On Sunday (Nov. 21), the 2021 American Music Awards highlighted the best and brightest artists across music. Cardi B kept the crowd entertained as host with her brand of unfiltered banter in between a series of spectacular performances from BTS, Bad Bunny, Tyler, the Creator and more.
Below, find the best moments from the night:
Cardi B and JoJo Siwa Make Plans for Christmas
Cardi called out Siwa during her hosting gig for not making daughter Kulture Kiari’s birthday party, a result of the teenager’s packed schedule.
“I see you, JoJo Siwa. Let me tell you something: My husband was trying to get JoJo Siwa for my daughter’s birthday party but she is booked and busy. So JoJo Siwa, can you please come see my daughter at Christmas?” Cardi asked, to which JoJo gave a thumbs-up. “I know you cost a lot of money — let me tell you something, these rappers don’t got nothing on JoJo Siwa.”
Siwa later responded to Cardi’s comment while announcing the award for favorite pop group or duo — which went to BTS — saying, “Cardi, I’m gonna see what I can do for Christmas. … I can’t wait to meet Kulture. She is being raised by a superstar.”
Machine Gun Kelly Brings Daughter Casie to the AMAs
MGK has hit up most of his recent red-carpet events with girlfriend Megan Fox in tow, but this time, he chose to bring his 12-year-old daughter, Casie Baker, to an awards show. The father-daughter duo posed together on the red carpet, occasionally holding hands, and were later spotted sitting together in the audience before he took home the award for favorite rock artist.
Taylor Swift’s evermore Acceptance Speech
Swift is hard at work promoting the recent release of Red (Taylor’s Version), but she made sure to send her fans a message while remotely accepting the award for favorite pop album at the AMAs. “It’s such an amazing honor, the fact that you would do this for evermore. I’ve always been so proud of this album,” the singer said in a pre-recorded message. “I always looked at evermore as folklore’s adventurous, fun younger sister. Also to the fans, thank you for the amazing support you’ve thrown my way with Red, my version.”
Tyler, the Creator Brings a Blizzard to the AMAs
Tyler, the Creator went for the abstract with his performance of “Massa,” taking the AMAs stage in a fleece-lined hat, puffer jacket and shorts and turning the Xfinity stage into a snow-filled winter wonderland while performing the Call Me If You Get Lost track in front of a ski cottage, later ending the intriguing display by jetting offstage on the back of a moped.
Bad Bunny Goes Futuristic
The Puerto Rican rapper tapped into sci-fi for his performance of “Lo Siento BB:/” alongside Tainy and Julieta Venegas, who appeared during the performance with her face projected onto a piano player’s robot body. Bunny sang the lyrics of the song in a capsule suspended above the Microsoft Theatre crowd wearing a cyclops mask as futuristic images and technological body scans played on LED screens behind him.
BTS Wins Favorite Pop Duo or Group
After taking to the AMA stage to perform “My Universe” with Coldplay, the K-pop superstars accepted the award for favorite pop duo or group — much to the delight of the fans in attendance, who chanted “BTS! BTS!” before they were announced as the winners of the award. RM had the pleasure of making the speech for the group, telling the audience, “It took four years to be on this stage, to get this trophy. We’re actually a small boy band from Korea, just got united by the love of music. All we want to do is spread love and good vibes. Without ARMY, we could have done nothing.”
NKOTB and New Edition’s ‘Battle of Boston’
Boston pride was the name of the game at the AMAs as New Kids on the Block and New Edition took to the awards show’s stage in a throwback performance of their greatest hits. NKOTB opened with “You Got It (Right Stuff)” and later performed “Step By Step,” “Please Don’t Go Girl” and “Hangin’ Tough.” When it was their turn to take the mic, New Edition dazzled the audience with “Mr. Telephone Man,” “Is This the End,” “Can You Stand the Rain” and “If It Isn’t Love,” making for a truly unforgettable AMAs moment.
BTS Closes Out the Night With ‘Butter’
After taking home the coveted artist of the year award, BTS took the stage for a second time with an energetic performance of their Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 track “Butter.” The Bangtan boys wore stylish, all-yellow outfits to sing their hit — minus Megan Thee Stallion, who dropped out of the performance due to an unexpected personal matter — and got the audience on their feet, closing out a night filled with performances from the music industry’s biggest stars.
The American Music Awards are produced by MRC Live & Alternative, which is owned by MRC. MRC and Penske Media are co-parent companies of Billboard.
