2016 American Music Awards Performance Reviews

So this past Sunday night was when the American Music Awards took place. It was hosted by Gigi Hadid and Jay Pharaoh. I actually did really enjoy these two as hosts. Although I never did a review for the MTV Video Music Awards a few months ago, I did find those hosts to be extremely obnoxious. And it just wasn't a good show overall, so I didn't want to waste my time writing what would've probably ended up being a rant-it-out post. But with the AMA's, it was actually really entertaining. I thought we had good hosts that were actually pretty funny. Jay Pharaoh's impressions are always hilarious and I even thought Gigi Hadid's impression of Melania Trump was on point. I may get some hate for thinking that, but honestly I at least have somewhat of a sense of humor, unlike Donald Trump when it comes to all the Saturday Night Live skits about him. But that's a whole other topic I'm not going to get into. You guys are here for performance reviews, so here they are! Enjoy!!!

• Bruno Mars – 24K Magic

Review: When I realized that Bruno Mars was gonna kick the show off, I realized that it would most certainly not be the end of the world if I were to start watching a few minutes late. I found this performance to be a good time to be on my phone. It really was not that interesting. But because I didn't actually watch much of it, that's all I really have to say.

Overall Grade: 3/10

• Niall Horan – This Town

Review: One Direction never really sounded that amazing live, so I wasn't really looking forward to how Niall was going to sound in this performance. Shockingly, he actually sounded really good. It's still a nice, cute song. But it's not really that much of an attention grabber. We had a couple of performances tonight that were really good at grabbing my attention. Unfortunately, this was not one of those. But it was still good.

Overall Grade: 7/10

• Fifth Harmony – That's My Girl

Review: Even though I don't always love Fifth Harmony's music, they got some serious moves. This performances are always fun to watch, mainly because I love their choreography and how well in-sync they are with each other. I thought their voices sounded really good. I loved their energy. They really got the place going. Overall, I thought this was a win for them. And remember how I said there were some performance that really grabbed my attention? This was one of them.

Overall Grade: 9/10

• The Chainsmokers/Halsey – Closer

Review: So all throughout this performance, I actually thought Andrew Taggart was really attractive. But getting to the performance itself, I enjoyed it. Andrew and Halsey's voices really did sound nice together. There wasn't as much touching going on this time around as there was during their performance at the MTV VMA's from a few months back. I thought that one was a little bit more intense. That aside though, I definitely enjoyed this performance. And I still really like the song, so that definitely helps.

Overall Grade: 8.5/10

• James Bay – Let It Go

Review: This was one of those songs that I really didn't like that much at first, but with time, that opinion changes big time. One of the things that made me not like the song at first was the performance of it between James Bay and Tori Kelly at I believe the 2016 Grammy Awards. That was bad. I found James Bay's voice to be VERY irritating. Because I now really like this song, I went into this performance with a much more open mind and I assumed I was going to like it. Not the case. Unfortunately, his voice is still pretty damn annoying live. I didn't really mind the rest of it, but his voice just ruined the performance. Very unfortunate. :/

Overall Grade: 2.5/10

• Shawn Mendes – Treat You Better / Mercy

Review: First off, I'd like to comment on how cute Shawn Mendes was during this performance. He was really cute. Okay. On to the performance itself. Despite me being sick of Treat You Better, I really liked his performance of it. I liked the guitar and I thought his voice sounded really good. Then I thought his performance of Mercy was even better, mainly because I really like that song. But also because I really did feel the emotion he was conveying in his voice, which once again sounded really really good. Honestly I would've loved if it was just a little longer, not only so that I can listen to his amazing voice longer, but so that I can also look at him longer. ;) But this performance is definitely one of the top ones of the night.

Overall Grade: 10/10

• The Weeknd – Starboy

Review: This song is still one of my favorite songs at the moment, so I was definitely looking forward to this performance. And I really did enjoy it. The set was very interesting and I liked the way it changed colors. The Weeknd does have a great voice. Overall, I really enjoyed this performance. But real quick, let's flashback to last year's AMA's when The Weeknd performed The Hills. That performance was absolutely amazing and pretty much topped every single performance he has ever had and probably ever will have. But this performance of Starboy was definitely enjoyable and much better than his performance of In The Night from the Grammy's earlier this year.

Overall Grade: 8.5/10

• Ariana Grande/Nicki Minaj – Side To Side

Review: If you keep up with my reviews of these award show performances, you'd know that I think Ariana Grande always sounds amazing live. That definitely continued with this performance. She really has one hell of a voice that I think sounded really good. And of course, what's an Ariana Grande performance without the shirtless men? Nicki Minaj sounded really good. I love seeing her perform live. I thought this fun performance overall and I love this song, so that helped make it even better. Yet another performance win for both Ariana Grande and Nicki Minaj. :)

Overall Grade: 9/10

• John Legend – Love Me Now

Review: I did originally think this song was kind of mediocre. But after this performance that opinion could potentially change. This performance was definitely filled with a lot of love and I think that's kind of what we needed. I think John Legend sounded pretty good live and this song is growing on me. Overall, pretty enjoyable.

