One World: Together at Home, streamed live on 18 April, will support UN response fund
Lady Gaga is to curate One World: Together at Home, a live-streamed and televised benefit concert in support of the World Health Organizations Covid-19 solidarity response fund and in celebration of health workers around the world.
The lineup includes Lady Gaga, Billie Eilish and her brother Finneas, Lizzo, J Balvin, Stevie Wonder, Paul McCartney, Billie Joe Armstrong of Green Day, Alanis Morissette, Burna Boy, Andrea Bocelli, Chris Martin of Coldplay, Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam, Elton John, John Legend, Kacey Musgraves, Keith Urban and Lang Lang.
The US talk show hosts Jimmy Fallon, Jimmy Kimmel and Stephen Colbert will host the event, which broadcasts live across the US television networks ABC, CBS and NBC, as well as being streamed online, at 8pm EST on 18 April.
BBC One will show an adapted version of the concert on 19 April, including exclusive performances from UK artists and interviews with frontline health workers. The details of the broadcast are yet to be announced.
Other celebrities expected to appear include David Beckham, Idris and Sabrina Elba, Kerry Washington, Priyanka Chopra Jonas, Shah Rukh Khan and Sesame Street cast members.
The WHO and the social action platform Global Citizen have partnered to produce the event. The latters Together at Home series, launched last month, has featured performances from artists in isolation including Shawn Mendes, Camila Cabello and Rufus Wainwright.
In a WHO press conference, Lady Gaga said she had helped to raise $35m (28m) for Global Citizen in the past week. She clarified that One World was not a fundraising telethon and would focus on entertainment and messages of solidarity, with philanthropists and businesses urged to donate to the Covid-19 solidarity response fund ahead of the event.
The WHOs general director, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said:We may have to be apart physically for a little while, but we can still come together virtually to enjoy great music. The One World: Together at Home concert represents a powerful show of solidarity against a common threat.
This article was amended on 6 April 2020. Lady Gaga stated that philanthropists and businesses were being urged to donate to the organisation, rather than fans as an earlier version said. This has been corrected.
Lizzo, who is known for fighting negativity in regards to her appearance, posted a clip accusing TikTok of deleting her videos
Lizzo has accused the social media app TikTok of body shaming after it deleted multiple videos of her in a bathing suit.
TikTok keeps taking down my videos with me in my bathing suits, she wrote in the clip she posted on TikTok. But allows other videos with girls in bathing suits. I wonder why? TikTok … we need to talk. The clip has received over 8m views on TikTok.
A TikTok spokesperson told the Guardian that Lizzos videos were not removed because she was wearing a bathing suit. They cited other violations, including sexual gratification, that lead to a moderator initially banning the videos. The spokesperson specifically cited one video that featured Lizzo lifting up her dress to reveal her undergarments. There was initial confusion over what the garments were. After officials at TikTok spoke to Lizzos team, and the undergarments were confirmed to be Spanx, not underwear, the videos were reinstated exactly as they were originally uploaded. We love Lizzos creativity, the spokesperson said. And the videos were originally removed because of other violations, not a bathing suit.
The Juice singer has worked hard to combat negative comments and attitudes towards her physical appearance. Last year, Lizzo received a flurry of attacks for wearing an ass-less dress and thong to an NBA game. Never ever let somebody stop you or shame you from being yourself, she said in response to the attacks. This is who Ive always been. Now everyones looking at it, and your criticism can just remain your criticism. Your criticism has no effect on me.
Lizzo also shrugged off the controversial comments fitness expert Jillian Michaels made on the body-positivity movement surrounding the singer. (Why are we celebrating her body? Why does it matter? Why arent we celebrating her music? Cause it isnt gonna be awesome if she gets diabetes. Michaels said during a morning news segment.)
TikTok is not the first social media platform Lizzo has taken issue with. Last year, she quit Twitter due to severe bullying and online trolls.
TikTok has come under fire before for its censorship of users content. In November, Washington DC officials held hearings over the app censoring political content. And last year, officials at TikTok admitted to censoring offensive content in an effort to curb bullying towards users who are fat, disabled, LGBTQ+, and/or people of color.
