10 little known details about the American Music Awards

Award show performances feel like theatre to me, because it's a character performance-kind of like a monologue. Taylor Swift is the jilted lover, Sam Smith is the new romantic, and Lorde the is odd-girl dark horse. They re-tell their own myths through their stage performances. Listed performers this year are 5 Seconds of Summer, Iggy Azalea, Mary J. Blige, Garth Brooks, Charli XCX, Fergie, Selena Gomez, Imagine Dragons, Lorde, One Direction, Pitbull, Sam Smith, and Taylor Swift.

In the soundtrack category this year we have Frozen, The Fault in Our Stars, and Guardians of the Galaxy Awesome Mix. Soundtracks are more than just extra entertainment, they're the songs that helped drive scenes and create emotions. Music has this special power of retrieving memories and feelings.They are perfect companion for film.

A category for everything seems like human quality. Like every other award show, most categories are split in genre and gender. Do we even listen to music based on these binaries? It all seems like an odd reason to pick music, and aren't genres blurred anyway?
The link attached offers a list of nominees and categories.

Recently, the AMAs added an EDM (Electronic Dance Music) category. It's not surprising that this category would come up, as EDM has quickly gained popularity over the past few years. Award shows must follow the changes in popular culture, so maybe one day they'll drop the gender based categories.

Award shows are so much longer than the event itself. What happens at the show is talked about the next day on every talk show and hashtag. They are like a 2 day attention sucker. Maybe it's that feeling of missing something, or the need to feel like you have something to contribute to the conversation at the water cooler. We use what happens at these award shows as a way of connecting with each other.

Cell phones are used in a slick form of advertising as the way winners are announced, and voting for winners is done through a computer screen. It gives us the sense of having control at our finger tips as cell phones are barely phones, but more like the keepers of our social lives.

Voting in a pop culture competition is like playing democracy as if you were playing house. The American Music Awards have the public choose the winners, within some tight choices of course. Will you exercise your right?

The link provides a list of the first line of presenters. It's like seeing every character in a pop culture fairy tale under one roof.

The American Music Awards are an event re-played over again on television and over social media. Even though there isn't much difference between award shows, they're top trending every time they air. If you want some twitter action, keep up with the AMAs.

We're all waiting for that unscripted moment, that provocative and rebellious speech, or someone tripping over their feet (gasp!). We live for those moments that are a resistance to the well-crafted image.