American Music Awards
Did anyone watch the AMAs on Sunday night?
I thought most of the performances were boring. Fergie was given way too much time. Those female mannequins onstage with will.i.am were too risque for the 8 o'clock hour. That gal from the Pussycat Dolls is overrated. Maroon 5 was bland beyong belief.
Surprisingly, a jolt of energy finally came from Jonas Brothers, of all people. When those teenage girls ran through Nokia Theatre to provide an instant crowd and three panels of broken glass signaled the brothers' arrival, I said, 'now that's an entrance.' One of them even recovered well from stumbling on the glass.
When Sugarland started singing, I figured it was a new song since I didn't recognize it (I interviewed them for Stagecoach Fest last May). Then Beyonce came along to ruin the countryfied version of her tune. Doesn't this woman know how to tone it down? Giving her a lifetime achievement award just shows how meaningless the AMAs are (and people complain about the Grammys).
It was cool to see Duran Duran get two songs: the sleek new single from "Red Carpet Massacre" and a classic voted on by cell phone users or something ("Hungry Like the Wolf"). Singer Simon LeBon really went out his way to shake Slash's hand as the Velvet Revolver guitarist took the stage to present an award with Scott Weiland. Slash seemed to say, 'sorry man, I've got to do this right now.'
Host Jimmy Kimmel wasn't the least bit funny. The writer's strike didn't help.