Social media platforms have long faced accusations of unfairly censoring womens bodies, with many womens rights groups calling the decisions sexist. Instagram has come under fire for heavily deleting photos that feature womens nipples. The Free the Nipple movement rages on the app multiple artists and celebrities, including Rihanna, Kim Kardashian, and Chrissy Teigen have challenged the censorship rule with their own buzzed-about, scandalous photos. In 2015, Milk and Honey poet Rupi Kaur gained notoriety for challenging Instagrams ban on period blood by posting her own.
Billie Eilish and Lizzo are competing for a string of the top prizes, but could the likes of Ariana Grande, Lana Del Rey and Rosala cause upsets?
Noise threatens to drown out the music at the 2020 Grammy awards. A line had been drawn under the tone-deaf leadership of Neil Portnow, who had presided over the ceremony since 2002 between 2013 and 2018, Grammy winners were 91% male, but, after a 2018 ceremony where men swept the board again, Portnow said it was on women to step up and create opportunities for themselves.
A woman, Deborah Dugan, replaced him; a taskforce was appointed, and in December they published their report, calling for greater diversity in the Academy voters. Any hopes that they had moved on, though, were scotched last week by Dugan being suspended for alleged misconduct; Dugan countered by saying she had been sexually harassed, that the Academy had covered up an alleged rape by Portnow, and that the voting was corrupt.
So we go into this years ceremony more jaded than ever, but the irony is that, no matter how poisonous the Academy is and regardless of whether it is rigged or not, we ended up with a much more diverse range of nominees this year. Leading the pack are Lizzo with eight noms and Billie Eilish and Lil Nas X with six each a vibrantly youthful and non-conformist trio. But will the Academy members shake off the past and vote for the future?
Record of the year
Bon Iver Hey, Ma Billie Eilish Bad Guy Ariana Grande 7 Rings HER Hard Place Khalid Talk Lil Nas X ft Billy Ray Cyrus Old Town Road Lizzo Truth Hurts Post Malone & Swae Lee Sunflower
Aside from the merely pleasant HER and Khalid tracks, this is a strong field. While lots of eyes are on Lizzo and Eilish, this could perhaps be Ariana Grandes year. Its her first time with nominations in the big four categories rather than being patronised in the pop awards and, with its My Favourite Things melody, doddering Academy voters might listen to 7 Rings and say: Hey, its one I know! Triumphant earworm Old Town Road is the longest-running No 1 in US history; Bad Guy is a showcase of the kind of fiendish genius usually employed by Hollywood horror movies to construct elaborate ways for teenagers to get killed. But an Academy eager to telegraph its modernity might go for Lizzo: Truth Hurts is a great underdog story, reaching No 1 two years after release, and her charisma is near universally infectious.
Will win: Lizzo Truth Hurts Should win: Billie Eilish Bad Guy
Album of the year
Bon Iver i, i Lana Del Rey Norman Fucking Rockwell! Billie Eilish When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? Ariana Grande Thank U, Next HER I Used to Know Her Lil Nas X 7 Lizzo Cuz I Love You (Deluxe) Vampire Weekend Father of the Bride
This is Grandes best chance of a big win. Thank U, Next is a superbly realised almost-concept album about heartache, grief and moving on that can be witty, even caustic, but never cruel it sealed her as one of the three or four definitive pop stars of our time. Lizzo, HER and Lil Nas X are hampered with too much 6/10 material across their albums; Lana Del Rey was the critical hit of the year and will certainly beat out fellow Pitchfork darlings Bon Iver and Vampire Weekend, but may not cut through to the more august and mainstream Academy members. Eilish was the inescapable pop-cultural breakthrough of the year, and her album has such terrific range and invention. She will, hopefully, squeak this.
