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Review: American Music Awards try to bring pop levity in a stressful time

Lauren Jauregui, Dinah Jane, Ally Brooke, Camila Cabello and Normani Kordei of Fifth Harmony perform at the American Music Awards.
Lauren Jauregui, Dinah Jane, Ally Brooke, Camila Cabello and Normani Kordei of Fifth Harmony perform at the American Music Awards.
(Matt Sayles/Invision/Associated Press)
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In 2016, even a group as resolutely upbeat as Fifth Harmony felt a need to perform atop a flaming pile of apocalyptic wreckage at the American Music Awards on Sunday.

The group’s members trampled over a rubble-strewn, fire-spitting stage as they performed “That’s My Girl” — an apropos setup for America at the moment of the AMAs this year. The show’s task is unenviable: How does one pull off a silly, populist awards program amid an increasingly tense and tumultuous time in American politics and culture?

The first hour of the show veered between hosts Jay Pharoah and Gigi Hadid trying to make light of recent events — Pharoah had a witty riff on President-elect Donald Trump as a Bruno Mars fan, because he can’t discern Mars’ race and therefore won’t deport him.

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Hadid did a pretty droll duck-lipped, plagiarizing Melania Trump impression. While awards show wisecracks feel totally ill-equipped to sum up people’s feelings at the moment, the hosts at least tried some kind of levity and ridicule at the current situation.

The early performances didn’t yield any huge Grammy-style surprises, but that’s not what the AMAs are here for. They’re out to be a diverse, friendly roundup of popular taste, and they got almost everyone who has a hit right now. Bruno Mars in his full ‘80s electro-funk regalia, Niall Horan in Mumford & Sons-y acoustic repose, James Bay doing his spooky preacher thing.

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The Chainsmokers and Halsey tacked on Travis Barker to drum at the end of “Closer,” and it was notably better than their much-pilloried set at the MTV Video Music Awards (though Alex Pall’s beach-vacation getup showed about how seriously they took the occasion). Ariana Grande continued to be the one saving grace of this sort of show; she sounded excellent as always with Nicki Minaj on “Side to Side.”

Does anyone care who takes these awards home? Probably not. But Twenty One Pilots, winner of favorite duo or group, pop/rock, seemed genuinely appreciative of the fact that a weird genre-mashing band could ascend like they did.

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Drake was up twice in the rap category and surprised no one by winning for his recent album “Views.” The Chainsmokers vouched for the validity of electronic music at awards shows, and while plenty of dance music peers wouldn’t have picked them to fight that fight, at least they tried.

It’s fair to ask what’s the point of all this, especially when so many of the young fans of this music are scared for their future. But if we’re ready for diversions after this last week, the AMAs had as many as one could hope for in pop music right now.

For breaking music news, follow @augustbrown on Twitter.

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