breaks in the concert. Tesfaye delivered wall-to-wall vocals, showcasing a strength, clarity, and control over an instrument you'd never think once escaped him. 'It's been a long time since I've been in Chicago,' he recounted during the show. 'Last time I was here, I said I'd play two nights — and look what you did!' Telling his audience that Soldier Field would have to drag him off the stage, he promised to go all night. With a 40-song setlist that included Playboi Carti joining him for 'Timeless' and Carti's own 'Rather Lie,' deep hits 'Wicked Games,' 'The Morning,' and the title track from his debut project 'House of Balloons' (2011), as well as now-expected classics such as 'The Hills,' 'I Feel It Coming,' 'Die For You,' and 'Save Your Tears,' Tesfaye basked in the glory of soundtracking a generation of situation-ships and manipulative love-bombing-you-can-dance-to. But really, you cannot help but dance to it. Try not to be physically moved by the pulsating rush of the synths driving 'Blinding Lights' or throbbing bass behind 'São Paulo.' And sure, the 'ballad' portions of the evening piled on the slightly indulgent vocal runs and pleas from Tesfaye to hear someone say they love him (so committed, you do genuinely believe he needs to hear it) were eye roll-inducing, but expect nothing less from a man who set up the stage visual for 'Call Out My Name' to ultimately look like a sacrificial sermon. If you're not here for a little bit of artistic narcissism from The Weeknd, what are you even doing? Alesa Vera, who was invited last minute by her cousin, said she appreciated that the artist ran straight through his set without any intermissions, costume changes, or exaggerated encore, giving everyone the most for their money. 'He really has so many hits. He sounded fantastic,' she shared after the show. 'That's hard to do. You forget how much you love certain songs. I was engaged the entire time.' As flames, fireworks, and synchronized, light-up bracelets decorated Soldier Field, The Weeknd wrapped his triumphant return by introducing himself as Abel Tesfaye. Whether a death or a rebirth, his performance was proof that no matter the perceived 'failures' he's endured — the music, the talent speaks for itself. For attendees Dre Holland and Amari White, however, The Weeknd will always be The Weeknd. 'The songs, he can't separate himself from those. People will always want to hear The Weeknd' Holland said while leaving Museum Campus. 'How much of his style can really change? I don't think he'll do it, but we'll see.' 'The fans are with him no matter what,' White added. 'He's captured something with his music and lyrics that only he does. I mean, look at all these people here.'

Morgan Wallen's 'I'm the Problem' tops U.S. album chart
Morgan Wallen's 'I'm the Problem' tops U.S. album chart

UPI

time3 hours ago

  • UPI

Morgan Wallen's 'I'm the Problem' tops U.S. album chart

Morgan Wallen's "I'm the Problem" is No. 1 on Saturday's Billboard 200 album chart. File Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo May 31 (UPI) -- Country star Morgan Wallen's I'm the Problem is the No. 1 album in the United States this week. Coming in at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 chart dated Saturday is SZA's SOS, followed by Jin's Echo at No. 3, Wallen's One Thing at a Time at No. 4 and Kendrick Lamar's GNX at No. 5. Rounding out the top tier are Sleep Token's Even in Arcadia at No. 6, Sabrina Carpenter's Short n'Sweet at No. 7, PARTYNEXTDOOR & Drake's $ome $exy $ongs 4 U at No. 8, Bad Bunny's Debi Tirar Mas Fotos at No. 9 and Fuerza Regida's 111XPANTIA at No. 10. Becky G, Jennifer Lopez attend American Music Awards Becky G appears backstage on the winners walk with her award for Favorite Female Latin Artist during the American Music Awards at the Fontainebleau in Las Vegas on May 26, 2025. Photo by James Atoa/UPI | License Photo

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into the world of global news and events? Download our app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store