Will win: Billie Eilish Should win: Billie Eilish
Song of the year
Lady Gaga Always Remember Us This Way Billie Eilish Bad Guy Tanya Tucker Bring My Flowers Now HER Hard Place Taylor Swift Lover Lana Del Rey Norman Fucking Rockwell Lewis Capaldi Someone You Loved Lizzo Truth Hurts
Piano-driven ballads dominate the songwriting category, including Taylor Swifts only big nomination. Lover is such classic American songcraft, though Lewis Capaldis powerful Someone Like You is the best of these ballads and it would be a British win to remember. Eilish is streets ahead in terms of songwriting innovation and should win for that Duh! alone. But, while Truth Hurts most famous lyric (I just took a DNA test, turns out Im 100% that bitch) may have been plagiarised and its British author later added to the credits, Lizzo has this sewn up. The lyrics are hilarious, and it is a massively successful example of that new school of songwriting where a single melody is repeated over and over until the brainwashed public is involuntarily chanting it and then clawing hopelessly at their faces.
Will win: Lizzo Truth Hurts Should win: Billie Eilish Bad Guy
New artist
Black Pumas Billie Eilish Lil Nas X Lizzo Maggie Rogers Rosala Tank and the Bangas Yola
Nice to see some country-soul curveballs here in the excellent Black Pumas and Yola, though the less said the better about the tune-free Tank and the Bangas at any rate, theyre all making up the numbers. Maggie Rogers didnt really break beyond her fanbase with her underrated debut album, and Im sure the Academy will see Lil Nas X merely as a two-hit wonder. Lizzos debut album came out in 2013, whereas Eilish has only just turned 18 and feels like the rightful owner of this award. But you can bet than every Latinx voter is going to be going for the astoundingly talented Rosala, who won big at the Latin Grammys and could cause an upset here.
Will win: Billie Eilish Should win: Billie Eilish
Pop solo performance
Beyonc Spirit Billie Eilish Bad Guy Ariana Grande 7 Rings Lizzo Truth Hurts Taylor Swift You Need to Calm Down
Just as performances where you cry, shout and climb inside the carcass of a bear win you Oscars, the leading pop award rather behoves you to give it some welly not for nothing has Adele won it three times. Eilish and Grandes variously murmured and chatted performances will appear to the Academy like weirdo arthouse choices here, and even Swift is in a relatively conversational mode. Beyoncs ponderous Spirit was the lame old wildebeest eaten by the younger jackals on the Lion King soundtrack, so this is Lizzos to lose.
Will win: Lizzo Should win: Billie Eilish
Rock performance
Bones UK Pretty Waste Gary Clark Jr This Land Brittany Howard History Repeats Karen O & Danger Mouse Woman Rival Sons Too Bad
Anyone looking for evidence of backroom dealing in the Academy might well make Bones UK their exhibit A: Pretty Waste is the kind of creative vacuum beloved only of nihilistically cocaine-addicted LA music industry execs looking for something to soundtrack rock bottom. The rest is pretty good. Rival Sons riffs and hollering make them the most tangibly rock thing here Karen O essays 60s pop, and Brittany Howards History Repeats is a kind of bluesy funk tune, but with mainstream rock stranded out on a sandbar while rappers and pop stars taunt it on jetskis, they need to blur the genre lines. Gary Clark Jr could edge this with his politically charged This Land, half-rapped over a heavily skanking backing.
Will win: Gary Clark Jr Should win: Rival Sons
Rap performance
J Cole Middle Child DaBaby Suge Dreamville feat JID, Bas, J Cole, Earthgang & Young Nudy Down Bad Nipsey Hussle feat Roddy Ricch & Hit-Boy Racks in the Middle Offset feat Cardi B Clout
Many voters hearts will go with Nipsey Hussle, whose murder last year robbed the world of a skilful, soulful MC who united backpacker hip-hoppers and mainstream rap fans. Racks in the Middle also features Roddy Rich, who has broken through spectacularly over the last year. But the track pales next to two others here: DaBabys Suge is a slowly prowling piece of minimalism that makes Offset sound fussily overworked in comparison; its ridiculous that DaBaby isnt up for best new artist. He is rather damaged goods after a series of run-ins with the law, however. That could hand Middle Child the win, on which J Cole raps as if hes high-stepping across the surface of a lake, his triplet time full of balletic grace.
