Cardi B is definitely back! After taking time off to have, and look after, her baby Kulture, the New Yorker rocked the AMAs with an amazing performance of her hit song, ‘I Like It.’ Cardi B, 25, brought the house down at the American Music Awards in Los Angeles on Oct. 9 by rocking the show with her hit song “I Like It.” It was the rapper’s first televised performance since the birth of her daughter Kulture, in July and it was well worth the wait! Cardi – who was nominated a massive eight times – hit the stage with Latin artists Bad Bunny and J Balvin, a live band, and a fabulous Cuban theme, which included an array of dancers. The new mommy started the set rapping, while lying down on a spinning wheel, before kicking her leg in the air and jumping up to deliver an amazing set that even included her doing the salsa with a hunky dancer. Cardi had the crowd on its feet, especially her hubby Offset, who seemed to thoroughly enjoy his wifey’s performance. The Bronx rapper looked sensational in a floral dress, which she whipped off to reveal her legs in a pair of shorts. HollywoodLife knew what to expect because Cardi B’s makeup artist Erika La’Pearl gave us a heads up on the eve of the AMAs. “Cardi’s outfit for the AMAs tomorrow is very colorful,” Erika, told us EXCLUSIVELY, “It has a lot of pinks, reds and blues. Everybody is going to be talking about her red carpet look and her performance look. Her performance look is going to be similar to the red carpet look, but it will be a little bit more sparkly. She’s even going to rip off the dress and it’s gonna be really cute.” While all the buzz after the show may be about Cardi B’s post-baby body and how slim she looks, three months after giving birth, the rapper herself thinks she may have lost too much weight! On Oct. 8 she posted an Instagram photo of herself wearing tight leather pants and a matching bra top, which showed off her tight abs. She captioned the pic, “Now that I lost all the baby weight, I gotta gain some back. Skinnymomma.” Cardi B really sticking her foot down our necks telling us she's here to stay huh. Ok queen! #AMAs pic.twitter.com/sB7FtVNOxd — ♡ (@BBclips) October 10, 2018 It’s impressive that Cardi B has bounced back to put on such an amazing performance, in the first place, as she recently revealed why she pulled out of Bruno Mars’ tour a month after her baby was born. In an Oct. 9 interview with W Magazine she said, “People don’t really talk about what you go through after pregnancy. Like, they don’t tell you that you get stitches down there or that your first two weeks you’re constipated. Or that you get contractions because of breastfeeding. I wasn’t expecting that.” If her AMA performance is anything to go by, it seems that Cardi B is healed, back and better than ever!<doc-sep>Advertisement She is one of the top rap artists in the world. And it's easy to see why as Cardi B isn't afraid of getting a leg up on the competition. The 25-year-old hip-hop queen proudly put her flexibility on display while hitting the stage for I Like It at the 2018 American Music Awards in Los Angeles on Tuesday. Queen: Cardi B hit the stage for I Like It at the 2018 American Music Awards in Los Angeles on Tuesday Showing off: The 25-year-old hip-hop queen proudly put her flexibility on display Cardi laid in a rotating bed as she impressively lifted her foot over her head during the energetic performance. She put her impressive post-baby body on display as she rocked a patterned clinging bodysuit along with multi-colored checkered knee-high booties. Her curly brunette tresses were worn down in a middle-part as she hit all the challenging moves of the choreography. Stunning: She put her impressive post-baby body on display as she rocked a patterned clinging bodysuit along with multi-colored checkered knee-high booties Started from the bottom: Cardi laid in a rotating bed as she impressively lifted her foot over her head during the energetic performance Talented: The Get Up 10 hitmaker put on quite the energetic show Red hot: She jumped on one of the male dancers as they performed and impressive move together Having a blast: Cardi seemed to be in good spirits Cardi's make-up was complete with a swipe of bright red lip as she rapped the Latin hip-hop track which samples Pete Rodriguez 1967 classic Oh That's Nice. She was not alone for the performance as she was joined by J Balvin and Bad Bunny for the performance. No doubt Cardi's performance amped up the crowd as they gave her and her two collaborators a lengthy standing ovation. Pedal to the metal: At one point Cardi rode around on a golden bicycle She's a kid again: She playfully stuck her tongue out Talented: She was joined by collaborator J Balvin Tremendous trio: Bad Bunny also rapped his verse on the hit track