(REUTERS): Taylor Swift was named artist of the year at the American Music Awards 2020 and won two other trophies in a ceremony held live in Los Angeles amid tight coronavirus curbs.
It was Swift’s record sixth win of the top prize, although she was absent from the ceremony and thanked fans on video for their support of her surprise lockdown album “folklore.”
Canadians Justin Bieber and The Weeknd were the other big winners, with three awards each. Bieber was named favorite male pop/rock artist and picked up his two other wins for his collaboration with country singers Dan + Shay on “10,000 Hours”.
Meanwhile, The Weeknd took home trophies for best soul/R&B male artist as well as for his album “After Hours” and song “Heartless.” Becky G, whose parents are Mexican-American, won for best female Latin artist and dedicated her award to immigrant workers.
K-pop group BTS won two, for best pop/rock group and favorite social artists. Rapper Megan Thee Stallion accepted the best rap/hip-hop song trophy for her raunchy summer collaboration “WAP” with Cardi B.
However, she was beaten in the best new artist category by Los Angeles singer Doja Cat, who was also named favorite female soul/R&B artist. Hosted by actor Taraji P. Henson, the COVID-impacted show had a number of changes in the ceremony this year as safety precautions were the top priority of the showrunners.
The show featured a mix of live and pre-recorded performances in front of a handful of socially distanced fans. Masked dancers were the order of the night, kicking off with Bieber singing his hits “Lonely” and “Holy” before being joined by Shawn Mendes for their duet “Monster.”
The awards celebrated the surge in popularity of Latin music with expanded categories and a steamy performance by Jennifer Lopez and Colombian singer Maluma singing “Lonely” in both English and Spanish.