Will win: J Cole Should win: DaBaby
Country solo performance
Tyler Childers All Yourn Ashley McBryde Girl Goin Nowhere Willie Nelson Ride Me Back Home Blake Shelton Gods Country Tanya Tucker Bring My Flowers Now
If you scoff at country, youll probably always scoff at country, but this spread of songs shows off the admirable breadth of the genre and may pique your interest yet. Willie Nelsons song is a bit something-and-nothing; Tanya Tuckers Bring My Flowers Now is nominated in the song of the year category, and its live-for-today message and simple piano backing will appeal across the Academy, but its rather workmanlike. Ashley McBryde outdoes her in the ballad stakes, but its Tyler Childers and Blake Shelton both strongly channelling the gospel and soul music that not so secretly underpins country who are the strongest here. Childers song would make for a classy first wedding dance, while Sheltons stirring ode to proud Christian labour, while deeply unfashionable, will have you gazing soulfully across a cornfield.
Eighteen-year-old Billie Eilish took home the Grammys biggest awards on a night marked by tributes to Kobe Bryant, Nipsey Hussle and more
Billie Eilish reigned supreme at the Grammys on Sunday night, winning five awards including best new artist, album of the year and song of the year for Bad Guy a high point for Generation Z on a night otherwise defined by solemnity for those who have passed too soon.
The shadow of basketball legend Kobe Bryant, who died in a helicopter crash with his 13-year-old daughter Gianna and seven others mere hours before the show, loomed large over a ceremony held at the Staples Center in which he played for the Los Angeles Lakers for over 20 years. Were all feeling crazy sadness right now, said returning host Alicia Keys to a room in which Bryants retired jersey numbers shone brightly overhead. Were literally standing here heartbroken in the house that Kobe Bryant built.
Bryants death marred a ceremony already jaded by controversy surrounding the awards governing Recording Academy. The Academys president, Deborah Dugan, was recently ousted following allegations of sexual misconduct; Dugan countered with a legal filing last week in which she alleged sexual harassment and voting corruption in the company, and that her predecessor Neil Portnow raped an unnamed female recording artist. Its only been two years since Portnow said female artists needed to step up in order to be recognized, a comment which spiked long-simmering frustration with the Grammys diversity of voting and awards.
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Alicia Keys and Lizzo lead tributes to Kobe Bryant at Grammy awards video
But while last years ceremony showcased feisty defiance and shout-outs to female empowerment, this years event mostly sidestepped any swipes at the recording academy in favor of vulnerability and remembrance. Tributes to Bryant rained throughout the show, from opening performer and pop solo performance winner (for Truth Hurts) Lizzo to DJ Khaled to a strategically placed jersey in Lil Nas Xs staging of Old Town Road. DJ Khaled and John Legend sang Higher, a rousing tribute to the late rapper Nipsey Hussle, who was shot and killed in Los Angeles at 33 last April. Demi Lovato returned to the stage for the first time since she nearly died of a drug overdose in July 2018, to belt Anyone, a song she wrote four days before the hospitalization; choked by tears, she stopped and started the song over. Best country album and song winner Tanya Tucker, accompanied by Brandi Carlile on piano, silenced the room with Bring My Flowers Now, a chastened song on cherishing your loved ones while you can. We all think we got the time until we dont, she sang.
Still, there were plenty of the usual and much-hyped Grammy moments collaborations meant to hype audiences across genres and age, such as Aerosmith re-teaming with Run DMC for a chaotic rendition of their 1985 crossover hit Walk This Way. Tyler, The Creator brought in Boyz II Men for a concept piece from his best rap album winner Igor, and Usher slickly saluted Prince with help from a pole-dancing FKA Twigs.
The big winner, however, was Eilish, who won the nights three biggest awards in the last half hour of the telecast, leaving her seemingly both bowled over and exasperated. I think Ariana deserves this, she said of her win for album of the year for her debut, When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? Im not going to waste your time thank you very much.
We wrote an album about depression and suicidal thoughts and climate change and being a bad guy, whatever that means, added her brother and collaborator Finneas, who also won for producer of the year, non-classical. We stand up here confused and grateful.