Overall Grade: 8.5/10

• Twenty One Pilots – Heathens / Stressed Out

Review: I thought this performance was torture to my ears. Tyler Joseph sounds awful singing live. And it went on for the entire performance. Throughout the whole thing, all I could think about were how bad the vocals were and I couldn't focus on everything else going on. I did think it got a little better at the end. But for the most part, this performance was not good for the duo. Work on the vocals, Tyler.

Overall Grade: 1.5/10

• Justin Bieber – Let Me Love You

Review: Honestly I don't know if any of Justin Bieber's performances going forward can top his performance at last year's AMA's. His performance of Sorry last year is not really easy to top. For this performance, Justin Bieber was performing from somewhere in Europe as he is currently on tour out there. I was wondering what song he was going to perform, and I was thrilled when I realized it was going to be Let Me Love You. The perform was really fun and cool all throughout. I know pretty much all artists do this, but I kind of prefer when they don't turn the microphone to the audience. I would rather prefer to hear the artist's voice. That's really my only criticism. I know everyone does that at their concerts, but it just kind of bothered me. Other than that, I thoroughly enjoyed this performance. And Justin looked really cute as always. ;)

Overall Grade: 9/10

• Lady Gaga – Million Reasons

Review: First things first, I really liked the set Lady Gaga used. It was different and really interesting. And this performance is a perfect example of why I think Lady Gaga has an amazing voice. Not just in this performance, but in the song itself, she really shows off what she can do with her voice. Aside from her floppy comeback single that I did not like, she is still one of the most talented and inspirational women in the music industry. Whether you like her music or not, she has done a lot for her fans and she has been a part of many different movements to strive for equality across the country. She is an amazing person and she is very talented. This performance definitely showed it. I love this song and the performance was excellent.

Overall Grade: 10/10

• Green Day – Bang Bang

Review: I don't think many people know this about me, but I am definitely a fan of Green Day. American Idiot is probably my favorite album from them with the title track being one of my favorite songs from them along with Holiday, Boulevard Of Broken Dreams, etc. They performed their single, Bang Bang, from their new album, Revolution Radio. I thought they really got the crowd going. It was loud, it was awesome, and I really liked it. And just to make things more interesting, they threw in the chant, "No Trump! No KKK! No Fascist USA!" Obviously, this is one of the biggest controversies of the entire show. But as someone who still doesn't support Trump, I was reciting that chant to myself for the rest of the night. Definitely a stand out performance. Billie Joe Armstrong's vocals were on point. Excellent use of instrumentals. This performance got me really hyped and it really brought the energy. Top notch performance if you ask me.

Overall Grade: 10/10

• Sting – I Can't Stop Thinking About You / Message In A Bottle / Every Breath You Take

Review: This performance was a little long and I was kind of zoning out here and there. I do think Sting is a very talented individual and he looks really good for his age. To be performing at 65 years old isn't always that easy. I actually even thought he was younger just by looking at him. As far as the performance goes, I thought it was pretty good. I kept an open mind since I really didn't know any of the songs and I enjoyed it. It wasn't amazing. But for a man his age, he did a pretty nice job.

Overall Grade: 7.5/10

• DJ Khaled/Nicki Minaj/Rick Ross/Future/August Alsina – Do You Mind

Review: There really wasn't anything about this performance that stood out. Sure, the song isn't as awful as I thought it would be. It was actually somewhat decent. But I caught myself zoning out several times all throughout. I liked Nicki Minaj's part, but that was pretty much it. The rest didn't grab my attention very much. Overall, it was an okay performance. It could've been better, but it definitely could've been worse.

Overall Grade: 6/10

• Maroon 5/Kendrick Lamar – Don't Wanna Know

Review: Hmmm.....this is a rather interesting performance to have at the very end. Last year, we had Justin Bieber closing out the show with a very energetic performance of his comeback singles. This song isn't exactly that brings much energy. It was good, but it didn't really stand out that much. Adam Levine's vocals weren't that amazing. I don't know. I liked it, but at the same time I question if it was a really good decision to save these guys for last. It seems like a performance that would've fit nicely somewhere in the middle. But overall, I did like it.

Overall Grade: 8/10

Alright guys! Those were my reviews for each of the performances for the 2016 American Music Awards! I definitely think that overall the show was really good. I can't even pick five performances that I thought were bad. So that's good. This was much better than the VMA's from a few months ago. But I hope you guys enjoyed reading. That's all I have for you today and I hope you all have a great Thanksgiving! :)

Top 5 Performances

1. TIE: Shawn Mendes – Treat You Better / Mercy

1. TIE: Green Day – Bang Bang

3. Lady Gaga – Million Reasons

4. Fifth Harmony – That's My Girl

5. Ariana Grande/Nicki Minaj – Side To Side

Bottom 5 Performances

1. Twenty One Pilots – Heathens / Stressed Out

2. James Bay – Let It Go

3. Bruno Mars – 24K Magic

4. DJ Khaled/Nicki Minaj/Rick Ross/Future/August Alsina – Do You Mind*

5. Niall Horan – This Town*

*Neither of these were actually bad. They just came next in my rankings.