Taylor Swift was the golden girl at the 2013 American Music Awards on Sunday (24Nov13) as she took home four top honours, including Artist of the Year.
The I Knew You Were Trouble hitmaker, who wowed in a shimmering gold Julien Macdonald mini dress, earned Favorite Female Artist accolades in both the Pop/Rock and Country categories, while the blonde beauty also scored best album for Red in the latter genre.
Justin Timberlake enjoyed a stellar night too, claiming a trio of trophies, while British boyband One Direction celebrated their first ever AMAs for Favorite Band, Duo or Group - Pop/Rock and Favorite Album - Pop/Rock for their second release Take Me Home.
Rihanna was feted with the inaugural Icon Award in recognition of her massive global success and she received a standing ovation from the celebrity-packed audience at the Nokia Theater L.A. Live in Los Angeles.
Her mentor and Roc Nation label boss Jay Z paid tribute to his charge in a pre-taped video message, while Rihanna's mother, Monica Fenty, was on hand to play the proud parent as she presented the honour.
In her acceptance speech, Rihanna recalled "terrorising" her mum with her "annoying little man voice" as a child, before going on to express her gratitude to her devotees and her team, saying, "My fans, you have no idea. You keep me driven, you keep this thing special and right now I can't believe that at 25 years old I'm holding an Icon award, that is weird to even say out loud...
"I can't thank everybody but if you know me, you know that I love you and that I thank you and that I'm grateful. You all play such an important part and I'm only as good as my team so I love you guys so much, thank you."
Katy Perry kicked off the event by performing her new single Unconditionally dressed as a geisha in a set made to look like a Japanese cherry blossom garden, while One Direction, Christina Aguilera, Arianna Grande and the surviving members of TLC also hit the stage, as did show host Pitbull, who teamed up with Timber collaborator Ke$ha.
Other performance highlights came from Jennifer Lopez, who dazzled in a special tribute to late Latin music icon Celia Cruz; Lady Gaga, who played a receptionist as she seduced R. Kelly as president for Do What U Want, and Miley Cyrus, who donned a pink leotard adored with cats to close the show with a powerful and emotional rendition of Wrecking Ball.
The full list of winners for the 41st Annual American Music Awards, which are voted for by fans, is as follows:
Artist of the Year - Taylor Swift
New Artist of the Year - Arianna Grande
Single of the Year - Cruise, Florida Georgia Line featuring Nelly
Favorite Male Artist - Pop/Rock - Justin Timberlake
Favorite Female Artist - Pop/Rock - Taylor Swift
Favorite Band, Duo or Group - Pop/Rock - One Direction
Favorite Album - Pop/Rock - Take Me Home, One Direction
Favorite Male Artist - Country - Luke Bryan
Favorite Female Artist - Country - Taylor Swift
Favorite Band, Duo or Group - Country - Lady Antebellum
Favorite Album - Country - Red, Taylor Swift
Favorite Artist - Rap/Hip-Hop - Macklemore & Ryan Lewis
Favorite Album - Rap/Hip-Hop - The Heist, Macklemore & Ryan Lewis
Favorite Male Artist - Soul/R&B - Justin Timberlake
Favorite Female Artist - Soul/R&B - Rihanna
Favorite Album - Soul/R&B - The 20/20 Experience, Justin Timberlake
Favorite Artist - Alternative Rock - Imagine Dragons
Favorite Artist - Adult Contemporary - Maroon 5
Favorite Artist - Latin - Marc Anthony
Favorite Artist - Contemporary Inspirational - Matthew West
Favorite Artist - Electronic Dance Music (EDM) - Avicii
Top Soundtrack - Pitch Perfect
Icon Award - Rihanna.
The I Knew You Were Trouble hitmaker, who wowed in a shimmering gold Julien Macdonald mini dress, earned Favorite Female Artist accolades in both the Pop/Rock and Country categories, while the blonde beauty also scored best album for Red in the latter genre.
Justin Timberlake enjoyed a stellar night too, claiming a trio of trophies, while British boyband One Direction celebrated their first ever AMAs for Favorite Band, Duo or Group - Pop/Rock and Favorite Album - Pop/Rock for their second release Take Me Home.
Rihanna was feted with the inaugural Icon Award in recognition of her massive global success and she received a standing ovation from the celebrity-packed audience at the Nokia Theater L.A. Live in Los Angeles.
Her mentor and Roc Nation label boss Jay Z paid tribute to his charge in a pre-taped video message, while Rihanna's mother, Monica Fenty, was on hand to play the proud parent as she presented the honour.
In her acceptance speech, Rihanna recalled "terrorising" her mum with her "annoying little man voice" as a child, before going on to express her gratitude to her devotees and her team, saying, "My fans, you have no idea. You keep me driven, you keep this thing special and right now I can't believe that at 25 years old I'm holding an Icon award, that is weird to even say out loud...
"I can't thank everybody but if you know me, you know that I love you and that I thank you and that I'm grateful. You all play such an important part and I'm only as good as my team so I love you guys so much, thank you."
