After the American Music Awards crowd booed Chris Brown for winning the award for best male R&B singer, Kelly Rowland told them to “calm out.”
Since he admitted to assaulting his then-girlfriend Rihanna in 2009, Brown has been a contentious figure.
Due to the last-minute cancellation of the Michael Jackson tribute, he opted not to attend the AMAs on Sunday.
When Rowland accepted the prize on his behalf, he appeared taken aback by the audience’s response.
As the cameras shifted to the audience, some of whom were booing and making other ambiguous comments, she added, “Excuse me… relax out.”
Rowland then went on to say: “But I also wanted to congratulate Chris for his fantastic R&B songs and tell him how talented he is as a performer.
“I’ll accept this honor and present it to you. I cherish you. Congratulations. And congrats to everyone who was nominated for this award.”
At the LA celebration on Sunday, Brown was scheduled to perform tunes from the Michael Jackson classic Thriller album, including Beat It, Billie Jean, Wanna Be Starting Something, and Thriller.
The cancellation had no explanation provided. Brown expressed his surprise by releasing a video of his practice session with the remark, “U serious?”
He said in the comments, “Would’ve been the [largest] AMA performance but they canceled me for reasons unknown.
The night featured performances by Imagine Dragons, Carrie Underwood, and Pink, who delivered a moving homage to Olivia Newton-John, who passed away in August, by singing Grease’s Hopelessly Devoted To You.
In recognition of his history of hits both with the Commodores and as a solo artist, Lionel Richie received the Icon Award.
He was presented with the award by Smokey Robinson, a fellow Motown musician who made fun of the fact that he originally met the singer as “the guy with the biggest afro in the Commodores.”
Richie welcomed everyone to the stage, praised his family, and made a point to address the “young superstars” there.
“You have a light, thanks to God. That light is unique, and only a select few are permitted to use it “explained he.
“The term “hip” denotes the present day. The term “inspiring” has an enduring connotation. Understand what God has in store for you if you get the chance to have that light on you.”
Then, Stevie Wonder and Charlie Puth performed songs from his catalog, including Three Times a Lady, Easy, All Night Long (All Night), Say You, Say Me, Brick House, and Jesus Is Love, in a piano duel.
We Are The World, the charity single Richie co-wrote with Michael Jackson for Ethiopian famine relief, closed up their performance. Ari Lennox, Muni Long, Melissa Etheridge, Jimmie Allen, Yola, Smokey Robinson, and eventually Richie himself joined them on stage.
The greatest winner of the evening was Taylor Swift, who won all six of her nominations, including artist of the year, the night’s top honor.
The singer remarked, “I have the fans to thank primarily for my happiness. It amazes me beyond words that I continue to do this and that you still give a damn.
Her 2012 album Red (Taylor’s Version) was re-recorded to reclaim control of her music after her former record label sold her master recordings to a hedge firm, and it was awarded album of the year.
I can’t even begin to tell you how much my re-recorded records mean to me, but I never thought they would have any significance for you, the singer remarked. I’m very grateful that you care about this record, of which I’m so proud.
Swift has now won 40 AMAs in total, increasing her lead as the most popular artist in the history of the fan-voted awards show.
The award for best new artist went to Dove Cameron, a former Disney Channel and Marvel actress who achieved international success this year with the sensual track Boyfriend.
The bisexual singer honored the victims of the Saturday night shooting at a gay bar in Colorado by dedicating her prize to the “queer community at large.”
“In light of what transpired at Club Q in Colorado Springs, I want to reiterate the significance of LGBT visibility and the importance of our community to everyone.
“And for what you can do right now, I want to draw your attention to groups like GLAAD and The Trevor Project. I’m keeping the space for you as well, so thank you for holding it.”
For As It Was, Harry Styles was named best male pop artist of the year, and Korean pop group BTS received best duo/group for the fourth consecutive year.
