American Music Awards 2016: Best & Worst Moments
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Like the ceremony itself, we're going to kick off our gallery of memorable moments on a high note: Bruno Mars may be approximately .333 Taylor Swifts tall, but he packs a whole lot of talent in that wee-sized vessel. Hawaii's finest export isn't just for moms anymore.
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Following co-host Jay Pharoah's announcement that AMA winners are based on fans' votes, Gigi Hadid added, "Don't worry, guys. Tonight, we do not have to deal with the electoral college." (Womp womp.)
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Then came Hadid's really uncomfortable Melania Trump impression. (It was a good effort, but save the heavy lifting for Laura Benanti, kiddo.)
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We know Emma Stone has already been cast as young Cruella de Vil, but if Disney decides to go in a different direction, might we suggest Janelle Monae?
(In all seriousness, though, this is an incredible trio of women. Take a moment to soak 'em in.)
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It was nice of Twenty One Pilots' Tyler Joseph to dedicate the band's award to the fans, but his acceptance speech — during which he referred to the AMAs as "this weird thing we're doing," then finished with "To everyone else... who cares?" — pretty much nosedived after that. (Congratulations, though!)
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Don't lie, Vampire Diaries fans — you totally blurred your vision and pretended this was a new scene between Elena and Caroline.
No? Just us?
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That said, Drake receiving an award from former co-star Nina Dobrev was easily our favorite moment from the night:
"Me and Nina were on Degrassi together, by the way. We've come a long way, you know? Congratulations on all your success."
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Remember that time the AMAs basically tricked us into watching a really long Apple commercial, baiting us with Pharoah's recreation of Taylor Swift's infamous treadmill wipeout?
We'll forgive, but we'll #neverforget.
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If you listened really carefully during Ariana Grande and Nicki Minaj's performance of "Side to Side," you could hear a whole bunch of latecomers finally realizing what the song is actually about.
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Teyana Taylor could teach a master class in award-show stumbles. The actress/musician turned a near trip into a sassy strut on Sunday night, before informing the audience and viewers, "Y'all ain't see that."
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Seriously, was there any doubt in your mind that the woman accepting Prince's award tonight was his sister, Tyka Nelson?
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We're not sure what we enjoyed more: Mark Cuban acknowledging that he probably won't be invited to T–p's inauguration, or Idina Menzel sending her love to the cast of Hamilton following Pence-gate.
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No stranger to impressions, Pharoah slipped into a pair of metaphorical Yeezys to deliver the rant Kanye West would have spat had he attended at the AMAs.
(All the humor of a West rant without actually having to hear West deliver it? Win-win!)
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We started on a high note, so let's end on one: How great was Selena Gomez's speech to her (young, impressionable) fans?
"I don't want to see your bodies on Instagram — I want to see what's [in your heart]."