The 42nd Annual American Music Awards ceremony was held on November 23, 2014, at the Nokia Theatre L.A. Live in Los Angeles, California. The awards recognized the most popular artists and albums of 2014. Iggy Azalea led the nominees with six categories. It was broadcast live on ABC. Pitbull was announced as a host on October 20, 2014. NSYNC's Lance Bass, Chelsea Briggs, Kandi Burruss, Gavin DeGraw, Frankie Grande, Taryn Manning, Jordin Sparks, Morgan Stewart and Ted Stryker were all announced co-hosts of the pre-show on November 7, 2014.
The special received 11.61 million viewers, the fourth-most that night.
Performances Artist(s) Song(s)Pre-show Becky G "Can't Stop Dancin'" Ella Henderson "Ghost" Katy Tiz "The Big Bang" Mary Lambert "Secrets" R5 "Smile" Main Show Taylor Swift "Blank Space" Charli XCX "Boom Clap""Break the Rules" Wyclef JeanMagic! "Rude" 5 Seconds of Summer "What I Like About You" Imagine Dragons "I Bet My Life" Sam SmithASAP Rocky "I'm Not the Only One" Iggy AzaleaCharli XCX "Fancy""Beg for It" Lorde "Yellow Flicker Beat" Ariana GrandeThe Weeknd "Problem""Break Free""Love Me Harder" PitbullNe-Yo "Don't Stop the Party""Fireball""Time of Our Lives" Selena Gomez "The Heart Wants What It Wants" One Direction "Night Changes" Lil WayneChristina Milian "Start a Fire" Nicki MinajSkylar Grey "Bed of Lies" FergieYGDJ Mustard "L.A. Love (La La)" Chopstick Brothers "Little Apple" Garth Brooks "People Loving People" Mary J. Blige "Therapy" Jessie JAriana GrandeNicki Minaj "Bang Bang" Jennifer LopezIggy Azalea "Booty" Notes Broadcast live from Garth Brooks' concert in Greensboro, NC.
Presenters
Patrick Dempsey — presented Favorite Pop/Rock Band/Duo/Group Ansel Elgort — introduced Charli XCX Rita Ora & Matthew Morrison — introduced Wyclef Jean & Magic! Jamie Foxx & Annalise Estelle Foxx (his daughter) — presented Favorite Rap/Hip-Hop Album Becky G & Gavin DeGraw — introduced 5 Seconds of Summer Lauren Cohan & Danai Gurira — introduced Imagine Dragons Uzo Aduba & Taylor Schilling — presented Favorite Pop/Rock Male Artist Dianna Agron & Nathan Fillion — introduced Sam Smith & ASAP Rocky T.I. — introduced Iggy Azalea & Charli XCX Jhené Aiko & Meghan Trainor — presented Favorite Country Male Artist Elizabeth Banks — introduced Lorde Donnie Wahlberg & Jenny McCarthy — presented Favorite Pop/Rock Album Kira Kazantsev — introduced Pitbull & Ne-Yo Kendall Jenner, Kylie Jenner & Khloe Kardashian — presented Favorite Pop/Rock Female Artist Danica McKellar & Brantley Gilbert — presented Favorite Alternative Artist Lucy Hale & Mary Lambert — introduced Selena Gomez Julianne Hough — presented New Artist of the Year Olivia Munn & Pat Monahan — presented Favorite Rap/Hip-Hop Artist Kate Beckinsale — introduced One Direction Tracee Ellis Ross & Anthony Anderson — introduced Lil Wayne & Christina Milian as well as Nicki Minaj & Skylar Grey Diana Ross — presented the Dick Clark Award for Excellence to Taylor Swift Josh Duhamel — introduced Fergie, YG & DJ Mustard Luke Bryan — introduced Garth Brooks Aloe Blacc & Ella Henderson — introduced Mary J Blige Mark Cuban, Daymond John, Robert Herjavec, Kevin O'Leary — presented Favorite Country Album Pentatonix — introduced Jessie J, Ariana Grande & Nicki Minaj Heidi Klum — presented Artist of the Year
Winners and nominees The nominations were announced on October 13, 2014, by Jason Derulo and Charli XCX.
Artist of the Year New Artist of the Year One Direction Iggy Azalea Beyoncé Luke Bryan Katy Perry 5 Seconds of Summer Iggy Azalea Bastille Sam Smith Meghan Trainor Favorite Pop/Rock Male Artist Favorite Pop/Rock Female Artist Sam Smith John Legend Pharrell Williams Katy Perry Iggy Azalea Lorde Favorite Pop/Rock Band/Duo/Group Favorite Pop/Rock Album One Direction Imagine Dragons OneRepublic Midnight Memories – One Direction Pure Heroine – Lorde Prism – Katy Perry |- ! style="background:#eedd82; width="50%"| Favorite Country Male Artist ! style="background:#eedd82; width="50%"| Favorite Country Female Artist |- |valign="top"| Luke Bryan Jason Aldean Blake Shelton |valign="top"| Carrie Underwood Miranda Lambert Kacey Musgraves |- ! style="background:#eedd82; width="50%"| Favorite Country Duo or Group ! style="background:#eedd82; width="50%"| Favorite Country Album |- |valign="top"| Florida Georgia Line Eli Young Band Lady Antebellum |valign="top"| Just as I Am – Brantley Gilbert Blame It All on My Roots: Five Decades of Influences – Garth Brooks The Outsiders – Eric Church |- ! style="background:#eedd82; width="50%"| Favorite Rap/Hip-Hop Artist ! style="background:#eedd82; width="50%"| Favorite Rap/Hip-Hop Album |- |valign="top"| Iggy Azalea Drake Eminem |valign="top"| The New Classic – Iggy Azalea Nothing Was the Same – Drake The Marshall Mathers LP 2 – Eminem |- ! style="background:#eedd82; width="50%"| Favorite Soul/R&B Male Artist ! style="background:#eedd82; width="50%"| Favorite Soul/R&B Female Artist |- |valign="top"| John Legend Chris Brown Pharrell Williams |valign="top"| Beyoncé Jhené Aiko Mary J. Blige |- ! style="background:#eedd82; width="50%"| Favorite Soul/R&B Album ! style="background:#eedd82; width="50%"| Favorite Alternative Artist |- |valign="top"| Beyoncé – Beyoncé G I R L – Pharrell Williams Love in the Future – John Legend Imagine Dragons Bastille Lorde Favorite Adult Contemporary Artist Favorite Latin Artist Katy Perry Sara Bareilles OneRepublic Enrique Iglesias Marc Anthony Romeo Santos Favorite Contemporary Inspirational Artist Favorite EDM Artist Casting Crowns Hillsong United Newsboys Calvin Harris Avicii Zedd Single of the Year Top Soundtrack "Dark Horse" – Katy Perry featuring Juicy J "Happy" – Pharrell Williams "All of Me" – John Legend "Rude" – Magic! "Fancy" – Iggy Azalea featuring Charli XCX Frozen The Fault in Our Stars Guardians of the Galaxy: Awesome Mix, Vol. 1 International Song Award International Artist Award "Little Apple" – Chopstick Brothers Jason Zhang Dick Clark Award for Excellence Taylor Swift
References