The 47th annual American Music Awards were held on Nov. 24 at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles, Calif.  The awards show was broadcast on the ABC network to recognize the most popular and successful artists in the music industry. This year the host was popular singer mainly known from the early 2000s: Ciara.

A concern for most fans is that music isn’t what it used to be in the 1990’s-2014. And neither are the performances with the lack of effort and production from artists (I love music and pay really close attention to this stuff).

Ratings haven’t been the best, either, for award shows like the VMAs, BBMAs, and I Heart Radio Awards, due to the lack of A-list stars like Beyoncé, Rihanna, Drake and Justin Bieber. So when the AMA Twitter/Facebook page announced the performers for this year, there were mixed reactions. They were Lizzo, Post Malone featuring Travis Scott and Ozzy Osbourne, Camila Cabelo, Shawn Mendez, Halsey, Dua Lipa, Selena Gomez, Kesha, Shania Twain, Thomas Rhett, Billie Ellish, the Jonas Brothers (live from Boston), Toni Braxton, and crowned Artist of the Decade: Taylor Swift.

If you didn’t know, almost all of them are pop artists, which is not a good thing for people in the general public who like other genres of music.  I would say the best performances of the night went to either Braxton, Lipa or Ellish, and the worst by far had to be Gomez, who performed for the first time in nearly three years, though was off-key the whole time and looked like a mannequin.

In terms of winners, it was a real head-scratcher. One of the ones I was really confused about was Taylor Swift being honored “Artist of the Decade.”

Don’t get me wrong, she has the hits (five number ones on the Billboard Hot 100), the amount of awards won, and the constant records being set. However, she hasn’t really made a lot of noise the last few years unlike her domination from 2009-14.

Her 2017 album “Reputation,” (my favorite of her catalogue) broke records but only had a small spotlight as her comeback album.

“Lover” (2019), was her worst album to date. Swift hasn’t made any impact on the industry, either (no new artists says they are inspired by her, nor has she changed the game), unlike Beyoncé, who changed the time people released and how charts positioned spots, as well as when sales counted.

Rihanna, who has almost 16 number ones on the hot 100, and has artists begging for her rejects. Or even Drake, who dominated everything. Honestly, she just doesn’t make them like she used to.

Ariana Grande was robbed. Not to be biased, because I am a fan. But it’s a fact that she was the most streamed and successful artist of 2019. She scored her first two number one hits on the hot 100, and broke many records this year as well.

So when she went 0 for 6 out of her nominations, I was confused. How did “Thank You, Next” lose Album of the Year, to Swift’s “Lover?”

How did she lose Artist of the Year, female pop/rock, etc., when she made history as the first artist since The Beatles to occupy the first 3 spots on the hot 100?

She lost because she didn’t attend, as she was on tour.  If you didn’t know, a lot of award shows give the award to artists who attend the ceremony (or have their managers secretly buy them). So if you don’t show up, you don’t get it, no matter how much you deserved it.

So in the end, the American Music Awards were average.  Not the best, but not the worst.  My hopes are (not getting them high, though), that it’s better next year.