Review of 2010 American Music Awards: Performances and Winners

Sunday, November 21st is the night that America gets to vote on their favorite musical acts and albums at the annual American Music Awards. This year's show started at 8 p.m. and was broadcast live on ABC. This year was a record-breaking year, as far as votes from viewers were concerned.

Eminem and Lady Antebellum were tied for the most nominations, each being nominated for five, but only Lady Antebellum managed a win. Performances were lavish and over-the-top, but the highlight was definitely the reunion of New Kids on the Block and The Backstreet Boys.

Justin Bieber was the big winner, with T-Mobile Breakthrough Artist and Artist of the Year nods. He is the youngest Artist of the Year winner ever.

Read on for opinions on tonight's performances, plus a complete list of this year's nominees and winners.

The Performances

The opening performance was Rhianna singing a medley of her hit songs, including "Love the Way You Lie," "What's My Name," "Only Girl (In the World)" She got a standing ovation from the crowd, with accolades from Usher, Justin Bieber, and The Black Eyed Peas.

Enrique Iglesias brought over a dozen extra musicians up onstage with a ton of strobe lights and other flashing lights. The first part of his performance was his new single "Tonight," And in case you weren't sure, the second part was "I Like It," featuring guest singer Pitbull. The title of the song was racing in the background. Sheryl Crow was bobbing her head, and New Kid Jordan Knight seemed to be reliving his glory days onstage as he watched.

Immediately following was Miley Cyrus trying hard to be completely separate from her Hannah Montana days, wearing a sheer floor-length black dress. At least she covered her body, unlike many other performers, but she sounded off-key throughout her performance of "Forgiveness and Love."

Sean Coombs likes to keep everyone guessing as to his identity and name. He has now formed a trio called Diddy Dirty Money. They performed their new single "I'm Coming Home," and showed that Diddy still has it.

Kid Rock came out and sang a tribute to his hometown of Detroit, MI with his ballad, "Born Free." Kid Rock is a man who has surpassed musical boundaries, being comfortable in rock, pop, and rap. This song shows his softer side as he reminisces about Detroit's glory days.

Black Eyed Peas, fresh off their win in the Pop/Rock Group of the Year, performed "The Time (Dirty Bit" off their new upcoming album The Beginning. The hook is the classic Dirty Dancing theme song "(I Had) The Time of My Life. They came out dancing in box,es with people dancing with boxes on their heads. People were bouncing and dancing in their seats.

Newlywed Katy Perry lit up the stage as she bellowed "Firework," complete with a sparkly light show from her dancers, wielding giant sparklers. She has a couple other better songs, and sings them better. While she kept her boobs hiding during this performance, her costume was bright red, a la Elmo.

Willow Smith, daughter of Will and Jada Pinkett Smith, introduced YouTube teen singing sensation, Justin Bieber, as her "big brother." He sand "Pray," complete with a full kids choir, and sounding like every other boy band and male teen sensation of the last two decades. The kid got a well-deserved standing ovation.

Bon Jovi came out and performed "What Do You Got" from their newest album. Bon Jovi has taken a much more country turn over the last few years, but at least Jon still looks and sounds good while he is singing. Not wanting to alienate old fans, and to get cheers for something more familiar, they also did some "Shot Through the Heart" and "It's My Life."

Mommy-to-be Pink let her dancers make all the crazy moves as she performed "Raise Your Glass." Skaters hit the ramps and girls flipped a la cheerleaders as she sang in her poofy pants that hid her baby bump.

Ne-Yo's performance of his latest single "One in a Million" was interspersed with video clips playing in the background. It was like Rocky Horror, with the people onstage acting out the video behind.

Taylor Swift looked like a different person with her sleek, straight hairstyle and thick bangs. She finally looks like the grownup that she is. Swift turns 21 in a few short weeks, and deserves to be thought of as a mature adult. Her performance of "Back to December" from her latest album Speak Now was accompanied by lit trees and faux snow falling. Her black pantsuit was a nice change from the flashy skin from so many other performers.

Christna Aguilera got a little "Burlesque" as she performed the theme song from her upcoming movie. The song and the theme perfectly fit her singing style. Her body-covering outfit is going to fuel rumors that she is pregnant again.

Usher, riding high on winning best album, busted out his Swedish House Mafia and performed "DJ Got Us Falling In Love Again."

