Country United States Runtime 180 min. Date 22 November 2009 | Network ABC Other ceremonies 2008, 2010 | |
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Location Microsoft Theater, Los Angeles, California, United States | ||
The 37th American Music Awards took place on November 22, 2009 at the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles, California. The nominees were announced on October 13, 2009. For the first time in history, there was no host for the year's ceremony. Instead, various celebrities introduced the performers similar to the procedure at the Grammy Awards. Taylor Swift won five of six categories she was nominated for. Jay-Z and The Black Eyed Peas both won two awards. Michael Jackson's brother Jermaine Jackson accepted his awards on his behalf.
Contents
- Performers
- Presenters
- Nominations and winners
- General
- PopRock
- Country
- RapHip Hop
- SoulRB
- Soundtrack
- Alternative
- Adult
- Latin
- Inspirational
- Adam Lamberts performance
- Nominations of Michael Jackson
- References
Performers
Taylor Swift "You Belong With Me"
Presenters
Nominations and winners
Winners are noted in bold.
General
Taylor Swift won five awards of six nominations she was nominated for.
Pop/Rock
Favorite Pop/Rock Male Artist
Favorite Pop/Rock Female Artist
Favorite Pop/Rock Band/Duo/Group
Favorite Pop/Rock Album
Country
Favorite Country Male Artist
Favorite Country Female Artist
Favorite Country Band/Duo/Group
Favorite Country Album
Rap/Hip Hop
Favorite Rap/Hip Hop Male Artist
Favorite Rap/Hip Hop Album
Soul/R&B
Favorite Soul/R&B Male Artist
Favorite Soul/R&B Female Artist
Favorite Soul/R&B Band, Duo or Group
Favorite Soul/R&B Album
Soundtrack
Favorite Soundtrack
Alternative
Favorite Alternative Artist
Adult
Favorite Adult Contemporary Artist
Latin
Favorite Latin Artist
Inspirational
Favorite Contemporary Inspirational Artist
Adam Lambert's performance
In response to Adam Lambert's performance of his song "For Your Entertainment" at the end of the 2009 American Music Awards broadcast on ABC, the Parents Television Council, a conservative television watchdog group, urged viewers to complain to the FCC if living in an area where the performance was shown before 10 p.m. local time. The PTC complained that the performance contained a simulation of oral sex. Lambert's performance reportedly was broadcast around 11 p.m. Eastern and Pacific time, "outside the FCC's usual 6am-10pm time frame prohibiting the broadcast of indecent material". ABC also received about 1,500 telephoned complaints.
In a report by Lambert, he had been scheduled to also perform on fellow ABC programs Jimmy Kimmel Live! and Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve with Ryan Seacrest 2010 (the latter also being produced by Dick Clark Productions), but found out that these bookings were cancelled, possibly in response to the incident. Neither ABC or Dick Clark Productions confirmed his reports, or confirmed if he was ever booked at all.
Nominations of Michael Jackson
After his death in June 2009, Michael Jackson was nominated for five posthumous awards: Artist of the Year, Favorite Pop/Rock Male Artist, Favorite Pop/Rock Album (for Number Ones), Favorite Soul/R&B Male Artist and Favorite Soul/R&B Album (also for Number Ones). This move was subsequently criticized by those who felt that the awards committee was piggybacking on the hype of Jackson's death for ratings and media coverage purposes, and that his nomination was unfair to artists who had brought out newer material to equal success, such as Lady Gaga and Taylor Swift. Not helping matters was the fact that Number Ones was a greatest-hits compilation released in 2003 (six years before that year's awards show), and not only had Jackson not released any new material since "One More Chance" (the sole new recording on that album), but he had already won several American Music Awards for the songs featured on Number Ones. LA Times insisted that "if fans thought it was an injustice that Kanye West had the audacity to interrupt Swift accepting a 'Moon Man' at the MTV Video Music Awards, then they should be ready to riot if she's now losing awards to artists who haven't had a new song in nearly a decade." Jackson went on to win four of his five nominations, only losing out on Artist of the Year, which was won by Swift.
