P!nk pulled double duty at the 2022 American Music Awards on Sunday night (Nov. 20), following her opening performance with a passionate mid-show tribute to Olivia Newton-John and her eternal hit “Hopelessly Devoted to You.”
Wearing an elegant, sparkly dress rife with feathers, P!nk glided through “Hopelessly Devoted to You” and struck a different tone than her first performance of the evening, when she roller skated to her new single “Never Gonna Not Dance Again.” During the tribute, P!nk kept things simple, standing center stage and belting out the classic song as photos of Newton-John were shown on the big screen and fans swayed their arms behind her.
Newton-John passed away in August at the age of 73, leaving behind a pop legacy that included five No. 1 hits on the Hot 100 chart. “Hopelessly Devoted to You” peaked at No. 3 and was one of three top 10 smashes from 1978’s Grease, also earning an Oscar nomination for best original song.
Over the course of her career, Newton-John earned 10 American Music Awards, beginning in 1974 with a favorite album – country win for Let Me Be There. She dominated the favorite female artist categories in the mid-’70s, winning in the pop/rock category in three consecutive years from 1974 to 1976, and she returned to win the category in 1982, following the smash success of her 1981 Hot 100-topper “Physical.”
Meanwhile, P!nk’s “Never Gonna Not Dance Again” precedes her upcoming studio album, Trustfall. Click here to read about her earlier AMAs performance.
Make no “Bones” about it — Imagine Dragons and J.I.D tore up the stage at the 2022 American Music Awards on Sunday (Nov. 20) with their performance of their new single “Enemy.”
Starting out with a solo showcase, Dragons’ frontman Dan Reynolds appeared onstage to perform their latest song “Bones.” Accompanied by a handful of backup dancers and a black shirt that he refused to keep buttoned up for very long, the singer strutted around the gothic grayscale set, playfully singing along to the bouncy track.
Eventually, a splash of color arrived, announcing the transition to the big number. Launching into “Enemy,” Reynolds and his dancers worked the crowd while the set surrounding the band was ablaze. As the cherry on top of the performance, J.I.D made an appearance to deliver his slick verse right at the end, before high-fiving Reynolds and closing out the final chorus.
Imagine Dragons wasn’t simply at the ceremony for a high-octane performance — the Las Vegas rock group was nominated on Sunday in four categories, including favorite pop duo or group, favorite rock artist, favorite rock song for “Enemy” and favorite rock album. J.I.D’s only nomination was with the band for “Enemy.”
The performance was just one in a crowded field of star performers at the show — stars like P!nk, Anitta, Lil Baby, GloRilla, Carrie Underwood, Bebe Rexha, Charlie Puth and more all showed out on the stage on Sunday.
Bad Bunny led all artists at Sunday night’s show with a whopping eight nominations. Other superstars, including Beyoncé, Drake, Taylor Swift, Harry Styles, Adele, The Weeknd and Future, closely followed behind. Keep up to date on who took home which awards here.
GloRilla surprised the crowd at the 2022 American Music Awards Sunday night (Nov. 20) by bringing out Cardi B for the first television performance of “Tomorrow 2.”
In front of a fiery red city skyline, the 23-year-old MC revved up her motorcycle on stage and launched straight into the performance of her Billboard Hot 100 top 10 hit, with her backup dancers gassing her up and their reflective, flashy outfits illuminating the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles. No one was prepared for Cardi to arrive on the scene via a purple convertible and dive into her X-rated section of the song. While the AMAs telecast couldn’t handle the heat and bleeped out the majority of Cardi’s noteworthy verse, the kinship between her and Glo was palpable from the screen as they sweetly tapped each other’s elbows during their impressively coordinated choreography.
Following their set, Glo and Cardi shared a warm embrace for one of the award show’s heartfelt moments. Both rappers were nominated for favorite female hip-hop artist at the 2022 AMAs, but Nicki Minaj took home the award.
Last week, Glo celebrated her first Grammy nomination for the Hitkidd-assisted “F.N.F. (Let’s Go),” which is up for best rap performance. “I’m in disbelief. I don’t think this is happening for real. This crazy,” she told Billboard. “My team let me know, [but] I had to go look it up for myself because I had thought maybe they was playing.” But after this evening’s performance, the hip-hop newcomer continues to prove that this is just the beginning for her.
Lauren Alaina is officially engaged to boyfriend Cam Arnold, the country singer revealed to fans this weekend.
Alaina first made the news public onstage at the Grand Ole Opry on Saturday night (Nov. 19).
“BRIDE be dang’d, y’all,” Alaina, who shifted over to Big Loud Records in July, wrote on Instagram on Sunday. “My best friend, @arnold.cam, asked me to marry him, and I announced it at my favorite place in the world, @opry.”
She added, “I didn’t know happiness and excitement like this existed. I can’t wait to be Mrs. Cameron Scott Arnold.”
In an interview with People, Alaina said of her now-fiancé, “He keeps me grounded and gives me a piece of a normal everyday life that I didn’t have before him. We have been together for two and a half years, and we are just getting started.”
