Ideal night as One Direction win big at American Music Awards

English-Irish boy band revivalists One Direction won the American Music Award for the artist of the year for a second year in a row on Sunday.

Actor Jared Leto moved the crowd to tears when he paid tribute to the people of Paris and victims of violence around the world.

For the soul/R&B category, The Weeknd won the favorite male artist prize and Rihanna won the favorite female artist award. That was the cue for an impressive sequence in which Lopez, also the show’s host, moved with real fire to some of the year’s most indelible pop hits, including the Weeknd’s “Can’t Feel My Face” and Drake’s “Hotline Bling”.

The AMAs give the power to the listener, and the opinion of the public music audience showed, as the titans of the musical landscape were awarded without any unexpected winners. Swift’s 1989 was named album of the year, while single “Bad Blood” took home the award for song of the year. “You have been great with us this year”, said One Direction. She also impressively sang in nearly a cappella form.

The night’s other big victor was Taylor Swift who did not attend the ceremony but still picked up three awards. She then thanked music producer Harvey Mason Jr “for not telling anyone about that hooker we buried”, before giving her final shout-out to executive producers Julianne Jordan and Julia Michaels, exclaiming: “I don’t like you at all!” When she first began her 2015 American Music Awards performance the stage was covered in fog, but once it cleared there were white candles all around Underwood and her band. Ed Sheeran was also named favourite male artist (pop/rock).

In the new year, Bieber will embark on a North American tour to promote his new album, and will hit several Canadian cities including Vancouver, Ottawa, Quebec City, Toronto and Edmonton.

Accepting her award, Grande stood at the microphone and said: “Eeeew, I’m crying, I owe a lot of this to my Nana who voted, she told me: “Ariana, I went on the computer and voted so I think you will win”. Plus, Alanis Morissette and Lovato sang “You Oughta Know“, marking the 20th anniversary of the song.

Charlie Puth, who locked lips with Meghan Trainor for an extended kiss onstage, said he happened to be near the site of the Paris attacks a few weeks before they happened and felt his heart break at the news. Justin Bieber, who closed the show, effectively literalized the cleansing he’s been after following several years of tabloid troubles with a performance of “Sorry” that had him drenched in a simulated downpour.