Rihanna

2016 AMAs: Sting, Bieber, Drake, Rihanna among standouts

Posted on by artsnla

Written by Giavanna Foster

The 2016 American Music Awards is a must-see global awards show that recognizes today’s most influential and iconic artists. Billboard, Nielsen Entertainment, and Next Big Sound measure fan interactions with today’s biggest music artists. The 2016 American Music Awards will feature A-list performers including Ariana Grande, Nicki Minaj, Niall Horan, Bruno Mars, and Fifth Harmony. This year marks Grande’s fourth AMAs performance.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Drake and Rihanna are among this year’s AMA standouts. Drake received 13 nominations, while Rihanna earned 7 nominations. To add, Justin Bieber and Adele both received 5 AMA nominations. Drake broke Michael Jackson’s 32-year record for the most AMA nominations this year. Michael Jackson earned 11 nominations in 1984. This year, Drake received 13 nominations at the AMAs. He is the second artist to earn 10+ nominations for an award show this year. Kendrick Lamar received 11 nominations for the 2016 Grammys. Lamar’s collaboration with Swift, “Bad Blood”, earned 2 nominations that included Best Music Video. Drake’s collaboration with Rihanna, “Work”, is up for 3 nominations this year. “Work” is nominated for collaboration of the year, video of the year, and favorite R&B song.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Justin Bieber is nominated for these AMA categories: Artist of the Year, Favorite Pop/Rock Male Artist, Favorite Pop/Rock Album, Favorite Song – Country and Video of the Year. This year, Bieber has high chances of becoming one of the biggest AMA champions in history. Bieber’s Purpose is the sixth album to hit the No. 1 slot on the Billboard 200. Purpose is his 5th album that sold more than a million copies in the U.S. His catchy hit “Sorry” is nominated for Video of the Year. Also, Bieber is nominated for Artist of the Year. With 89.5 million loyal Twitter fans, Bieber is a contender to win at least one of the categories that he earned a nomination for.

The AMAs sent this tweet about Bieber’s potential to become one of the biggest all-time winners:

Niall Horan will be featured as a solo artist at the 2016 American Music Awards. Horan made his American television solo debut with a performance of “This Town” on the Ellen show. See Niall Horan perform “This Town” on YouTube below:

Niall Horan sent this tweet to announce his AMAs performance:

Sting is the recipient of this year’s AMA Merit Award. Sting tweeted about his incredible achievement with gratitude and honor. See the tweet below:

https://twitter.com/OfficialSting/status/797979436654194692

Gigi Hadid and Jay Pharoah will host the 2016 American Music Awards. This awards show will take place at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles. It will air on ABC this Sunday, November 20, 2016.  It will start at 6PM, PST (pacific standard time). If you’re on the east coast, the AMAs will begin promptly at 8PM, EST (eastern standard time).

 

—– MORE —–

Interested in more @AMAs news? See these links:

AMAs 2016 | Full Nominees List

AMAs 2016 | Full Performers List

 

Rihanna receives Vanguard Award and 2016 MTV Video Music Awards recap

Posted on by artsnla

Written by Giavanna Foster

The 2016 VMAs took place on August 28 at Madison Square Garden in Manhattan, New York. This star-studded event featured the latest trending videos and fan favorites. The list of presenters included Jimmy Fallon, Simone Biles, Laurie Hernandez, Madison Kocian, Aly Raisman, Fifth Harmony, Drake, and Kim Kardashian. Here is the recap:

Rihanna shined bright like a diamond at the VMAs, as she was one of the biggest winners of the evening. She opened and closed the show with a 4-part set that featured a shuffled selection of her hit songs. This list includes “Only Girl (In the World)”, “We Found Love”, and “Diamonds”. Mary J. Blige introduced Rihanna’s closing number,”Love On The Brain”. (Rihanna also performed this soulful tune at the Billboard Music Awards.)

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Also, Rihanna is this year’s Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award recipient. With over 64 million Twitter followers, Rihanna has made her mark in the industry as an international icon that impacts music, pop culture, fashion, film, and philanthropy. She is also the best-selling digital artist. Watch her MTV Vanguard Award speech below:

At 28, Rihanna joins the prestigious list of Vanguard Award recipients that include Justin Timberlake, Madonna, and Britney Spears. Drake presented the Vanguard Award to Rihanna. Drake also delivered a heartfelt and respectful speech. In the speech, he said that Rihanna is “a living, breathing legend”.

