Adele won the biggest honor of the evening, Top Artist, accepting in a pre-recorded video from overseas, while Justin Bieber (Top Male Artist) and Rihanna (the fan-voted Chart Achievement Award) also walked away happy.
But this was a show defined by moments and performances, both celebratory and somber, throughout the evening.
Britney Spears kicked off proceedings with a medley of her hits that began with “Work Bitch,” “Womanizer” and “I Love Rock and Roll” — delivered while gyrating on a giant guitar — and culminated with “Toxic,” showcasing both her well-known hits (“I’m a Slave 4 U” was also included) and some deeper cuts.
And Madonna’s tribute to Prince put an exclamation point on the evening — she began singing “Nothing Compares 2 U” on a purple throne and brought out Stevie Wonder to assist her on a powerful rendition of “Purple Rain” that had Rihanna dabbing and The Weeknd singing along.
Prince was on everybody’s mind from the beginning — The Weeknd dedicated his Top Hot 100 Artist victory to the late icon early in the show — but there were plenty of highlights in the build-up to Madge’s tribute.
Fifth Harmony got sensual while performing “Work From Home” with Ty Dolla $ign, while Meghan Trainor strolled through the crowd to her latest single “No.” And Pink delivered the world television debut of her latest single “Just Like Fire,” a cut from the Alice Through the Looking Glass soundtrack, by reprising her high-flying awards show routine on a harness above the crowd; toward the end, she rose above the stage sitting on the hands of a giant clock that erupted into flames.
Speaking of fantastic singers, the elegant Celine Dion looked resplendent and sounded even better when powering through “The Show Must Go On” in front of a full orchestra, imparting as much meaning as possible into every word while the musicians behind her — including Lindsey Stirling on violin — did the same.
Seal, who introduced her, called her performance “exquisite” before bringing out her son to deliver the Icon Award to his mother, which brought her to tears. It was the most emotional moment in a night that promised — and delivered — plenty of them.
Despite not being there, Adele still made an impact, winning five awards and using the opportunity to debut her new music video, for “Send My Love (To Your New Lover).”
And though the awards broadcast featured plenty of fireworks — Justin Bieber, Ariana Grande and the Go-Go’s all delivered eye-catching performances — there were a lot of low key, stripped down renditions as well from the likes of Lukas Graham (“7 Years”),Shawn Mendes (“Stitches”) and Blake Shelton and Gwen Stefani (“Go Ahead and Break My Heart”).
Source: Billboard
No comments:
Post a Comment