The 2022 American Music Awards (AMAs) went off without a hitch on Sunday.
Hosted by Wayne Brady, the 50th annual event saw a myriad of wins and performances across several musical genres. But since y’all already know how we do it ‘round this way, let’s get into the Blackity-black honorees and special moments of the night.
Naturally, we have to start off by congratulating the winners. Chief among them is Beyoncé, who took home the awards for Favorite Female R&B Artist and Favorite R&B Album for Renaissance. Queen Bey was up for six categories on Sunday night, so to see her only take away two wins was a bit surprising. But I honestly don’t expect much from the AMAs, so I guess it’s par for the course.
Remaining on the R&B front, Chris Brown was also named winner for Favorite Male R&B Artist for his latest project, Breezy. While he wasn’t there to accept the award personally, award presenter Kelly Rowland did so on his behalf. During which, she took a moment shush the crowd before praising Brown for his musical talents and contributions to the genre after his win got booed by the audience.
“I wanna tell Chris thank you for making great R&B music and I wanna tell him thank you for being an incredible performer. I’ll take this award and bring it to you, I love you. Congratulations,” Rowland said.
Given Brown’s history of abuse and allegedly colorist views and actions, Rowlands comments were subsequently questioned by many online.
Controversial comments aside, other winners of the night included Kendrick Lamar, who took home the award for Favorite Male Hip-Hop Artist and Favorite Hip-Hop Album for Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers; Future, for Favorite Hip-Hop Song for “Wait for U” feat. Tems and Drake; Nicki Minaj for Favorite Female Hip-Hop Artist; Wizkid for Favorite Afrobeats Artist and Favorite R&B Song for “Essence” feat. Tems; and Tamela Mann for Favorite Gospel Artist.
The night also saw lively performances by first time nominee Glorilla, who was joined by Cardi B. to perform their hit single “Tomorrow 2,” and Missy Elliot, who surprised the crowd when she joined Brazilian singer Anitta to perform their song, “Lobby.” Rapper Lil Baby performed a medley of his smash hits, including “California Breeze” and “In a Minute.” And in a tribute to recently passed country singer Loretta Lynn, singer Jimmie Allen also took the stage for a rendition of one her popular songs.
Additionally, legendary Lionel Richie received one of the biggest honors of the night, taking home the prestigious Icon Award. His musical contributions were highlighted in a beautiful performance that saw artists like Allen, Stevie Wonder, Ari Lennox, Muni Long and Smokey Robinson come together for a surprise recreation of the 1986 AMAs performance of “We Are The World,” with Richie ultimately joining in as well.
To see the full list of winners, head to theamas.com.