AMAs 2021: BTS dominate star-studded awards ceremony hosted by Cardi B

The American Music Awards took place tonight (Sunday 21 November) at the Microsoft Theatre in Los Angeles.

BTS dominated the night, picking up several awards and performing live. Host Cardi B also introduced performances from the likes of Olivia Rodrigo, BTS, Italian rock band Maneskin, and Bruno Mars and Anderson Paak’s collaborative project, Silk Sonic.

Cardi herself took home the award for Favourite Hip-Hop Song, while Rodrigo received the Best New Artist Award.

BTS triumphed with two of the top prizes: Artist of the Year and Favourite Pop Song (”Butter”).

Contrary to other awards shows – in which a jury of industry figures decides winners – the honourees at the American Music Awards were chosen entirely based on votes by fans.

Read more:

1. ‘It’s brutal out here’: How Olivia Rodrigo’s acerbic pop speaks for an anxious generation

2. Queen Cardi B: the people’s pop culture icon

3. Best-dressed stars from the AMAs red carpet

4. Winners list in full

The liveblog is now closed

Key Points

• Megan Thee Stallion forced to pull out of performing

• Why Cardi B is the queen of our hearts

• The best-dressed stars on the red carpet

• Winners in full

Stars turn up to the AMAs red carpet

Sunday 21 November 2021 23:35 , Roisin O'Connor

J Lo is here! And a whole heap of other stars

Megan Thee Stallion drops out of AMAs due to ‘unexpected personal matter'

00:08 , Roisin O'Connor

Megan Thee Stallion will no longer perform at the American Music Awards due to an “unexpected personal matter”.

The “Hot Girl Summer” rapper had been due to perform alongside BTS at Sunday (21 November) night’s awards show with a rendition of their hit song “Butter”.

However on Saturday (20 November), Megan tweeted that she would no longer be joining the K-pop group for the performance.

“Hotties I was so excited to go to the @AMAs and perform with @BTS_official, but due to an unexpected personal matter, I can no longer attend,” she wrote, adding that she was “so sad” to be missing the show.

“I really can’t wait to hit the stage with my guys and perform #BTS_Butter real soon,” she added.

Full story here.

The best-dressed celebrities on the AMAs 2021 red carpet

00:11 , Roisin O'Connor

My colleague Chelsea has been watching the celebrities arriving on the red carpet, and picking out the most brilliant and daring outfits...

The best-dressed celebrities at the 2021 AMAs

The full list of nominations for the 2021 AMAs

00:14 , Roisin O'Connor

The 2021 American Music Awards, hosted by Cardi B this year, will take place tonight at the Microsoft Theatre in Los Angeles.

Nominations for the awards ceremony were announced last month, placing Olivia Rodrigo in the lead with a total of seven nominations.

Contrary to other awards shows where a jury of industry figures decides the winners, at the American Music Awards, these are picked entirely based on votes by fans.

Here is the full list of nominations:

The nominations in full for the 2021 AMAs

Queen Cardi B: the people’s pop culture icon

00:30 , Roisin O'Connor

The stripper-turned-rapper has become one of the most recognisable cultural figures of the past 10 years thanks to her hits and hilarious social media presence. As she steps up to host the AMAs, Annabel Nugent explores why she’s so watchable

Queen Cardi B: the people’s pop culture icon

Bruno Mars and Anderson .Paak open AMAs 2021

01:05 , Kevin Perry

Bruno Mars and Anderson .Paak have kicked things off tonight with a suitably smooth rendition of “Smokin Out The Window” from their collaborative Silk Sonic project.

Bad Bunny wins Favourite Latin Album

01:10 , Kevin Perry

After a brief introduction from Cardi B, during which the mention of BTS draws a huge reaction from the crowd, actor Billy Porter presents the award for Favourite Latin Album to Bad Bunny for his record El Último Tour Del Mundo.

