Get all your news in one place.

100's of premium titles.
One app.

Start reading

Get all your news in one place.

100's of premium titles. One news app.

Start reading

The Guardian - AU

Entertainment

Monica Tan

Iggy Azalea wins at American Music Awards, beating Eminem in hip-hop

Iggy Azalea accepts the award for favourite rap/hip-hop album for The New Classic, with producer T.I. — Iggy Azalea accepts the award for favourite rap/hip-hop album for The New Classic, alongside producer T.I. Photograph: Mario Anzuoni/Reuters

Australian rapper Iggy Azalea has won favourite rap/hip-hop album and best rap artist at the 2014 American Music Awards. Joining her on the winners list were compatriots 5 Seconds of Summer, who took out new artist of the year.

Azalea, and her debut studio album The New Classic, beat industry veterans Eminem and Drake to take both hip-hop categories at the awards ceremony, held at LA’s Nokia Theatre.

In a short but emotional speech, the 24-year-old artist said it was the first time in her life she had been awarded a prize.

“And it means so much to me that it is for best hip-hop, because that’s what inspired me to move to America and pursue my dreams. It’s what helped me when I was a teenager to escape and to get through my life and to better times.”

Michael Clifford, Luke Hemmings, Ashton Irwin and Calum Hood of 5 Seconds of Summer at the American Music Awards. Photograph: Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic

The win comes after Azalea hit back at the leak of an explicit new track from Eminem, which includes the words: “Put that shit away, Iggy. You don’t wanna blow that rape whistle on me.”

Azalea took to Twitter to say she was bored with “old men threatening young women as entertainment” and that she was more interested in the “young women getting $ trend”.

She added, “women in music have the bigger balls anyhow, we endure much more harassment and critic.”

However, her acceptance speech gave no hint of the fracas, with Azalea adding: “It means so much that I can stand here against Eminem and Drake and come out with this”, before acknowledging her album’s producer, T.I.

Taylor Swift opened the night with her song Blank Space and was awarded the new Dick Clark award for excellence. Her speech has been widely read as a continuation of her recent opposition to the use of streaming services in music.

In thanking her fans, the American singer said “what you did by going out and investing in music and albums is you are saying that you believe in the same thing that I believe in: that music is valuable and music should be consumed in albums and albums should be consumed as art and appreciated.”

Other performers from the night included Ariana Grande, Jessie J, Nicki Minaj, Mary J Blige, Lorde and Sam Smith.

Azalea also starred in the television event finale, performing with Jennifer Lopez in her song Booty. It followed an earlier performance of her No 1 hit Fancy, with Charli XCX, described by The Guardian’s Alex Needham as: “a big production number with tons of dancers and costume changes but most importantly, genuinely charismatic singers/rappers.”

5 Seconds of Summer also performed a cover of The Romantics song What I Like About You. Upon accepting their best new artist award, drummer Ashton Irwin said, “this just shows a little band from Sydney can do great things.”

But it was another boy band from a different continent, UK’s One Direction, who took out the top award of the night, artist of the year. The five-piece band also won favourite group and favourite album in the pop/rock categories.

Both groups, along with Charli XCX and Katy Perry, will be appearing at Australia’s most important music awards, the Arias, on Wednesday evening.

Perry is already in Australia for her Prismatic tour, and was thus unable to accept her three awards from the night: favourite female pop/rock artist, favourite adult contemporary artist and single of the year for Dark Horse, featuring Juicy J.

One Direction pick up their American Music Award for favourite pop/rock album. Photograph: Image Group LA/Getty Images

Artist of the year

Iggy Azalea
Beyoncé
Luke Bryan
Eminem
Imagine Dragons
John Legend
Lorde
WINNER: One Direction
Katy Perry
Pharrell Williams

Favourite album – country

Garth Brooks, Blame It On My Roots: Five Decades of Influences
Eric Church, The Outsiders
WINNER: Brantley Gilbert, Just As I Am

Favourite artist – rap/hip-hop

WINNER: Iggy Azalea
Drake
Eminem

New artist of the year

WINNER: 5 Seconds of Summer
Iggy Azalea
Bastille
Sam Smith
Meghan Trainor

Favourite artist – alternative rock

Bastille
WINNER: Imagine Dragons
Lorde

Favourite female artist – pop/rock

Iggy Azalea
Lorde
WINNER: Katy Perry

Favourite album – pop/rock

Lorde, Pure Heroine
WINNER: One Direction, Midnight Memories
Katy Perry, Prism

Favourite male artist – country

Jason Aldean
WINNER: Luke Bryan
Blake Shelton

Favourite male artist – pop/rock

John Legend
WINNER: Sam Smith
Pharrell Williams

Favourite artist – Latin

Marc Anthony
WINNER: Enrique Iglesias
Romeo Santos

Favourite album – rap/hip-hop

WINNER: Iggy Azalea, The New Classic
Drake, Nothing Was The Same
Eminem, The Marshall Mathers LP 2

Favourite band, duo or group – pop/rock

Imagine Dragons
WINNER: One Direction
OneRepublic

Single of the year

Iggy Azalea Featuring Charli XCX, Fancy
John Legend, All of Me
MAGIC!, Rude
WINNER: Katy Perry featuring Juicy J, Dark Horse
Pharrell Williams, Happy