8 31 2016 Formation.jpg

Beyoncé was another big winner at the VMAs. This year Beyoncé won 8 VMA awards and she was nominated for 11 categories. “Formation” received 6 awards that include Best Direction and Best Pop Video. It also won the Video of the Year award, which Jimmy Fallon presented to Beyoncé. “Hold Up” received the Best Female Video award. Simone Biles, Laurie Hernandez, Madison Kocian, and Aly Raisman presented this VMA award.

8 31 2016 Hello.jpg

Adele received 8 nominations at this year’s VMAs along with well-deserved recognition on YouTube. Adele’s “Hello” received 7 nominations that include Best Editing, Best Female Video, Cinematography, and Visual Effects. “Hello” has achieved the rare milestone of being featured in the top 10 most viewed YouTube videos of all time. Right now “Hello” stands strong at #6 with 1.7 billion views on YouTube. “Hello” reached 1 billion views on YouTube in 87 days, breaking Psy’s record.

The Chainsmokers and Halsey delivered an intimate performance of “Closer”. Their show featured strategic blue lighting, keyboard players, raw vocals, and lots of confetti at the end. “Closer” debuted at #1 on the iTunes singles chart. It joined Justin Bieber and Ariana Grande, and others in the top 10 iTunes charts.

Then Kim Kardashian announced Britney Spears and G-Eazy‘s entrance to the VMAs stage. They performed “Me, Myself & I” and “Make Me…”, which is from her new album Glory. This performance featured structured choreography and colorful lighting.

Britney thanked her fans by sending a sincere tweet after the show. “Tonight was unforgettable 💫 Thank you and thank you to my amazing fans!”, Spears tweeted.8 31 2016 DNCE Best New Artist.jpg

Fifth Harmony presented the Best New Artist award to DNCE. Then Joe Jonas spoke on behalf of the group. Jonas mentioned the power of creating and evolving as an artist in his speech. The experience of winning Best New Artist was surreal for the group, as they later expressed gratitude towards their fans with this tweet. DNCE’s win proves that tenacity and hard work pays off in the long run. Success is always possible when you make a daily commitment to your dream goals. Don’t stop believing.

Billboard Hot 100 artist Kelly Clarkson announces new release

Posted on by artsnla

Written by Giavanna Foster

Kelly Clarkson is a force to be reckoned with. Clarkson has made history on Billboard with Piece by Piece, the latest album to hit number one on multiple charts. She is the first singer to score 100 number one compiled hits on Billboard. Carrie Underwood currently has 83 number one hits on Billboard, and she will be the second Idol contestant to achieve this incredible feat. Kelly Clarkson and Carrie Underwood have scored over 50 number one hits on Billboard. As a result, Idol has produced a grand total of 458 Billboard hits. Both artists prove that Idol can consistently produce number one songs.

Kelly Clarkson is currently an artist under Atlantic Records. On June 24, Clarkson announced that she will sign a long-term worldwide deal with Atlantic. Clarkson is working on her upcoming R&B album, which is inspired by soul and R&B (rhythm-and-blues) music. This album is Clarkson’s dream project, as she aspired to make a soul record since she was a little girl. “We have already started creating a record that I have been wanting to make since I was a little girl, and a record that fans have been asking me to make for years. Here’s to the future!” the original Idol said in a statement. Kelly Clarkson’s soul record will be released in 2017. Clarkson posted four fan-requested covers here to celebrate Clarkson’s deal with Atlantic Records.

With 10.9 million Twitter fans, Kelly Clarkson is an inspirational powerhouse vocalist and positive role model. She demonstrates the meaning of hard work and determination with her impressive career as a solo artist. Clarkson is a team player as she always builds a long-lasting relationship with her fans by singing requested covers and communicating empowering messages in every performance.

Kelly Clarkson has earned her rightful spot in Billboard’s Greatest of All Time Hot 100 Artists list. Kelly Clarkson is featured with other celebrities that include Rihanna, Taylor Swift, Justin Timberlake, Celine Dion, and Bruno Mars. Clarkson’s monumental success story proves that goals and dreams can be achieved with confidence and tenacity.

Take a look at Kelly Clarkson’s Twitter celebration here.

 

Read More