Machine Gun Kelly wins Favourite Rock Artist

01:20 , Kevin Perry

West Side Story co-stars Ansel Elgort and Rachel Zegler present the award for Favourite Rock Artist to Machine Gun Kelly. He’s all smiles collecting the prize, which he dedicates to aspiring musicians: “Not just the rock artists, but all the artists who are rock stars.” He adds in closing: “I read a headline that said the age of the rock star is dead, but it looks pretty alive to me!”

Coldplay and BTS drive fans wild with live performance of ‘My Universe’

01:25 , Kevin Perry

The sight of Chris Martin joining forces with BTS sends the audience into a fever pitch of excitement that rivals the delirium of Beatlemania. There are fireworks too, but it’s BTS who provide the pyrotechnics.

BTS wins Favourite Pop Duo or Group

01:34 , Kevin Perry

An ebullient JoJo Siwa, who is currently appearing in Dancing With The Stars, presents the award for Favourite Pop Duo or Group to BTS. They take the opportunity to pay tribute to their fans, who are in full voice celebrating the win: “All we want to do is spread love through music and performance, but without you guys, the Army, we could have never done nothing.”

Olivia Rodrigo performs heartbreak ballad “traitor”

01:38 , Kevin Perry

After a breakneck opening to the 2021 AMAs, pop sensation Olivia Rodrigo slows things down with a heartfelt live performance of her ballad “traitor”. While introducing the performance, Cardi B thanked Rodrigo for helping her get over her own heartbreaks.

Taylor Swift wins Favourite Pop Album

01:48 , Kevin Perry

Brandy presents the award for Favourite Pop Album to Taylor Swift for Evermore. In a pre-recorded acceptance speech video, Swift says she’s: “always looked at Evermore as Folklore’s adventurous, fun younger sister.” She also thanks fans for their reaction to the recently released Red (Taylor’s Version).

Tyler, the Creator brings the snow

01:53 , Kevin Perry

Next up is Tyler, the Creator, who performs an impassioned version of “MASSA” from recent album Call Me If You Get Lost, while the stage is coated in a layer of fake snow. A bit early for a White Christmas, but good thing he remembered that big warm hat.

Jason Aldean and Carrie Underwood duet on ‘If I Didn’t Love You’

02:01 , Kevin Perry

It’s country music time at the AMAs, as two of the night’s nominees Jason Aldean and Carrie Underwood team up for a performance of their smash-hit duet “If I Didn’t Love You”. Aldean proves you don’t have to be Lil Nas X to pull off a cowboy hat.

Bad Bunny, Tainy and Julieta Venegas team up for futuristic performance

02:10 , Kevin Perry

Julieta Venegas, Tainy and Bad Bunny donned science-fiction style outfits to perform their hit “Lo Siento BB :/.” The trio released the song in October and it's set to be included on Tainy's debut album Data.

Cardi B wins Favourite Hip-Hop Song

02:15 , Kevin Perry

Actor Marsai Martin hands the award for Favourite Hip-Hop Song to AMAs host Cardi B for her single “Up”. She thanks her fans and “Jesus, you’ve always got to thank Jesus.” There’s no rest for Cardi who segues directly into introducing the next act.

Måneskin are “Beggin’"

02:18 , Kevin Perry

Italian rockers Måneskin are up next, introduced by Cardi B sat at a mock Italian restaurant table. They rip through a high-energy version of “Beggin’”, the Northern Soul favourite originally popularised by the Four Seasons in 1967.

“Have Mercy” pleads Chlöe

02:27 , Kevin Perry

Chloe Bailey, known mononymously as Chlöe, is joined by a whole troupe of backing dancers for a performance of “Have Mercy”, the lead single from her upcoming solo debut studio album.

BTS win Favourite Pop Song

02:33 , Kevin Perry

Curb Your Enthusiasm actor J.B. Smoove describes his childhood dream of joining a boyband and shows off his dance moves before handing the award for Favourite Pop Song to BTS for their song “Butter”. They say: “This award proves that this song reaches so many people’s hearts, and we never take that for granted.”

