The fashion at this year’s American Music Awards red carpet was next level. Selena Gomez returned to the limelight in a lime green mini dress and Dua Lipa strutted in Barbie-doll pink. Summer colors seemed to fit the theme with LA’s lack of Fall at this year’s AMA’s.
The day started off strong as the first person to captivate our attention was none other than the “Truth Hurts” singer, Lizzo. It wasn’t the neon orange ruffle mini dress with the one shoulder covered detailing she wore that shocked the crowd; It was the white micro-bag she carried that had us questioning if even a TicTac could fit inside. Lizzo was applauded on all social media platforms for embracing the absurdity of the tiny bag trend amongst other outlandish fashion choices (i.e the giant puffer coat on the cover of Elle or that one time she wore a feather boa to the Met) throughout her reign of 2019. But for me personally, it was her unintentional jaw dropping choice to change from heels to hotel slippers that really got my vote of approval. As soon as she finished taking photos, the plush slippers were impossible to not notice for the short walk to the Microsoft theatre. But hey, that’s why we love Lizzo; She’s unapologetically herself! Just as I thought her arrival couldn’t get any better, we were lucky enough to get a quick wave ‘hello’ just before her team swiftly pushed her through the chaos to get inside the venue for one last mic check before making her first AMA performance debut. While she did look Good As Hell, she surprised her fans when performing the less known song “Jerome.” After belting the ballad leaving her on her knees, the audience stood up in awe. It’s obvious Lizzo knows how to maintain the ‘wow’ factor in an unconventional way.
Another big name who made her debut performance this year would be 17-year-old Billie Eilish. Billie was sure to make a statement with her attire as she wore a t-shirt that read “NO MUSIC ON A DEAD PLANET” while singing “All Good Girls Go To Hell.” The stage appeared to go up in flames as a political message, centered around climate change. The message tied in with the inspiration behind her red carpet look of a high-fashion Beekeeper to spread awareness about the importance of honey bees for the environment. Only Billie Eilish could make an all blinged out, diamond encrusted, Beekeeper head piece (that covered her entire face) look cool. In classic Billie fashion, she stayed par for the course in an oversized matching shirt and pants set in the signature Burberry plaid. To top it all off, her shoes matched as well. Billie’s message of anti-conformity as a young female clearly resonated as she received the ‘New Artist of The Year’ award along with the award for the ‘Favorite in the Alternative / Rock’ category.
Also unpredictable, Ciara (who hosted the evening) passed by in a cobalt blue suit responding “so many” when we asked her how many outfit changes we’d get to see. Camila Cabello simply threw up a hand symbol representing her hometown of Miami as she was rushed into the venue. Camila and her romance with Shawn Mendes was put on display as they won for Best Collaboration after performing their hit single, Seniorita.
The leading men in music really stepped it up when they pulled up to the occasion. Diplo strayed from his typical festival fashion with an unexpected designer MCM western wear suit in burnt orange over a black vest. He rocked a cowboy hat as a nod to first time AMA nominee and winner, Lil Nas X. (Diplo remixed Old Town Road earlier this year and was streamed A LOT.) Straying from the country chic, Lil Nas X didn’t stick to the script. Instead, he joined Selena Gomez in wearing a futuristic, neon green suit with a zebra print shirt.
Other highlights of the night included talking to one of the most popular Youtubers, David Dobrik, about his opinions on the new Tesla Truck and whether or not he’s dating his assistant Natalie. Contrary to popular belief, they say they are “just best friends.”
Another special moment was when Taylor Swift complimented a fellow reporters yellow floral dress when rushing by stating, “I like your dress!” Taylor has had quite the year with her release of Lover. Most notably, Taylor broke the record for most American Music Award wins of all time, surpassing Michael Jackson’s 24 wins as she took home 6 new trophies including ‘Artist of the Decade’ and the biggest award of the night: ‘Artist of the Year.’ While Taylor had some controversy earlier this month over whether she would be able to perform her older songs due to Scooter Braun taking ownership of her previous label record, Big Machine Records, she sang a mash up medley of some of her greatest hits. The mash up wasn’t complete without a T-Swift coded message though. She happily thanked her new record label Universal and Republic and performed a song with many obvious references thought to be written about Scooter called, “The Man.”
The carpet wrapped up with Lauren Jauregui (who hosted the red carpet) looking bomb in a belted snakeskin ball gown, Meg The Stallion exuding the definition of what it means to be “snatched” in a red, floor length, silhouette dress and we even got a ‘smize’ from supermodel, Tyra Banks.