Lizzo scores eight nominations with Eilish and Lil Nas X on seven, but British artists largely snubbed in major categories
The 17-year-old pop sensation Billie Eilish has become the youngest artist to be nominated in all four of the most prestigious Grammy award categories: record, album and song of the year, and best new artist.
Her gothic, innovative single Bad Guy, which topped the US charts, is nominated in the song and record categories, while her similarly chart-topping album When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? is nominated for the album prize. She completed a sweep of the top categories with a best new artist nomination, and has six nominations in all. Her album engineers got a nod in the best engineered album category, including her brother and collaborator Finneas, who received three nominations.
The most nominations were for Lizzo, who received eight, including in the top four categories. The powerhouse Minneapolis singer, known for her vociferous support of body positivity as well as her showboating flute solos, has been a slow-burn success, first releasing music in 2013 but scoring breakthrough hits this year with Juice, Tempo and US No 1 hit Truth Hurts.
Lil Nas X received six nominations, including three in the top categories, predominantly for his song Old Town Road. It is indisputably one of the most successful songs of the year, breaking a US chart record with its 19 consecutive weeks at No 1 Mariah Carey and Boyz II Mens duet One Sweet Day had held the honour since 1996. All three of Eilish, Lizzo and Lil Nas X have never received a Grammy nomination before.
R&B singer HER scored five nominations, including record, album and song of the year, with Ariana Grande also earning five, including record and album of the year her first appearances in the major categories. Wisconsin singer-songwriter Bon Iver was nominated four times, including record and album of the year, while Beyonc in a relatively minor year with no solo album release still managed to secure four nominations, for her Lion King soundtrack work as well as her Coachella concert film, Homecoming.
While recent years have seen Grammy success for the likes of Ed Sheeran and Adele, British artists were mostly shut out of the top four categories. Lewis Capaldi received a nomination for song of the year for his ballad Someone Like You, which has topped the charts on both sides of the Atlantic. Bristol country-soul singer Yola was nominated for best new artist, and received three further nominations in American roots categories.
Radiohead frontman Thom Yorke earned three nominations in specialist categories, with Chemical Brothers scoring three, and two for R&B singer Ella Mai. Other nominated Brits include the 1975, Bring Me the Horizon, James Blake and Elvis Costello. A surprise inclusion was Bones UK, a Camden rock band who, despite their low profile, secured a nomination for best rock performance with their song Pretty Waste.
Lil Nas X also crops up in the rap categories, this time with his single Panini in the running for rap/sung performance. The genres biggest prize, best rap performance, features a posthumous nomination for Nipsey Hussle, the LA star who was shot dead in April.
Snubs include to Taylor Swift, who might have expected more than just one nomination in major categories song of the year for Lover, the only song in the category to feature a single songwriter and Ed Sheeran, whose collaborative album No 6 Collaborations Project only generated one nomination, for pop vocal album. Sam Smith received no nominations for their major US hit Dancing With a Stranger, nor did Halsey, whose single Without Me spent 29 weeks in the US Top 10 and went five times platinum.
The total lack of nominations for Solanges acclaimed album When I Get Home, or Bruce Springsteens Western Stars, is also surprising the Guardian has asked their record labels if their albums were put forward for nomination.
