Pink, Lionel Richie, and Taylor Swift dominated the 50th American Music Awards, which were won by three very diverse performers.
However, the Ticketmaster-crashes Sunday night at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles, Taylor Swift was the only musician who truly mattered in music in 2022 who was present.
The 32-year-old starlet received six accolades, including Artist of the Year, bringing her total number of AMAs to a record-breaking 40.
However, despite her accolades, Swift did not perform.
Pink was the biggest female pop singer of the evening, and she opened the performance with her new hit “Never Gonna Not Dance Again,” roller-skating in to get the party started in a joyous and contagious manner.
Pink’s second performance, a rendition of “Hopelessly Devoted to You” in homage to the late Olivia Newton-John, was quite disappointing. Although she sounded good, it wasn’t the ideal song for Newton-John, and a medley with other songs and vocalists would have done her more honor.
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Lionel Richie collects the Icon Award onstage during the 2022 American Music Awards in Los Angeles, California on November 20, 2022.
Images from Getty for dcp
Pink sings a memorial song for Olivia Newton-John at the 2022 American Music Awards on November 20, 2022 in Los Angeles, California.
Images from Getty for dcp
Stevie Wonder, Lionel Richie, and Smokey Robinson perform at the 2022 American Music Awards in Los Angeles, California, on November 20, 2022.
Images from Getty for dcp
The homage to Richie that capped the event was far more appropriate, offering the night’s emotional and musical high points.
First, the ageless Motown veteran Smokey Robinson introduced Richie, delivering the quality and vintage legacy that was lacking from the majority of the performance. Richie, just elected into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, then gave a very sincere acceptance speech for the Icon Award, urging young musicians to try to influence future generations.
Stevie Wonder(!) and Charlie Puth played a jubilant medley of Richie’s classics, including “Three Times a Lady,” “Easy (Like Sunday Morning),” “Brick House,” and “All Night Long (All Night Long).” It finished with a star-studded rendition of “We Are the World” that made 1985 seem like yesterday.