American Music Awards/ABC Network
Tonight is one of the biggest events of the year in music. It’s the 2017 American Music Awards, also known as the AMAs, and tonight’s host is Black-ish actress Tracee Ellis Ross. What is most special for Ross about tonight is that her legendary mother Diana Ross is this year’s recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award. In addition, Diana Ross is slated to take the stage as a performer in honor of her award. And, in paying tribute to her iconic mama, Ross says she will be wearing some outfits at the awards that are inspired by her mother’s fashion sense, according to Essence. In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Ross explained, “As we have seen through my career, just about everything I wear is paying tribute to my mom. (Laughs.) Her style influenced me in such a major way that I can’t help it. Sometimes I’m thinking I’m doing something so original and then I’ll see pictures of my mom and I’m like, ‘Oh.’ Basically I just copied an outfit of my mom.” She continued, “There will definitely be a lot of nods to my mom. There will be one special moment I actually get to bring out the nostalgia of a particular piece of clothing,” she teases, while adding that the evening is really about ‘celebrating this beautiful, extraordinary moment.'”
The awards show begins at 8 p.m. ET/7 p.m. CT on the ABC network and there is a star-studded lineup of performers on board. Pink and Kelly Clarkson are teaming up for a collaborative performance and they are reported to be opening up the AMAs. Selena Gomez is performing for the first time since her kidney transplant ad her recent rekindling romance with Justin Bieber. Gomez and Bieber shippers are desperately hoping to see the pair walk the red carpet at tonight’s big event. Lately the two have been spotted on day dates together, attending church and even sharing quick kisses at one of Bieber’s hockey games. Christina Aguilera is another huge performer set to perform and her set will be a tribute to Whitney Houston for the movie The Bodyguard’s anniversary. Additional performers gearing up for tonight include Lady Gaga, Niall Horan, Demi Lovato, Shawn Mendes, Hailee Steinfeld, Nick Jonas and several others. If you would like to watch tonight’s show but you don’t have cable or can’t get to a TV, you can watch ABC online, on your phone or on another streaming device by signing up for one of the following cable-free, live-TV streaming services. They cost a monthly fee but all come with a free trial, so you can watch tonight’s show for free if you’re in a select market:
DirecTV Now: ABC (live in 39 markets) is included in all four channel packages, ranging from $35 to $70 per month. It comes with a free 7-day trial, and you can watch on your computer via your browser, or on your phone, tablet or streaming device via the DirecTV Now app
Sling TV: ABC (live in 8 markets) is included in the “Sling Orange” plus “Broadcast Extra” channel package for $25 per month. It comes with a free 7-day trial, and you can watch on your computer via your browser, or on your phone, tablet or streaming device via the Sling TV app
PlayStation Vue: ABC (live in 19 markets) is included in all four channel packages, ranging from $40 to $75 per month. It comes with a free 5-day trial, and you can watch on your computer via your browser, or on your phone, tablet or streaming device via the PlayStation Vue app
In addition to there being many big names in the mix as performers, there is also a star-studded list of presenters who will appear. The list (in alphabetical order by first name) includes Ansel Elgort, Billy Eichner, Caleb McLaughlin, Camila Mendes, Chadwick Boseman, The Chainsmokers, Chris Hardwick, Chrissy Metz, Ciara, Daymond John, DJ Khaled, G-Eazy, Gaten Matarazzo, Heidi Klum, Jared Leto, Jenna Dewan-Tatum, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Julia Michaels, Justin Hartley, Kat Graham, Kathryn Hahn, Kevin O’Leary, KJ Apa, Lea Michele, Lili Reinhart, Lilly Singh, Madelaine Petsch, Mark Cuban, Sabrina Carpenter, Sadie Sink, Viola Davis and Yara Shahidi. A K-Pop group named BTS will perform at tonight’s big event and they previously made their debut in May 2017 at the Billboard Music Awards, as reported by Footwear News. Tonight they are set to deliver a performance of their hit single “DNA”.
According to Us Weekly, show host Tracee Ellis Ross put out her holiday fashion line with JCPenney earlier this week. So, this is a great time for publicity for her. When it comes to tonight’s nominees, Bruno Mars leads the pack with a total of eight nominations to his name. Behind him, with five nominations each, is Ed Sheeran, Drake, The Chainsmokers, Kendrick Lamar and The Weeknd. Unfortunately, Mars will not be in attendance at tonight’s awards because he is ion tour in South America, as reported by CBS News.
In addition to all the big names performing at the AMAs tonight, there are also a couple lesser known acts. Portgual. The Man is an American five-man band from Portland, Oregon and the men who make up the group include John Gourley, Zach Carothers, Kyle O’Quin, Jason Sechrist and Eric Howk. Guitar player and vocalist Gourley explained the reason for their band name, which was somewhat inspired by David Bowie. He revealed, “A country is a group of people. With Portugal, it just ended up being the first country that came to mind. The band’s name is ‘Portugal’. The period is stating that, and ‘The Man’ states that it’s just one person.” The band also joked to Blank News that, “It’s an interesting name, I guess. It is kind of an alter ego like Ziggy Stardust and Sgt Pepper. It’s our character to represent us as a band. In picking a country’s name, it was one name that represents a group of people. It made since for a while, but we have regretted it ever since that day.”