The Jennifer Lopez renaissance continues

02:36 , Kevin Perry

Jennifer Lopez continues her renewed pop culture dominance by performing “On My Way (Marry Me)”, a song taken from her new romantic comedy Marry Me in which she stars alongside Owen Wilson. Is there anything J. Lo can’t do? (No)

Country star Mickey Guyton is “All American”

02:45 , Kevin Perry

After Cardi B thanks country music star Mickey Guyton for buying her daughter “a star in the solar system, with papers and everything”, Guyton takes the stage for her AMAs debut, singing her recent patriotic single “All American”.

Megan Thee Stallion wins Favourite Trending Song

02:49 , Kevin Perry

Stranger Things actor Madelyn Cline announces that the award for Favourite Trending Song goes to Megan Thee Stallion for “Body”. However, as Megan had to pull out of the AMAs, Cline says she’ll be “FedExing it to her personally”.

Maneskin fans complain after band perform ‘Beggin’ at AMAs instead of original song

02:52 , Kevin Perry

Maneskin’s cover of “Beggin’” went down well with the audience - but some fans of the band aren’t happy. Here’s Roisin O'Connor with the full story:

Maneskin fans complain after band perform ‘Beggin’ at AMAs instead of original song

Giveon bares his soul

02:57 , Kevin Perry

Giveon performs his recent single “Heartbreak Anniversary”, which more than lives up to Cardi B’s claim that the singer is “very soulful”.

Kane Brown beams in from Tennessee

03:02 , Kevin Perry

Rising country star Kane Brown performs his raucous single “One Mississippi”, in a performance broadcast from his home state at Tennessee State University.

New Edition and New Kids on The Block face off in The Battle of Boston

03:15 , Kevin Perry

Billed as ‘The Battle of Boston’, rival Massachusetts groups New Edition and New Kids on The Block go head-to-head onstage together for the first time. New Kids on The Block kick things off with “You Got It (The Right Stuff)” before R&B icons New Edition answer back with “Candy Girl”. Hits like “Step By Step” and “Mr Telephone Man” follow, as the camera cuts to J.B. Smoove and BTS dancing in the crowd.

BTS wins Artist of the Year

03:23 , Kevin Perry

Actor Liza Koshy announces, to nobody’s surprise, that BTS are 2021’s Artist of the Year. The band thank their fans for the “long and amazing ride” from their first American performance to tonight’s dominant showing at the AMAs.

Becky G wins Favourite Female Latin Artist

03:33 , Kevin Perry

Actor Anthony Ramos hands the award for Favourite Female Latin Artist to Becky G, who thanks “my team that’s been with since day one, and my family of course.” She dedicates the prize to “all of the Latinx community” and gets a huge roar from the local crowd when she adds: “I’m so proud to be from Inglewood.”

Walker Hayes is “Fancy Like"

03:38 , Kevin Perry

Country singer Walker Hayes makes his AMAs debut with a performance of “Fancy Like,” which is nominated for Favorite Country Song, and still finds time to dance with his wife.

Olivia Rodrigo wins New Artist of the Year

03:45 , Kevin Perry

Machine Gun Kelly returns to the stage to present the award for New Artist of the Year to Olivia Rodrigo. “Thank you so much to the AMAs and to the fans who voted for this award,” she announced. “Writing songs is my favourite thing in the world.”

Zoe Wees performs “Girls Like Us”, this year’s “AMAs Song of the Soul Moment”

03:48 , Kevin Perry

Canadian model Winnie Harlow takes to the stage to introduce the “AMAs Song of the Soul Moment”, a new prize intended to celebrate the power of music to inspire change and enable progress. It goes to 19-year-old German singer-songwriter Zoe Wees, who performs her powerful and empowering single “Girls Like Us.”

BTS bring AMAs to a triumphant close

03:55 , Kevin Perry

It’s been BTS’ night, and they wrap things up by returning to the stage for a high-energy performance of their award-winning single “Butter”.