L.A. Times Grades 2009 American Music Awards Performances + Show Photo Links

Rihanna. Ne-Yo told us that the "R" in her "Rated R" stands for either "remarkable" or "really, really sexy." Not quite sure if it completely hit both of those notes, but it was definitely over too soon. Performing in a sort of sci-fi junkyard, Rihanna came onstage in what could have been a torture device. Like Lady Gaga and the Black Eyed Peas, Rihanna is definitely tapping into the cyborg pop mentality that's all the rage at the moment (nice spikes on the shoulders). She gave us snippets of two songs from "Rated R" -- "Wait Your Turn" and "Hard" -- but it would have been better to just stick with one. To her credit, she sounded sharp, metallic and owned the songs. The night's best performance thus far. A-



The Black Eyed Peas. The Los Angeles popsters received a showcase performance, getting to offer live takes of "Meet Me Halfway" and "Boom Boom Pow," two of the most ubiquitous songs of the year. Viewers were reminded of this fact repeatedly, with their sales constantly hyped, and the Black Eyed Peas declaring themselves "the new kings" at the end of their performance. On record, "Meet Me Halfway" is all electronic futurism. Live, it was a bit messier, but there was plenty of eye candy in this extended performance. Crazy wigs and stereo outfits and some crowd-pleasing samples of C+C Music Factory and Nirvana. It was all pop-culture nonsense, and that's what the Black Eyed Peas excel at. B+



Alicia Keys. Getting a chance to redeem herself for her earlier performance, Keys drops her new single, "Try Sleeping With a Broken Heart," in her second performance of the evening, touching on a bit of '70s R&B vibe. Her gold-draped jacket will dominate the gossip sites Monday, and the single's good too. Keys doesn't belt at the top of her lungs here, and though I prefer her when she's at the piano (she sat down and played in the song's final moments), she's softly restrained for much of the song. The background dancers, copping some vintage "West Side Story" Broadway moves, were cute to boot. B+



Mary J. Blige. Her "I Am" isn't a knock-out on par with "I Can See in Color," but it's the type of ballad Blige can perfectly deliver in her sleep. On a night were futuristic flash and bare skin were all the rage, Blige kept it lovingly old school. B



Janet Jackson. So, supposedly the American Music Awards were going to open with a performance from Janet, and that's technically what happened. Except Janet's performance was largely a commercial for her "Number Ones," in which the singer, in a tan outfit that looked like it was ripped straight from the racks at REI, performed a medley of her hits. Imagine going to Amazon.com and clicking on a bunch of song samples from her two-disc set. That's largely what this performance was -- it's "Miss You Much"! and now it's "What Have You Done for Me Lately"! -- and if you were a Janet fan, you surely enjoyed this swift little medley. It was a safe and solid opening, and it gets a slight bonus for focusing entirely on Janet and not becoming another Michael tribute, so B-.

Read the the full story here:
Los Angeles Times - 2009 American Music Awards: Grading the performances

Photos from the show:
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Photos from the Red Carpet:
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Star Traks Photo
Globe Photos
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Photos from the press room:
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Show portraits:
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Eminem Leading Hip Hop Artist With Nominations At The 2009 AMAs

via press release

The American Music Awards air Sunday, November 22 on ABC.

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif., Oct. 13 /PRNewswire/ -- Recording artists Paula Abdul, Adam Lambert and Snoop Dogg revealed the American Music Awards (AMAs) nominees this morning from the Beverly Hills Hotel (see full list of nominees below). Alicia Keys, Black Eyed Peas, Jennifer Lopez and Adam Lambert were also announced as performers for the 37th annual AMAs. The AMA's will be Adam Lambert's debut performance of music from his forthcoming CD release. Additional acts and presenters will be announced in the coming weeks.

Taylor Swift leads the nominations race this year with six (6) total nominations, Michael Jackson follows with five (5) nominations. Eminem follows with four (4) nominations and Beyonce, Black Eyed Peas, Lady Gaga, Kings of Leon and T.I. collected three (3) nominations respectively. Lady Gaga, Eminem, Kings of Leon, Michael Jackson and Taylor Swift make up the highly talented roster of 2009 Artist of the Year nominees.

For a full list of 2009 AMA nominees:
Official AMA website

Check out the photos from 2009 AMAs nomination press conference:
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