Katy Perry kicked off the event by performing her new single Unconditionally dressed as a geisha in a set made to look like a Japanese cherry blossom garden, while One Direction, Christina Aguilera, Arianna Grande and the surviving members of TLC also hit the stage, as did show host Pitbull, who teamed up with Timber collaborator Ke$ha.
Other performance highlights came from Jennifer Lopez, who dazzled in a special tribute to late Latin music icon Celia Cruz; Lady Gaga, who played a receptionist as she seduced R. Kelly as president for Do What U Want, and Miley Cyrus, who donned a pink leotard adored with cats to close the show with a powerful and emotional rendition of Wrecking Ball.
The full list of winners for the 41st Annual American Music Awards, which are voted for by fans, is as follows:
Artist of the Year - Taylor Swift
New Artist of the Year - Arianna Grande
Single of the Year - Cruise, Florida Georgia Line featuring Nelly
Favorite Male Artist - Pop/Rock - Justin Timberlake
Favorite Female Artist - Pop/Rock - Taylor Swift
Favorite Band, Duo or Group - Pop/Rock - One Direction
Favorite Album - Pop/Rock - Take Me Home, One Direction
Favorite Male Artist - Country - Luke Bryan
Favorite Female Artist - Country - Taylor Swift
Favorite Band, Duo or Group - Country - Lady Antebellum
Favorite Album - Country - Red, Taylor Swift
Favorite Artist - Rap/Hip-Hop - Macklemore & Ryan Lewis
Favorite Album - Rap/Hip-Hop - The Heist, Macklemore & Ryan Lewis
Favorite Male Artist - Soul/R&B - Justin Timberlake
Favorite Female Artist - Soul/R&B - Rihanna
Favorite Album - Soul/R&B - The 20/20 Experience, Justin Timberlake
Favorite Artist - Alternative Rock - Imagine Dragons
Favorite Artist - Adult Contemporary - Maroon 5
Favorite Artist - Latin - Marc Anthony
Favorite Artist - Contemporary Inspirational - Matthew West
Favorite Artist - Electronic Dance Music (EDM) - Avicii
Top Soundtrack - Pitch Perfect
Icon Award - Rihanna.
Lips!
Singer Taylor Swift marked her 24th birthday on Friday (13Dec13) by offering up a $100,000 (£66,700) donation to officials at the Nashville Symphony in Tennessee.
Bosses in charge of the city orchestra have struggled with financial issues all year, so the generous I Knew You Were Trouble hitmaker decided to hand over an early Christmas gift.
A representative for the Nashville Symphony confirmed the news on the group's Twitter.com page on Friday (13Dec13), writing, "We are profoundly grateful for @TaylorSwift13's donation. Thank you, Taylor, for supporting musicians & music in MusicCity! Happy Birthday!"
The charitable gesture is not the first for the singer - in 2012, she pledged $4 million (£2.6 million) to the Country Music Hall of Fame, and in October (13), the Taylor Swift Education Center in Nashville opened as a result of the donation.
Bosses in charge of the city orchestra have struggled with financial issues all year, so the generous I Knew You Were Trouble hitmaker decided to hand over an early Christmas gift.
A representative for the Nashville Symphony confirmed the news on the group's Twitter.com page on Friday (13Dec13), writing, "We are profoundly grateful for @TaylorSwift13's donation. Thank you, Taylor, for supporting musicians & music in MusicCity! Happy Birthday!"
The charitable gesture is not the first for the singer - in 2012, she pledged $4 million (£2.6 million) to the Country Music Hall of Fame, and in October (13), the Taylor Swift Education Center in Nashville opened as a result of the donation.
It's quite simple. You spell out
your name, only using song
titles. It gives you an
interesting playlist! You don't
have to use different artists. It
can be the same artist or similar artists.
A creative way to do this is find
some new artists and spell out
your name with some of their
songs. It's a good way to listen
to different people and one awesome CD and/or playlist.
Example: My name is Kaitlyn
K - Kidnap The Sandy Claws by
Danny Elfman
A - Angel of Music by Andrew
Lloyd Webber I - Inside My World by Ramin
Karimloo
T - Try To Believe by Oingo
Boingo
L - Little Razorblade by The
Pink Spiders Y - Yes! I'm French by Frenchy
and the Punk
N - Nerd Alert! by The
Aquabats!
your name, only using song
titles. It gives you an
interesting playlist! You don't
have to use different artists. It
can be the same artist or similar artists.
A creative way to do this is find
some new artists and spell out
your name with some of their
songs. It's a good way to listen
to different people and one awesome CD and/or playlist.
Example: My name is Kaitlyn
K - Kidnap The Sandy Claws by
Danny Elfman
A - Angel of Music by Andrew
Lloyd Webber I - Inside My World by Ramin
Karimloo
T - Try To Believe by Oingo
Boingo
L - Little Razorblade by The
Pink Spiders Y - Yes! I'm French by Frenchy
and the Punk
N - Nerd Alert! by The
Aquabats!
