By Nell Geraets and Thomas Mitchell
It was an unexpectedly quiet night for top-nominated artists Kendrick Lamar and Taylor Swift at the American Music Awards on Tuesday.
Despite receiving 10 nods – the most of any artist this year – Lamar only secured the prize for favourite hip-hop song with Not Like Us. Meanwhile, Swift was snubbed in each of her six nominated categories.
The greatest disappointment for Swifties, however, was probably the pop juggernaut’s absence altogether. Despite rampant rumours that Swift would announce the release of Reputation (Taylor’s Version) during the AMAs, the singer was a no-show, leaving fans shocked and deflated.
Dancing to 23 songs in six minutes? We salute you, J.Lo.Credit: Getty Images
But a few big-name artists were missing from the 2025 AMAs, including award-winners Billie Eilish and Eminem. Thankfully, those who did front up put on quite a show.
The highs
AMA host Jennifer Lopez set the night on fire with a six-minute choreographed dance to a mash-up of the past year’s greatest hits. Dressed in a bedazzled, futuristic bodysuit, Jenny from the Block shimmied, flipped and slid across the stage like there was no tomorrow.
A particularly memorable moment was during the Teddy Swim’s Lose Control segment, when J.Lo seemingly kissed three back-up dancers in quick succession. She’s in her single era again, after all. And she changed her outfit about once every 15 minutes throughout the two-hour show – that’s icon behaviour.
Jennifer Lopez proved once again that she is a force to be reckoned with on stage.Credit: Getty Images
In fact, the 2025 AMAs included several icons. Janet Jackson wowed the crowd with her first television performance in seven years. Alongside several shirtless dancers, she sang a medley of hits, including All For You. Jackson (Ms Jackson, if you’re nasty) was also honoured with the Icon Award, joining a list of impressive previous winners such as Lionel Richie and Rihanna.
“I mean no disrespect in any way, but I don’t consider myself an icon,” she said on-stage. “My family, myself, our dream wasn’t ever to be famous. We weren’t raised like that. We always had a special love for music, dancing and singing. Fame came as a result of hard work and dedication.”
Janet Jackson was officially made an icon at the 2025 AMAs.Credit: Getty Images
Elsewhere, Rod Stewart (or “Papa Stew” as his daughter, who announced her father, called him) performed Forever Young, with an impressive violin and marching bass-drum interlude, and the legendary Gloria Estefan got everyone dancing salsa with heavy-hitters Conga and Rhythm Is Gonna Get You. It even got J.Lo dancing all over again.
The winners
The AMAs is a two-hour show consisting mainly of performances, so most awards were presented off-screen.
However, SZA scooped two prizes on stage, including favourite female R&B artist and favourite R&B song for Saturn. But she’ll probably be remembered for her close-call wardrobe malfunction, which saw her tight black dress nearly give way as she walked to the stage for her second prize.
The big winner was Eilish, who won seven awards, including artist and album of the year. Pity she wasn’t there to accept them.
Further proving that Beyoncé belongs in country music categories, Queen Bey scooped the prize for both best female country artist and best country album for Cowboy Carter.
Despite guesses that Charli XCX would take home favourite dance/electronic artist for Brat, Lady Gaga clinched the win. Another surprise was best new artist, which went to Gracie Abrams over the likes of online sensation Chappell Roan.
Why did people think Swift would announce Reputation at the AMAs?
Swift has been in the process of reclaiming the rights to her back catalogue following a highly publicised split with her former label, Big Machine Records. The label, purchased by Scooter Braun in 2019, owned all the rights to her masters and refused to allow Swift to repurchase them. Consequently, Swift released rerecorded versions, otherwise known as “Taylor’s Version”, of her six previous albums.
A fan attempts to get their copy of Red: Taylor’s Version signed as Swift greets fans before her conversation at Toronto International Film Festival 2022.Credit: Wesley Lapointe
So far, Swift has re-recorded four of the six albums recorded under Big Machine Records. She released the first two – Fearless (Taylor’s Version) and Red (Taylor’s Version) – in 2021. Fans then had to wait two years for the following two albums in 2023 – Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) and 1989 (Taylor’s Version). The final two remaining albums are Reputation and her 2006 debut album, Taylor Swift.
Swift has a history of revealing things at award shows. At the 2024 Grammy Awards, she announced her upcoming album, The Tortured Poets Department, during her acceptance speech after winning the best pop vocal album award for Midnights.
And given her past success at the AMAs – she holds the record for the most AMAs won in history – it seemed apt that she would announce her version of Reputation on the AMAs stage.
Further, a teaser of Look What You Made Me Do (Taylor’s Version) was featured in Execution, the penultimate episode of the sixth season of The Handmaid’s Tale, which aired on May 20. This marked the first time we’ve heard proof that tracks from Reputation (Taylor’s Version) are mixed and ready. Swifties naturally began melting down over this, which also led to speculation that Swift herself made a cameo in The Handmaid’s Tale.
Was Taylor Swift in The Handmaid’s Tale?
No. The opening episode featured a scene in which an unidentified member of the Mayday rebellion got out of a vehicle, prompting Swifties to speculate that the silhouette belonged to the 35-year-old singer. Admittedly, the silhouette is kind of tall, as is Swift, but that’s where the similarities end.
In an interview with TVLine, Handmaid’s Tale star Elisabeth Moss promptly quashed the rumours: “Of course it’s not [Swift]. Of course, it’s not her. Oh my God, that’s hilarious. I love that idea, though.” Moss did, however, add that using a snippet of Look What You Made Me Do (Taylor’s Version) felt right because it is the “perfect song for a perfect moment”. Perfect because we’re about to get the album, right?
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