Jennifer Lopez Opens AMAs with Dance Medley
Gearing up for her hosting duties, Jennifer Lopez slipped into dancing mode to open the 2015 American Music Awards, performing a highly-choreographed collection of hits du jour.
Clad in body-gripping winter wear and flanked by backup dancers in similar attire, J.Lo gave a slowed-down, orchestral rendition of “Waiting for Tonight,” candles aglow behind her. “Tonight’s not about me. Tonight is about the music!” she said. “And this year’s music made me want to dance. Do you want to dance with me? This is a party. I said do you want to dance? Alright, let’s dance.”
Lopez ripped into a booty-popping recap of 2015’s hottest hits that segued from Mark Ronson’s “Uptown Funk” to Nicki Minaj’s “Anaconda,” Beyoncé’s “7/11” to The Weeknd’s “Can’t Feel My Face,” Taylor Swift’s “Bad Blood” to Drake’s “Hotline Bling.”
She slowed it down for Ed Sheeran’s “Thinking Out Loud” with a male dancer, who picked her up and swung her around for a dual number. The crew reemerged for a dance-off with Chris Brown’s “Love More” and Justin Bieber’s “Where Are U Now?” where the camera panned to the Biebs, getting down in the audience.
The energetic performance was capped with a group rendition of Rihanna’s “Bitch Better Have My Money,” all before Prince came out to give The Weeknd the award for Best Soul/R&B Album for Beauty Behind the Madness.
Watch J.Lo kick off the show with a bang.