Record of the year Bon Iver Hey, Ma Billie Eilish Bad Guy Ariana Grande 7 Rings HER Hard Place Khalid Talk Lil Nas X ft Billy Ray Cyrus Old Town Road Lizzo Truth Hurts Post Malone & Swae Lee Sunflower
Song of the year Natalie Hemby, Lady Gaga, Hillary Lindsey & Lori McKenna, songwriters (Lady Gaga) Always Remember Us This Way Billie Eilish OConnell & Finneas OConnell, songwriters (Billie Eilish) Bad Guy Brandi Carlile, Phil Hanseroth, Tim Hanseroth & Tanya Tucker, songwriters (Tanya Tucker) Bring My Flowers Now Ruby Amanfu, Sam Ashworth, D. Arcelious Harris. H.E.R. & Rodney Jerkins, songwriters (HER) Hard Place Taylor Swift, songwriter (Taylor Swift) Lover Jack Antonoff & Lana Del Rey, songwriters (Lana Del Rey) Norman Fucking Rockwell Tom Barnes, Lewis Capaldi, Pere Kelleher, Benjamin Kohn & Sam Roman, songwriters (Lewis Capaldi) Someone You Loved Steven Cheung, Eric Frederic, Melissa Jefferson & Jesse Saint John, songwriters (Lizzo) Truth Hurts
Best urban contemporary album Steve Lacy Apollo XXI Lizzo Cuz I Love You (Deluxe) Georgia Anne Muldrow Overload Nao Saturn Jessie Reyez Being Human In Public
Best rap album Dreamville Revenge of the Dreamers III Meek Mill Championships 21 Savage I Am > I Was Tyler, the Creator Igor YBN Cordae The Lost Boy
Best R&B album BJ the Chicago Kid 1123 Lucky Daye Painted Ella Mai Ella Mai PJ Morton Paul Anderson .Paak Ventura
Best dance/electronic album Apparat LP5 Chemical Brothers No Geography Flume Hi This Is Flume (Mixtape) Rfs Du Sol Solace Tycho Weather
Best country album Eric Church Desperate Man Reba McEntire Stronger Than the Truth Pistol Annies Interstate Gospel Thomas Rhett Center Point Road Tanya Tucker While Im Livin
Best Americana album Calexico and Iron & Wine Years to Burn Madison Cunningham Who Are You Now Keb Mo Oklahoma JS Ondara Tales of America Yola Walk Through Fire
Best Latin pop album Luis Fonsi Vida Maluma 11:11 Ricardo Montaner Montaner Alejandro Sanz #ELDISCO Sebastian Yatra Fantasa
Best gospel album Kirk Franklin Long Live Love Donald Lawrence Presents the Tri-City Singers Goshen Gene Moore Tunnel Vision William Murphy Settle Here CeCe Winans Somethings Happening! A Christmas Album
Best pop solo performance Beyonc Spirit Billie Eilish Bad Guy Ariana Grande 7 Rings Lizzo Truth Hurts Taylor Swift You Need to Calm Down
Best pop duo/group performance Ariana Grande and Social House Boyfriend Jonas Brothers Sucker Lil Nas X and Billy Ray Cyrus Old Town Road Shawn Mendes and Camila Cabello Seorita
Best traditional pop vocal album Andrea Bocelli S Michael Bubl Love (Deluxe Edition) Elvis Costello and the Imposters Look Now John Legend A Legendary Christmas Barbra Streisand Walls
Swift won six American Music Awards, taking her all-time total to 29 and breaking Michael Jacksons record
Taylor Swift reflected on a year of highs and lows as she was named both artist of the year and artist of the decade at the American Music Awards.
The pop superstar won six awards at this years AMAs, taking her all-time total to 29, organisers said, surpassing Michael Jacksons record of 24.
The artist of the decade honour was announced well before Sunday nights ceremony, but Swift also scooped the biggest prize of the night, artist of the year, from Drake, Ariana Grande, Halsey and Post Malone.
Accepting the award for the latter, an emotional Swift told the crowd gathered at Los Angeles Microsoft Theater that the previous 12 months had given her some of the most amazing times as well as the hardest things Ive gone through in my life.
Swift, 29, has been embroiled in a high-profile feud with prominent talent manager Scooter Braun and her former record label over the rights to her back catalogue of six albums a dispute that briefly put her performance at the AMAs under a cloud.
Swift publicly accused Braun last week of refusing permission for her to sing songs from her back catalogue at the awards show, urging her 122 million Instagram fans to let Braun know how you feel about this.
Swift did not directly reference her dispute with Braun on Sunday night, but she did say that this industry is really weird before thanking her fans, adding: This year for me has been a lot. Its been a lot of good, its been a lot of really complicated.
Before she accepted the prize for artist of the year, Swift followed a video retrospective of her career to date with the performance of a medley of some of her biggest hits, opening with a brief portion of her song The Man, which debates how much more successful she would be if she were a male.