as they stood together at the end of the performance And the crowd goes wild! The talented trio received a standing ovation It was quite the night for the Get Up 10 hitmaker as she won the very first award as she earned the Favorite Artist – Rap/Hip-Hop gong. She impressively beat out Drake and Post Malone in the hotly-contested category. Taking the stage in a fabulous floral number, Cardi thanked her team and her daughter Kulture, who 'inspired' the star to be best and 'prove people wrong' by coming back with a vengeance after giving birth. She likes it like that: It is shaping up to be a big night for Cardi as she earned the first award of the night in the Favorite Artist – Rap/Hip-Hop category 'Now they said I wasn't gonna make it after I had a baby': Cardi was definitely grateful for the awknowledgement as she said she was really nervous to accept the glass, pyramid-shaped award 'I really wanna thank my daughter, not just because she's my daughter,' she explained, '...While I was pregnant I was so influenced to be like, "Yo i gotta do this. I gotta show people wrong, I gotta prove people wrong. She went into a sing-song voice, continuing to knock haters saying: 'Because they said I wasn't gonna make it after I had a baby.' The New York native also thanked husband Offset, of rap group Migos. Earlier in the night she looked fabulous in floral as she rocked a flowy Dolce & Gabbana frock featuring a thigh-high split along with a huge matching headpiece. It was a very intricate look which featured a corset-like top and large skirt with a slit to show off her left leg complete with a strappy black heel with a pink flower on it. Her intricate headpiece as well as dress was adorned with artificial flowers sewn into them. Pop princess: Dua Lipa wore an ombre blond and blue wig while performing One Kiss in an orange crop top and white pants Neon dream: She switched tracks to Electricity, as black-light flooded the stage to highlight neon costumed before rain began to pour from the ceiling Behind the music: As Camila sang in an opera-appropriate outfit she was elegantly backed by an orchestra Sing your heart out: Camila Cabello looked glamorous in elbow length gloves and a monochrome gown as she belted her song Consequences Cardi accessorized with large dangling gold earrings as her raven-colored locks were pulled back in a fancy hairdo. The I Like It hitmaker's accentuated her looks with complementary make-up topped off with a pop of color in the form of pink eyeshadow and bright red lipstick. Cardi was not alone on the red carpet as she was joined by husband Offset who is one-third of the platinum-selling hip-hop group Migos. No limits! Jennifer Lopez debuted the track Limitless, the theme-song from her new movie Second Act Shining star: Post Malone donned a shiny silver suit while performing a medley of his songs Psycho and Better Now Another level: Ciara looked fierce and futuristic in white leotard with matching boots while performing Level Up with Missy Elliot Brand name: Missy sauntered on stage in a Gucci sweatsuit to perform her verse The happy couple - who welcomed their first daughter Kulture Kiari three months ago - weren't shy to pack on the PDA as they shared a kiss together on the red carpet. The 26-year-old Bad And Boujee hitmaker - real name Kiari Kendrell Cephus - looked dapper in a burgundy suit. He also sported a black and white striped dress shirt with several of the top buttons undone along with black dress shoes featured a silver embroidered design at the toebox. Pretty in pink: Mariah Carey performed the worldwide TV debut of her new song With You Message in a bottle: Carrie Underwood commanded attention with a performance of her song Spinning Bottles Atmosphere: The star brought a moody air to the stage, surrounded by candles on a turning stage while wearing a red dress over her baby bump In loving memory: The show finished on a joyous note as gospel/soul great Gladys Knight sang Amazing Grace in honor of the late Aretha Franklin Lost and found: Shawn Mendes was joined by Zedd for a performance of their song Lost In Japan Offset had plenty of blinged out jewelry on display including multiple bracelets and rings. His braided locks were pulled back in a ponytail as she rocked a pair of gold-rimmed eyeglasses. Cardi was definitely grateful for the awknowledgement as she said she was really nervous to accept the glass, pyramid-shaped award. A Swift win! Lenny Kravitz introduced Artist Of The Year, which went to Taylor Swift Meaningful: 'I understand how lucky I am to have anyone that cares about me or my music. Every time that you have made me lucky enough to ever get to stand on a stage and have something really sparkly in my hands and say thank you, every single time this happens ... it means something