Airing this past Tuesday for the 44th time on live TV, the AMAs suffered their lowest ratings of all time. According to Variety, the show drew a 1.8 rating in adults 18-49 and 6.5 million viewers compared to last years 9.2 million. Is this really surprising? Not at all. The Grammys, a similar music award show, but with winners determined by the Recording Academy, also drew their lowest ratings recently. Even The Oscars back in March fell 19 percent and became the least watched of all time. Award shows used to be the thing friends gathered around the TV with bottles of wine and popcorn on Sunday to watch. What they’ve turned into, however, is just background noise.
On a positive note, EDM poster boy Zedd took the stage with hunk singer Shawn Mendes to perform a live rendition of Zedd’s ‘Lost In Japan’ remix. This, along with other performances from pop queen Taylor Swift, Cardi B, Post Malone, Halsey, and others, garnered a 135 percent sales gain, selling a combined 20,000 downloads, according to Billboard.
Some big winners of the night included T-Swift for Artist of The Year, Post Malone as Favorite Male Artist, and Marshmello for Favorite Artist – EDM *sigh*. It’s also interesting to note that somehow, Migos won favorite Pop/Rock group.
The demise of award shows could be a whole number of things, but honestly – who cares?
You can view the rest of the winners from the AMAs below.
h/t: Billboard, Variety
Winners
ARTIST OF THE YEAR
Drake
Imagine Dragons
Post Malone
Ed Sheeran
Taylor Swift *WINNER
NEW ARTIST OF THE YEAR
Camila Cabello *WINNER
Cardi B
Khalid
Dua Lipa
XXXTENTACION
COLLABORATION OF THE YEAR
Camila Cabello ft. Young Thug, “Havana” *WINNER
Post Malone ft. 21 Savage, “Rockstar”
Bruno Mars & Cardi B, “Finesse”
Bebe Rexha & Florida Georgia Line, “Meant To Be”
Zedd, Maren Morris & Grey, “The Middle”
TOUR OF THE YEAR
Beyoncé & JAY–Z
Bruno Mars
Ed Sheeran
Taylor Swift *WINNER
U2
VIDEO OF THE YEAR
Camila Cabello ft. Young Thug, “Havana” *WINNER
Cardi B, “Bodak Yellow (Money Moves)”
Drake, “God’s Plan”
FAVORITE SOCIAL ARTIST
BTS *WINNER
Cardi B
Ariana Grande
Demi Lovato
Shawn Mendes
FAVORITE MALE ARTIST — POP/ROCK
Drake
Post Malone *WINNER
Ed Sheeran
FAVORITE FEMALE ARTIST — POP/ROCK
Camila Cabello
Cardi B
Taylor Swift *WINNER
FAVORITE DUO OR GROUP — POP/ROCK
Imagine Dragons
Maroon 5
Migos *WINNER
FAVORITE ALBUM — POP/ROCK
Drake, “Scorpion”
Ed Sheeran, “÷ (Divide)”
Taylor Swift, ‘reputation’ *WINNER
FAVORITE SONG- — POP/ROCK
Camila Cabello ft. Young Thug, “Havana” *WINNER
Drake, “God’s Plan”
Ed Sheeran, “Perfect”
FAVORITE MALE ARTIST — COUNTRY
Kane Brown *WINNER
Luke Bryan
Thomas Rhett
FAVORITE FEMALE ARTIST — COUNTRY
Kelsea Ballerini
Maren Morris
Carrie Underwood *WINNER
FAVORITE DUO or GROUP — COUNTRY
Dan + Shay
Florida Georgia Line *WINNER
LANCO
FAVORITE ALBUM — COUNTRY
Kane Brown, “Kane Brown” *WINNER
Luke Combs, “This One’s For You”
Thomas Rhett, “Life Changes”
FAVORITE SONG — COUNTRY
Kane Brown, “Heaven” *WINNER
Dan + Shay, “Tequila”
Bebe Rexha & Florida Georgia Line, “Meant To Be”
FAVORITE ARTIST — RAP/HIP-HOP
Cardi B *WINNER
Drake
Post Malone
FAVORITE ALBUM — RAP/HIP-HOP
Drake, “Scorpion”
Lil Uzi Vert, “Luv Is Rage 2”
Post Malone, “beerbongs & bentleys” *WINNER
FAVORITE SONG — RAP/HIP-HOP
Cardi B “Bodak Yellow (Money Moves)” *WINNER
Drake “God’s Plan”
Post Malone ft. 21 Savage “Rockstar”
FAVORITE MALE ARTIST — SOUL/R&B
Khalid *WINNER
Bruno Mars
The Weeknd
FAVORITE FEMALE ARTIST — SOUL/R&B
Ella Mai
Rihanna *WINNER
SZA
FAVORITE ALBUM — SOUL/R&B
Khalid “American Teen”
SZA “CTRL”
XXXTENTACION “17” *WINNER
FAVORITE SONG — SOUL/R&B
Khalid “Young Dumb & Broke”
Ella Mai “Boo’d Up”
Bruno Mars & Cardi B “Finesse” *WINNER
FAVORITE ARTIST — ALTERNATIVE ROCK
Imagine Dragons
Panic! At The Disco *WINNER
Portugal. The Man
FAVORITE ARTIST — ADULT CONTEMPORARY
Shawn Mendes *WINNER
P!NK
Ed Sheeran
FAVORITE ARTIST — LATIN
J Balvin
Daddy Yankee *WINNER
Ozuna
FAVORITE ARTIST — CONTEMPORARY INSPIRATIONAL
Lauren Daigle *WINNER
MercyMe
Zach Williams
FAVORITE ARTIST — ELECTRONIC DANCE MUSIC (EDM)
The Chainsmokers
Marshmello *WINNER
Zedd
FAVORITE SOUNDTRACK
“Black Panther: The Album, Music From And Inspired By” *WINNER
“The Greatest Showman”
“The Fate of the Furious: The Album”