She performed in a white button-down jacket featuring the titles of her earlier albums, including Speak Now, Red and Fearless, and on a piano that was also inscribed with the titles of these albums, which some fans interpreted as a coded message about the feud with Braun.
During her acceptance speech, Swift said the honour celebrated 10 years of hard work and of art and of fun and memories.
She added: All that matters to me is the memories I have had with you guys, with you the fans, over the years.
Earlier, Swift won favourite pop/rock album for her latest album Lover. Her wins make her the most successful AMAs artist ever, dethroning Michael Jackson.
Elsewhere, teenager Billie Eilish continued her year to remember by scooping best new artist. The 17-year-old appeared emotional as she thanked fans for the award, her second of the night, after her win for alternative rock artist.
Eilish showed her support for environmental causes by wearing a T-shirt with the slogan No Music on a Dead Planet as she gave her first awards show performance with All the Good Girls Go to Hell.
Selena Gomez kicked off the ceremony in her first live TV performance in two years, after undergoing a kidney transplant in 2017 and battling anxiety and depression.
Rapper Post Malone, whose seven nominations were the most of any artist this year, won favourite rap/hip-hop album for Hollywoods Bleeding.
Pop star Halsey won the prize for favourite pop/rock song for her hit Without Me, and Carrie Underwood won favourite country artist and country album of the year.
The ceremony included performances from singer Toni Braxton, 25 years after winning her first AMA, who belted out her 1996 pop ballad, Un-Break My Heart. Meanwhile new artist of the year nominee Lizzo treated fans to her single, Jerome.
Country music star Thomas Rhett and celebrity couple Camila Cabello and Shawn Mendes were also among the performers.
Ozzy Osbourne, who spent much of 2019 recovering from injuries he suffered in a fall at home, returned to the stage to perform Take What You Want alongside Malone and Travis Scott.
Canadian singer-songwriter Shania Twain closed the night with a medley of songs mashing up the biggest hits of the last 12 months with some of her own best-known tracks, including 1998s That Dont Impress Me Much.
Before the show officially kicked off, Dan + Shay were named favourite duo or group in the country category, while K-pop favourites BTS won in the pop/rock category.
A British singer tweeted the line in 2017, creating controversy around Lizzos attempt to copyright it, but this isnt the first time its happened
I just took a DNA test, turns out Im 100% too late to copyright this meme because Lizzo is already in the process of doing so.
Yes, thats right, Lizzo, one of 2019s biggest breakout stars, is trying to trademark the phrase 100% that bitch from her hit single Truth Hurts for use on clothing and entertainment services.
Theres nothing unusual about an artist trademarking a popular phrase from one of their songs. However, Lizzos trademark application, filed in June, is causing some controversy. You see, in February 2017 a British singer who goes by the name Mina Lioness tweeted: I did a DNA test and found out Im 100% that bitch. It went viral.
Seven months later Lizzo released Truth Hurts, which features the same memorable line. (If youre wondering why the song only became so popular recently, its because it was featured on the Netflix romcom Someone Great, which came out in April.)
So did she steal Mina Lionesss tweet? Not according to Lizzo. When confronted about the meme in early 2018, the singer tweeted: Ive never seen this before in my lifeBut u knowThe odds of multiple people having the same idea are VERY high.
Truth Hurts was written in June fyi someone made a meme on IG that said Im 100% that bitch and we were inspired, I give that meme credit when I talk about making the song. Ive never seen ur viral tweet but Im glad it exists.
The 2018 back-and-forth didnt get much attention. However, the controversy flared back up again last week after Mina Lioness discovered that Lizzo, now a mega-star, had filed a trademark application. What I cannot get over is how brazen Lizzo and her team have been in ignoring my whole presence, Mina Lioness tweeted on Saturday. Theyre doing it because they know I have no capital to address her. Im just the poor Black girl from London that dont have a dog in the fight.
