Pop music pals and current tour mates Justin Bieber and Carly Rae Jepsen respectively cleaned up at the 2012 American Music Awards, with the former winning the Artist of the Year trophy and the latter collecting the New Artist of the Year award.
Bieber visited the stage three separate times to retrieve awards, first for favorite male pop/rock artist; during his acceptance speech, the 18-year-old told the audience, "This is for all the haters who thought maybe I was just here for one or two years." His latest album, "Believe," scooped up pop/rock album of the year, and award presenter Jenny McCarthy decided to attack the teen star's neck with a kiss. "I feel violated right now!" he proclaimed.
However, one of the evening's most touching moments came when Bieber brought his mother, Pattie Mallette, up on stage with him to snag his Artist of the Year award. "I can't even think. I'm just so blown away right now," Bieber told his onlookers before turning to his mother and saying, "I just want to always thank you for believing in me."
Earlier in the evening, Carly Rae Jepsen -- whose smash single "Call Me Maybe" first gained attention in the States when Bieber co-signed the song on Twitter -- picked up the New Artist of the Year award. "To the fans: I am floored!" a surprised Jepsen exclaimed, before thanking (among other people) Bieber and her boyfriend, Matthew Koma.
Both Bieber and Jepsen performed at the 40th annual AMAs, held live at the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles. The Biebs delivered a stripped-down performance of his Top 10 hit "As Long As You Love," even tackling Big Sean's guest verse as a guitarist strummed alongside the pop star. He then welcomed Nicki Minaj onstage for a spirited rendition of their current hit, "Beauty And A Beat."
Meanwhile, Jepsen (who introduced Bieber's performance) played new single "This Kiss" before diving into her No. 1 hit "Call Me Maybe." The performance was marked by a trio of multi-colored telephone booths, a sure tip-off that "This Kiss" would eventually segue into the phone-themed smash.
All in all, Sunday was a big night for Scooter Braun, the head of Schoolboy Records and Bieber's manager. Along with the Biebs and Schoolboy signee Jepsen, Braun witnessed two other artists that he manages -- boy band The Wanted and K-pop sensation PSY -- execute well-received performances.
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