Train is working on a comeback. They started with a bit of "Marry Me" before launching into their popular single "Hey, Soul Sister." Sparkly skinny jeans are, well, interesting.

Ke$ha is a newcomer in the pop/rock scene, but already has three #1 singles. She performed a medley, including "Take It Off," "We R Who We R" Her music is pretty reminiscent of Lady Gaga, and for those of us who do not frequent the world of pop, the two are often confused.

Santana is famous for sharing the stage for his favorite rock performers. Tonight he brought aboard Bush frontman Gavin Rossdale, to perform their cover of "Bang a Gong," originally by T. Rex in the 1970s. Santana is still on fire, but Rossdale fell flat.

The highlight of the entire show was the collaborative performance between New Kids on the Block and the Backstreet Boys, dubbed as NKOTBSB. Had it not been for boy bands such as these, kids like Justin Bieber never would have had a chance to make little teenage girls swoon, nor dominate awards shows. It was a mashup of songs such as "Step by Step," "I Want It That Way," "The Right Stuff," "Larger Than Life." The boys are all approaching middle age and going gray, but they can still sing and move.

American Music Awards Presenters, Awards, and Winners

Here is a list of this year's presenters and nominees. Winners in each category are in bold.

Heidi Klum presented the award for Soul/Rhythm & Blues Favorite Album:

The Element of Freedom - Alicia Keys
Soldier of Love - Sade
Usher - Raymond v. Raymond

Jenny McCarthy and John Legend presented the award for Pop/Rock Music - Favorite Band, Duo, or Group

Black-Eyed Peas
Lady Antebellum
Train

Jessica Alba presented Country Music - Favorite Female Artist

Miranda Lambert
Taylor Swift
Carrie Underwood

Christina Milian and Johnny Weird presented Latin Music - Favorite Artist

Daddy Yankee
Enrique Iglesias
Shakira

Tila Cruz and Trey Songz presented Soul/Rhythm & Blues Music - Favorite Female Artist

Alicia Keys
Rhianna
Sade

Mandy Moore and Sheryl Crow presented Country Music - Favorite Male Artist

Jason Aldean
Luke Bryan
Brad Paisley

Natasha Bedingfield presented T-Mobile Breakthrough Artist of the Year

B.o.B.
Justin Bieber - Finalist
Taio Cruz
Jason Derulo
Ke$ha
Lady Antebellum - Finalist
Travie McCoy - Finalist
Mike Posner - Finalist

Julianne Hough and Carrie Wilson presented Pop/Rock Music - Favorite Male Artist

Justin Bieber
Eminem
Usher

Country Music - Favorite Band, Duo, or Group

Zac Brown Band
Lady Antebellum
Rascal Flatts

Mike Posner and Avril Lavigne presented the award for Alternative Rock Music - Favorite Artist

Muse
Phoenix
Vampire Weekend

The band Perry presented the award for Adult Contemporary Music - Favorite Artist

Michael Buble
Lady Antebellum
Train
Lady Antebellum presented the award for Soul/Rhythm & Blues Music - Favorite Male Artist

Chris Brown
Trey Songz
Usher
Ryan Seacrest presented the ultimate prize of the night, Artist of the Year

Justin Bieber
Eminem
Ke$ha
Lady Gaga
Katy Perry
The rest of the awards were not presented during the live telecast. Here are those results:

Contemporary Inspirational Music - Favorite Artist

Casting Crowns
Mercy Me
TobyMac

Country Music - Favorite Album

Wide Open - Jason Aldean
Need You Now - Lady Antebellum
Play On - Carrie Underwood

Pop/Rock Music - Favorite Female Artist

Ke$ha
Lady Gaga
Katy Perry

Pop/Rock Music - Favorite Album

My World 2.0 - Justin Bieber
Recovery - Eminem
Teenage Dream - Katy Perry

Rap/Hip-Hop Music - Favorite Male Artist

B.o.B.
Drake
Eminem

Rap/Hip-Hop Music - Favorite Album

B.o.B. Presents - B.o.B.
Thank Me Later - Drake
Recovery - Eminem

Soundtracks - Favorite Album

Glee: The Music, Volume 3 Showstoppers
Iron Man 2 Soundtrack by AC/DC
The Twilight Saga: Eclipse Soundtrack

Resources:

AMA Winners 2010 from Right Celebrity http://tv.rightcelebrity.com/?p=5481

Live Broadcast of American Music Awards on ABC

Official American Music Awards Website http://ama.abc.com