Trademark law on fleek
Heres the thing: even if Lizzo did take Mina Lionesss tweet, it doesnt really matter when it comes to intellectual property (IP) law. Simply tweeting a phrase doesnt grant you any legal rights.
Deborah Peckham, an IP specialist at Boston-based law firm Burns & Levinson, notes that if Mina Lioness had commercialized her tweet by, for example, printing it on T-shirts, or using it as a tagline for services, then she might have grounds to contest Lizzos trademark application. However, merely saying a short phrase or word in public doesnt give you a legal monopoly over it.
Eyebrows on fleek: the original Vine by Peaches Monroee. Photograph: Vine/Peaches Monroee
Mina Lioness isnt the only person to have found this out the hard way. Speaking over the phone, Matt Schimkowitz, senior editor at Know Your Meme (the Wikipedia of memes) notes that Peaches Monroee has claimed for years now that she got unfairly treated in the on fleek trend, when people were putting it on T-shirts without crediting her.
To refresh your memory: Monroee, whose real name is Kayla Newman, popularized the phrase on fleek in 2014 when the teenager uploaded a Vine of herself saying eyebrows on fleek. The short video got over 20m views in five months and it wasnt long before brands had appropriated it for marketing tweets, like Ihops pancakes on fleek tweet.
Nicki Minaj also used the phrase in her hit song Feeling Myself, and took credit for introducing it to the world. Minaj even called out singer Christina Milian for printing On Fleek on T-shirts, joking that she was waiting for her percentage of the royalties. It seems like the only person who didnt monetize the meme was the young black woman who created it.
Seizing the memes of production
Kids getting exploited for their unpaid viral labour is, of course, how the digital economy tends to work. Schimkowitz notes that a lot of people who are creating memes are teenagers who dont automatically protect their viral creations with trademark applications. And while monetizing memes may be a modern phenomenon, Schimkowitz points out that marketing people taking trends from teens is not a new thing thats being happening since they invented teenagers.
This isnt to say that young meme-makers never profit from their viral frame. However, it does seem that the kids who get credit for their creations tend to be white, while the kids who have their work appropriated tend to be black. In 2016, for example, a teenager called Daniel Lara shot to international fame after a video of his friend yelling Damn Daniel, back at it again with the white Vans went viral. Lara got a lifetime supply of Vans, was invited on Ellen, and trademarked the phrase Damn Daniel through the company Damn Daniel LLC.
Danielle Bregoli, who went viral in 2016 for saying what sounded like Cash me ousside and how bout dat on Dr Phil, has also cashed in on her 15 minutes of fame. She trademarked both phrases and has threatened legal action against companies using them. Bregoli now has a $1m publishing deal with Pulse Music Group and a $900,000 partnership with CopyCat Beauty. All thanks to going viral when she was 13.
When memes become too mainstream
Now, lets say youve just fired off a hilarious tweet and are watching it transform into a viral meme in front of your eyes. If you call up a trademark lawyer quickly enough, are you going to be laughing all the way to the bank? Not necessarily.
Sometimes memes or phrases become so ubiquitous that they are impossible to trademark. Peckham notes, for example, that that US Trademark Office declined to register applications to trademark OCCUPY WALL STREET (yes, I regret to inform you people really tried to trademark OCCUPY), explaining that the more commonly a phrase is used, the less likely that the public will use it to identify only one source and the less likely that it will be recognized by purchasers as a trademark.
No doubt the same fate arguably would doom an application for a viral internet meme if it were used ubiquitously by many users, Peckham says. However, while the phrase 100% that bitch may have become pretty mainstream, Peckham expects that Lizzos trademark application will ultimately be approved. While common, its not quite a big, newsy or politically transcendent as OCCUPY.
Ultimately, says Peckham, there are two big lessons to take away from the Lizzo trademark dispute. First, if you want to protect or leverage your great idea or catchy phrase, you should act fast before it goes viral.
Second, the internet always wins in the end. Even if the law isnt on the side of the original writer of the tweet, the power of the internet might still ensure that a second user (Lizzo) cannot cash in by getting a monopoly on the phrase either. The internet will likely own it in the long run which means we can all go on claiming we are all that bitch.
