Old School Meets New School At 2010 AMAs

By Michael Lopez

Viewers of this year’s American Music Awards got treated to brand new beats and old school boy bands with a ceremony that pretty much delivered as expected. While there were no wild surprises, the show did move along at a steady pace, honoring the usual superstars we know and love.

Image: FilmMagic

As expected, Justin Bieber proved to be the night’s biggest winner. He took home statues for Favorite Breakthrough Artist, Favorite Pop Male Artist, and Favorite Artist Of The Year. Add those to his EMAs, Teen Choice Awards, and MTV Moon Men and it’s clear that he’s had a pretty good year.

Other winners included Rihanna (sporting an elegant red gown) for Best R&B Female Artist, Usher for Best R&B Male and Best R&B Album, and the Black Eyed Peas for Favorite Pop Rock Band. Speaking of the Peas, they kicked off one of the night’s most talked about performances, with a glow-in-the-dark sneak peek of “This Time” from their upcoming The Beginning record.

And who was the top-ranked estrella of the night? That would be Shakira, who took home the Favorite Latin Artist award, beating both Daddy Yankee and Enrique. Though the evening was a far cry from last week’s Latin Grammys, it did offer a little bit of multicultural flava with Enrique’s live crowd-bumping version of “I Like It.”

Perhaps the most interesting live performance came from ‘90s flashback acts the Backstreet Boys and New Kids On The Block. The two legendary boy bands united onstage and performed an upbeat mashup of all their greatest hits. Now calling themselves NKOTBS, the nine guys plan to tour together starting next spring.

As with all award shows, red carpet outfits were a big part of the 2010 AMAs too. While most of the big names (like Miley Cyrus and Katy Perry) kept it chic and fashionable, there were a few wild cards to keep the fashion blogs buzzing. Nicki Minaj sported a rather bizarre red and gold ensemble that looked like it had a rib cage on it and Ke$ha…well, as we know, Ke$ha is Ke$ha.

Predictable? Yes. But this year’s AMA’s still had quite a bit of fun added in too. And with its broad mix of artists, the show had a little something for the boy band lover in all of us.

What did you think of this year’s American Music Awards? Sound off in the comments or @MTV3!

Tags AMAs, American Music Awards, Award Shows, backstreet boys, Black Eyed Peas, Justin Bieber, Música, New Kids on the Block, Shakira