Making for quite the star-studded spectacle, the 40th American Music Awards took place at Nokia Theatre LA Live in Los Angeles, CA on Sunday night. The annual musical showcase featured plenty of action, with the big winner of the ceremony being Justin Bieber – who picked up three trophies including Pop/Rock Male Artist, Pop/Rock Album and the grandest of all prizes as Artist of the Year.
Fresh off of a split from now ex-girlfriend Selena Gomez, the 18-year-old – who took his mom as his AMAs date – told the crowd upon winning his first trophy, “I want to say this is for all the haters who thought I was just here for one or two years. I feel like I’m going to be here for a very long time.” Other triumphant artists included Nicki Minaj with two trophies for Rap Hip Hop Artist and Rap Hip Hop Album for “Roman Reloaded” while Katy Perry nabbed Pop/Rock Female honors and Carly Rae Jepsen landed the title of Best New Artist.
The complete list of 2012 American Music Awards winners is as follows, with pictures from the show found beneath this year’s honorees.
ARTIST OF THE YEAR
WINNER: Justin Bieber
Drake
Maroon 5
Katy Perry
Rihanna
NEW ARTIST OF THE YEAR
J. Cole
fun.
Gotye
WINNER: Carly Rae Jepsen
One Direction
FAVORITE MALE ARTIST – POP/ROCK
WINNER: Justin Bieber
Flo Rida
Pitbull
Usher
FAVORITE FEMALE ARTIST – POP/ROCK
Kelly Clarkson
Nicki Minaj
WINNER: Katy Perry
Rihanna
FAVORITE BAND, DUO OR GROUP – POP/ROCK
WINNER: Maroon 5
One Direction
The Wanted
FAVORITE ALBUM – POP/ROCK
WINNER: Justin Bieber, “Believe”
Maroon 5, “Overexposed”
Nicki Minaj, “Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded”
One Direction, “Up All Night”
FAVORITE MALE ARTIST – COUNTRY
Jason Aldean
WINNER: Luke Bryan
Eric Church
FAVORITE FEMALE ARTIST – COUNTRY
Miranda Lambert
WINNER: Taylor Swift
Carrie Underwood
FAVORITE BAND, DUO or GROUP – COUNTRY
Zac Brown Band
WINNER: Lady Antebellum
Rascal Flatts
FAVORITE ALBUM – COUNTRY
Luke Bryan, “Tailgates & Tanlines”
Lionel Richie, “Tuskegee”
WINNER: Carrie Underwood, “Blown Away”
FAVORITE ARTIST – RAP/HIP-HOP
Drake
WINNER: Nicki Minaj
Tyga
FAVORITE ALBUM – RAP/HIP-HOP
J. Cole, “Cole World: The Sideline Story”
Drake, “Take Care”
WINNER: Nicki Minaj, “Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded”
FAVORITE MALE ARTIST – SOUL/R&B
Chris Brown
Trey Songz
WINNER: Usher
FAVORITE FEMALE ARTIST – SOUL/R&B
WINNER: Beyoncé
Mary J. Blige
Rihanna
FAVORITE ALBUM – SOUL/R&B
Chris Brown, “Fortune”
Rihanna, “Talk That Talk”
WINNER: Usher, “Looking 4 Myself”
FAVORITE ARTIST – ALTERNATIVE ROCK
The Black Keys
Gotye
WINNER: Linkin Park
FAVORITE ARTIST – ADULT CONTEMPORARY
WINNER: Adele
Kelly Clarkson
Train
FAVORITE ARTIST – LATIN
Don Omar
Pitbull
WINNER: Shakira
FAVORITE ARTIST – CONTEMPORARY INSPIRATIONAL
Jeremy Camp
Newsboys
WINNER: tobyMac
FAVORITE ARTIST – ELECTRONIC DANCE MUSIC (EDM)
WINNER: David Guetta
Calvin Harris
Skrillex
Via: Gossipcenter