different to me' On the road: She later took the stage to accept the honor for Favorite Tour, which was handed out by Heidi Klum Solo act! Former Fifth Harmony member Camila proved she could do fine on her own as she took home her first two solo AMAs, one for Favorite Pop/Rock Song and the other for New Artist Of the Year Thanking the big man: 'Thank you God first and foremost,' the Nashville beauty began In the band: Migos won the Favorite Pop/Rock group category, marking their first AMA. Offset (right) and Quavo (left) accepted the trophy without bandmate Takeoff Happy for her guy! Cardi B looked ecstatic as she rooted for her hubby Offset from the audience Touched: 'Thank you guys so much,' the In My Blood singer said, 'I've just had the most unreal amount of support form everyone in this room and everyone around the world'<doc-sep>Cardi B, Bad Bunny and J Balvin united on Tuesday for a colorful live performance of their collaborative single “I Like It” during the American Music Awards. The trio recruited a small live band and utilized an elaborate presentation for the trap-salsa track. Cardi B opened the song on a spinning platform, with a camera capturing her movements from an overhead angle. Dancers wheeled out Bad Bunny in a gold-tinted shopping cart, and J Balvin delivered his verse from on top of a massive stage prop. “I Like It,” which cracked the Top 10 of Billboard‘s Hot 100 chart, is one of several popular singles from Cardi B’s debut LP, Invasion of Privacy, along with “Be Careful,” “Bartier Cardi,” “Drip” and her breakout Number One, “Bodak Yellow.” Cardi B and Drake are tied for the most nominations at the 2018 AMAs with eight each. Her nods include New Artist of the Year and Collaboration of the Year for her Bruno Mars collaboration, “Finesse.”<doc-sep>
Products in this story are independently selected and featured editorially. If you make a purchase using these links we may earn commission. She likes stuntin’, she likes shinin’! Cardi B hit the American Music Awards stage Tuesday night to perform her smash Spanglish single “I Like It” with collaborators Bad Bunny and J Balvin. After arriving in a wild floral dress with a matching fascinator, the rapper changed into a colorful, flowing gown to kick off the performance on a rotating wheel for her opening verse; she then stripped off the skirt to reveal an intricate romper before launching into some choreographed dance moves that paid homage to her Latin roots. Earlier in the evening, Cardi (real name: Belcalis Almanzar) took home the first trophy of the night, winning favorite rap/hip-hop artist, thanking husband Offset and their 3-month-old daughter Kulture Kiari in her speech. “I really want to thank my daughter,” she said. “I was so influenced when I was pregnant with her to be like, I gotta do this; I gotta show people wrong, prove people wrong — because they said I wasn’t gonna make it after I had a baby.” 775232721PB00001_2018_Ameri Credit: Kevin Winter/Getty Check out PEOPLE’s full AMAs coverage to get the latest news on one of music’s biggest nights. Cardi tied with Drake for garnering the most AMAs nods this year. Her eight nominations include: favorite new artist, favorite pop/rock female artist, favorite rap/hip-hop artist, favorite rap/hip-hop song and favorite video (“Bodak Yellow”), favorite soul/R&B song and favorite collaboration (“Finesse” with Bruno Mars) and favorite social artist. 775232724CC00192_2018_Ameri Offset and Cardi B | Credit: Frazer Harrison/Getty “I Like It” — which topped the Billboard Hot 100 chart this summer — is the fourth single off Cardi’s smash debut album, Invasion of Privacy, following breakout hit “Bodak Yellow,” “Bartier Cardi” and “Be Careful.” Cardi’s AMAs appearance follows an, umm, rather eventful year for the rap star. Last September, she secretly married Migos rapper Offset. In February, she was nominated for two awards at the Grammys, where she performed “Finesse” with Bruno Mars. Then she dropped Invasion of Privacy in April, just weeks before hitting the Coachella stage. In July, she and Offset welcomed daughter Kulture and a break from the public eye. But since emerging from maternity leave this fall, Cardi’s been back in the headlines — most notably for her New York Fashion Week brawl with Nicki Minaj last month, then Monday, when she surrendered to police and was arrested and charged with assault and reckless endangerment in connection with a fight earlier this year at a strip club. 775232721TM00054_2018_Ameri Cardi B | Credit: Kevin Winter/Getty Cardi’s AMAs performance is her second public showing since giving birth this summer; on Saturday, she co-headlined the annual Global Citizen Festival in New York City’s Central Park alongside Janet Jackson, Shawn Mendes, Janelle Monáe and The Weeknd.