Taylor Swift, Cardi B and Missy Elliott Level Up – Rolling Stone



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What happened? In one way or another, the American Music Awards have been strangely non-disastrous this year. As evidenced by the cheesy rewards, this one has always been at a sub-cheddar level, usually held back for the holiday season and generally totally ignored. But for some reason, the AMA decided to be a big deal last night, packing the show with outstanding performances, from Taylor to Cardi. They invited Khalid instead of Khaled. They paid tribute to Aretha Franklin with a focus on music instead of making a Madonna speech. Tracee Ellis Ross hosted the reception in style, wearing a series of black designer outfits and doing a dance routine to a mix of hits from Cardi B, Childish Gambino, Bruno Mars, Beyoncé and Aretha. The whole show made you think that they were actually trying to impress music fans – what a concept.

The big winner of the evening: Taylor Swift, who announced last week its intention to interpret "I Did Something Wrong", without revealing that she was going to spend the weekend between two instances to incite people to vote democrat midway, thus inspiring thousands of citizens register. His political affiliations may not surprise those of us who have actually listened to his music. (What, you've never noticed the words "Boys and Boys and Girls and Girls" from "Welcome to New York"?) But the controversy added spice to his "I Did Something Bad," already very greedy in salt. She sang on a giant background that resembles the Wu-Tang clan's logo, because Wu-Tay is aimed at children. She did not stop picking up a giant snake and was fooled for saying, "If a man talks shit, I owe him nothing" – a timely feeling, at least for We can say.

Swift spent the rest of the evening winning awards, including the Tour of the Year, Album of the Year and Artist of the Year, while rocking his Bowie-esque disco-ball outfit. . In recent years, she has moved away from awards galas, having been a staple of all, so the fact that she came out for it was a big deal. But she had something to say. You know, Tay – when this girl takes on new enthusiasm, she's not the kind to play subtly about it. In the end, she insisted on amplifying her recent straight political statements: "I just wanted to mention that this award and all the awards given tonight have been voted by the people. And you know what else is voted by the people? The mid-term elections of November 6th. Go out and vote. I love you!"

Cardi B, almost a year after "Bodak Yellow" and "Look What You've Made Me Do" in the front row, was in top form all night. She turned "I Like It" into a psychedelic salsa-trap extravaganza, posing in the center of a reel in groovy plaid boots. She plays on the stage by bike, while Bad Bunny and J. Balvin find themselves in golden shopping carts for supermarkets and Offset dances in the audience. She also won a few awards, carrying a Carmen Miranda fruit basket and dedicating her prize to her newborn daughter Kulture Kiari Cephus. When Migos won the award for best rap group, Offset made another cry to Cardi: "I want to thank you, sexy woman. "

One of the thrilling moments of the evening was to see Missy Elliott leave with Ciara, strutting in a convulsive mix of "Level Up" and "Dose." They evoked the time when these two men dominated the world on "1, 2 Step" and "Lose Control." Mariah Carey presented her brand new single "With You" with a pink-pink diva bow, which is far from being as memorable as "Without You". Since Jennifer Lopez was also home, hope that these two will unify our country by officially ending the Cold War I do not know her, but that did not happen. Instead, Lopez also debuted with a new single called "Limitless", signed Sia, a great moment, at least until she starts singing and reveals a limit or two. A very pregnant, Carrie Underwood, wrote a touching version of "Spinning Bottles", while Dua Lipa played in "One Kiss" and Ella Mai ran the aisles with "Boo'd Up" .

Camila Cabello was one of the big winners of the evening. She snuggled alongside Taylor Swift in the audience and won four awards, winning a Tay playful bop and singing "Consequences". Ashlee Simpson has been shown on the red carpet la-la with Evan Ross (little brother of Tracee). Billy Eichner delivered a heartfelt speech on the importance of voting. Even Khalid entered the electoral act, paying tribute to his Texan roots by saying "Cry, Beto!

Panic! at the Disco has made a strange resumption of a Queen song that no one really needs to remake. (My favorite karaoke bar is asking people for two extra bucks to sing "Bohemian Rhapsody.") They were introduced by the release of Freddie Mercury's new biopic, although it might have been more fun and more original to see them. movie stars try to cover "I'm writing sins, not tragedies." You still have to congratulate Panic for his comeback in the award ceremony of the symbolic rock group of the day, since Dave Ghrol seems to have passed this cycle next door. Pilots received an introduction from Amber Heard, who lamented that this was "the number of TV shows I've been involved in since the beginning." (Did Busy Phillips dismiss this joke?)

The evening ended with another surprise: a tribute to the late Aretha Franklin, who was not part of her success, treating her strictly as a gospel artist. It was a bold but sensitive way to address Aretha's powerful legacy, something she would have appreciated. (Even though Ross called her "the goddess of the gospel," a very strange slogan.) Glady Knight, CeCe Winans, Donnie McClurkin, Ledisi and Mary Mary made a mix of hymns in the # 39; honoring. amazing Grace album. The tribute was devoid of clichés, truly educational, highlighting an aspect of Franklin's music that remains little known to pop fans. It was a gracious final note. And after three hours of rewards without a single DJ Khaled's "Go, All," you could give up a hallelujah yourself.

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