'Artist of the Decade' Smashes AMAs Record
Taylor Swift rockets past Michael Jackson's total
Posted Nov 25, 2019 12:56 AM CST
Taylor Swift, winner of the artist of the decade award, performs a medley at the American Music Awards on Sunday, Nov. 24, 2019, at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles. (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP)
(Newser) – Taylor Swift has moonwalked past Michael Jackson's record at the 2019 American Music Awards, taking home six honors including artist of the year and artist of the decade. The pop star, who walked into Sunday night's show with 23 AMAs, surpassed the King of Pop's 24 wins at the fan-voted show. the AP reports. After she won the final award of the night—artist of the year—Swift repeatedly thanked her fans for always showing up, during both the good and bad times. "This year has been a lot of good, a lot of really complicated, so on behalf of my family and me, thank you so much for being there and caring," said Swift, who now has 29 AMAs. Her others wins included favorite female pop/rock artist, favorite adult contemporary artist, and favorite music video for "You Need to Calm Down."
Swift's father and teary-eyed mom sang along as the singer performed a medley of her hit songs—a performance Swift said in a Nov. 15 social media post was put in jeopardy by Scott Borchetta and Scooter Braun, the owners of her master recordings. She didn't mention the men during her acceptance speeches, but thanked her new label for allowing her to freely express herself as an artist. Other big winners at the AMAs included Khalid and BTS—neither act attended the show but they won three prizes apiece. Billie Eilish picked up two awards—new artist of the year and favorite alternative artist. She also took the stage—surrounded by fire—to perform her song, "All the Good Girls Go to Hell." (Click for a full list of winners.)