“So happy for you, @laurenalaina,” the Grand Ole Opry account commented on Alaina’s post. “We love you!!!”
“Lucky guy! Super happy for y’all,” Jake Owen wrote in the comments.
“Congrats!!!” Little Big Town commented, while Carly Pearce gushed, “OMG YES SO HAPPY.”
See Alaina’s engagement announcement and happy couple photos on Instagram.
Imagine Dragons chatted with Billboard on the red carpet of the 2022 American Music Awards.
In honor of the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, which kicks off Nov. 20, Billboard has reached out to Latin artists who are big fútbol fans to ask what the sport means to them. For our second installment, we spoke to Ecuadorian pop singer Johann Vera, who is a self-declared soccer aficionado and is ready to support La Selección Ecuatoriana during the tournament. Below, read Vera’s “What Fútbol Means to Me,” as told to Billboard.
My first memory with soccer, now that I’m thinking about it, was in Guayaquil in my house. I liked playing it in my backyard. I have to be honest, I’m not the biggest soccer fan but I understand the euphoria it causes and I’ve lived it, and I think that the feeling doesn’t compare to anything else. I remember that for Ecuador’s first World Cup in 2002, I was about six years old, and remember hearing the entire city screaming “goal” and celebrating. That emotion of seeing an entire country united is not produced by anything else. The country could be facing a bad situation but that goal changes everything.
I’ve always wanted to do a song for my country and I thought it was very important to bring that patriotic feeling. I feel that being an Ecuadorian artist living in the exterior, you realize how important and magical your country is. Ever since I began my career, I had my country and flag very present in everything I do. I worked on “Donde Nací” by myself — it’s a gift that I wanted to give to my country. This song, and the World Cup, bring positivity and joy to my country.
Once the song was done, I wanted to send it to the Ecuadorian Football Federation to see different ways I can promote it. Everyone loved the song but it was too late, and that’s when I changed the song’s chorus to: “They tell me no, I say yes, that’s how we are where I was born.” I believe that I owe this spirit of perseverance 100% to my country. I released the song only on social media, and a lot of people in my country began reacting to it and creating content with it, and I felt, at that moment, that I already won.
I’m a fan of la tri, of my team, because they represent my country. I feel that living in the exterior, your flag weighs more. I may not be the biggest soccer fan in the world but if la tri is playing, I’m there.
I’m confident that this will be the best World Cup for Ecuador. Winning the entire tournament may seem so unreachable, but why not? We have an incredible team. If Ecuador were to win the World Cup, it will signify so much. Going beyond fútbol, I think it will change the situation in our country and will mark a rebirth.
“Protect the rainbow. Taste the rainbow. But please, don’t throw the rainbow,” a full-page print advertisement in the Los Angeles Times reads, Skittles announced on Saturday (Nov. 19). The ad is the brand’s latest reaction to Harry Styles getting an eyeful of Skittles thrown at his face at a concert earlier this week.
On Saturday, the candy brand released a similar image on social media, along with the tweet: “PSA: Protect your eyes from Skittles (by eating them, not throwing them).”
The ad features a large pair of heart-shaped, protective eyewear in homage to Styles’ “Watermelon Sugar” sunglasses.
Styles was hit with Skittles while performing “Kiwi” at the Kia Forum in Inglewood, California, on Monday night (Nov. 14). Footage of the unfortunate moment circulated online, and by Thursday, Skittles issued a bulletin on social media: “Didn’t think I needed to say this: Please don’t throw Skittles,” read the message.
The singer has had a variety of objects aimed his way while performing on his Love On Tour, from chicken nuggets to an unidentified object that hit him in the groin area.
Two very special guests took the stage at Lizzo‘s Friday night (Nov. 18) concert at the Kia Forum in Inglewood, California.
Missy Elliott joined the singer on “Tempo,” from Lizzo’s Cuz I Love You album, and Cardi B reunited with Lizzo for their Hot 100 hit “Rumors.”
“My face after @MissyElliott surprised us last night! Being on stage w you is a DREAM but knowing you is unfathomable! My absolute ICON! I love you 5EVA! thank you!” Lizzo gushed on Saturday on Twitter, where she shared a heartwarming image of the pair embracing in a hug.
“You are one of a kind lizzo & I love watching you perform so much STAMINA!!” Missy wrote back. “You are a Star & the crowd LOVE you! Your HUMILITY & HEART trumps everything! I love you & I am Humbly Grateful to have shared the stage with you.”
“I am a Fan of Cardi B!” Lizzo also tweeted. “I been following her since before love&hiphop… But as much as I fan over her as an artist, who she is as a PERSON is UNMATCHED. @iamcardib thank U for always coming thru for me, for standing up for us when you don’t have to. U the peoples champ! I LOVE U.”
Cardi then wrote, “Lizzo show was amazing !It was very pretty,very positive and I saw Missy Elliot.”
Lizzo returns to the Kia Forum for another show Saturday night, wrapping the North American leg of her tour for 2022.
See a couple fan-filmed clips from the guest appearances at Friday’s show below.




