The American Music Awards (AMAs) for 2014 have just concluded and we are so stoked to announce that multiple awards have been given to Aussie artists.
Arriving with zero surprise is Iggy Azalea in her record breaking year, took home not one but two awards for the evening. The New South Wales turn US resident edged out Detroit icon Eminem and the Australian bound Drake in categories Favourite Rap/Hiphop Artist and Favourite Rap/Hiphop Album for her debut record The New Classic, as Billboard reports.
Delivering her winners speech, a stunned Azalea said the following, “This award is the first award I’ve ever won in my entire life, and means so much to me that it is for best hiphop, because that’s what inspired me to move to American and pursue my dreams.”
Adding a slight spice of subtle humour to her victory, Azalea spoke of Eminem, whom just a week ago had deemed an old man who threatens young women, stating “It means so much that I can stand here against Eminem and Drake and come out with this” get ’em, Ig.
The emcee was not the only Aussie youngster to walk away with an AMA in hand, with pop-punkers 5 Seconds Of Summer being awarded New Artist Of The Year over Iggy Azalea, Sam Smith, Bastille and Meghan Trainor. Although pitted against some massive names in the industry, one must remember that these guys have well and truly broke internationally, selling half a million records in the US in just three months.
Our Aussies have won their awards based on the following selection criteria set out by the AMAs, “American Music Awards nominees are based on key fan interactions as reflected in Billboard Magazine and on Billboard.com, including album and digital singles sales, radio airplay, streaming and social activity. These measurements are tracked by Billboard and its data partners, including Nielsen Entertainment and Next Big Sound.”
Clearly, Australian artists have smashed it both on home soil and internationally too in 2014. You can’t go past Sia soaring to #1 on the charts, we’ve had multiple musicians in the most streamed songs of the year, an artist was named one of the most influential teens in the world as well as our indie pop acts killing it on the Ellen show and of course the Australian annexation of UK, US and European music festivals.
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Jump over to Billboard for a comprehensive wrap-up.
AMA 2014 Winners
Artist Of The Year
Iggy Azalea
Beyoncé
Luke Bryan
Eminem
Imagine Dragons
John Legend
Lorde
One Direction — WINNER
Katy Perry
Pharrell Williams
Favorite Album – Country
Garth Brooks, Blame It On My Roots: Five Decades of Influences
Eric Church, The Outsiders
Brantley Gilbert, Just As I Am — WINNER
Favorite Artist – Rap/Hip-Hop
Iggy Azalea — WINNER
Drake
Eminem
New Artist Of The Year Presented By Kohl’s
5 Seconds of Summer — WINNERS
Iggy Azalea
Bastille
Sam Smith
Meghan Trainor
Favorite Artist – Alternative Rock
Bastille
Imagine Dragons — WINNER
Lorde
Favorite Female Artist – Pop/Rock
Iggy Azalea
Lorde
Katy Perry — WINNER
Favorite Album – Pop/Rock
Lorde, “Pure Heroine”
One Direction, “Midnight Memories” — WINNER
Katy Perry, “Prism”
Favorite Male Artist – Country
Jason Aldean
Luke Bryan — WINNER
Blake Shelton
Favorite Male Artist – Pop/Rock
John Legend
Sam Smith — WINNER
Pharrell Williams
Favorite Artist – Latin
Marc Anthony
Enrique Iglesias — WINNER
Romeo Santos
Favorite Album – Rap/Hip-Hop
Iggy Azalea, The New Classic — WINNER
Drake, Nothing Was The Same
Eminem, The Marshall Mathers LP 2
Favorite Band, Duo Or Group – Pop/Rock
Imagine Dragons
One Direction — WINNER
OneRepublic
Single Of The Year
Iggy Azalea Featuring Charli XCX, “Fancy”
John Legend, “All of Me”
MAGIC!, “Rude”
Katy Perry Featuring Juicy J, “Dark Horse” — WINNER
Pharrell Williams, “Happy”
Favorite Female Artist – Country
Miranda Lambert
Kacey Musgraves
Carrie Underwood — WINNER
Favorite Band, Duo Or Group – Country
Eli Young Band
Florida Georgia Line — WINNER
Lady Antebellum
Favorite Male Artist – Soul/R&B
Chris Brown
John Legend — WINNER
Pharrell Williams
Favorite Female Artist – Soul/R&B
Jhene Aiko
Beyoncé — WINNER
Mary J. Blige
Favorite Album – Soul/R&B
Beyoncé, Beyoncé — WINNER
John Legend, Love in the Future
Pharrell Williams, G I R L
Favorite Artist – Adult Contemporary
Sara Bareilles
OneRepublic
Katy Perry — WINNER
Favorite Artist – Contemporary Inspirational
Casting Crowns — WINNER
Hillsong United
Newsboys
Favorite Artist – Electronic Dance Music (Edm)
Avicii
Calvin Harris — WINNER
Zedd
Top Soundtrack
Frozen — WINNER
The Fault In Our Stars
Guardians of the Galaxy: Awesome Mix, Vol. 1