Birdwire: 2012 AMA Winners Recap

The 40th American Music Awards was held at the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles on November 18, 2012. The red carpet was graced by today’s hottest artists in the entertainment industry. Coming into the event, Rihanna and Nicki Minaj led the pack with four nominations each, while Drake, Justin Bieber, Maroon 5, One Direction and Usher follow with three.

JB (Justin Bieber) came out big with three wins for Artist of the Year, Favorite Male Artist - pop/rock and Favorite Album - pop/rock for his album "Believe". Out of four nominations, Nicki Minaj won two for Favorite Artist - rap/hip-hop and Favorite Album - rap/hip-hop for her album "Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded".

Check out the full list of winners, below.

ARTIST OF THE YEAR: Justin Bieber

NEW ARTIST OF THE YEAR: Carly Rae Jepsen

FAVORITE MALE ARTIST – POP/ROCK: Justin Bieber

FAVORITE FEMALE ARTIST – POP/ROCK: Katy Perry

FAVORITE BAND, DUO OR GROUP – POP/ROCK: Maroon 5

FAVORITE ALBUM – POP/ROCK: Justin Bieber, “Believe”

FAVORITE MALE ARTIST – COUNTRY: Luke Bryan

FAVORITE FEMALE ARTIST – COUNTRY: Taylor Swift

FAVORITE BAND, DUO or GROUP – COUNTRY: Lady Antebellum

FAVORITE ALBUM – COUNTRY: Carrie Underwood, “Blown Away”

FAVORITE ARTIST – RAP/HIP-HOP: Nicki Minaj

FAVORITE ALBUM – RAP/HIP-HOP: Nicki Minaj, “Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded”

FAVORITE MALE ARTIST – SOUL/R&B: Usher

FAVORITE FEMALE ARTIST – SOUL/R&B: Beyoncé

FAVORITE ALBUM – SOUL/R&B: Rihanna, “Talk That Talk”

FAVORITE ARTIST – ALTERNATIVE ROCK: Linkin Park

FAVORITE ARTIST – ADULT CONTEMPORARY: Adele

FAVORITE ARTIST – LATIN: Shakira

FAVORITE ARTIST – CONTEMPORARY INSPIRATIONAL: tobyMac

FAVORITE ARTIST – ELECTRONIC DANCE MUSIC (EDM): David Guetta

The artists strutted their stuff in fab fashion pieces (others not so fab) and performed tracks off their latest albums. The event, hosted by Ryan Seacrest, was a smashing success filled with stellar performances and left the audience with a truly memorable AMA experience.

Here are some snapshots of the recently concluded 40th American Music Awards.