For the second year in a row, One Direction scooped the prize for artist of the year, at the American Music awards, beating the likes of Luke Bryan, Ariana Grande, Maroon 5, Nicki Minaj, Ed Sheeran, Sam Smith, Taylor Swift, Meghan Trainor and the Weeknd.
The group also won in the favourite pop/rock duo or group category on Sunday night.
Other notable moments from ABC’s annual American Music Awards, voted by the public, included Ariana Grande beating Taylor Swift in the female artist of the year (pop/rock). Appearing shocked, she thanked her grandmother, who was in the audience.
Swift did not attend the awards, but won three of the biggest prizes, including song and album of the year for Bad Blood and 1989.
Meghan Trainor, who did not win any awards in her nominated categories, surprised everybody after a performance of Marvin Gaye with Charlie Puth. The performance concluded with a protracted French kiss, which was still going on when the producers cut to commercial.
After a year of chart dominance, the Weeknd won two awards on Sunday night: favourite male artist and album (soul/R&B). He also literally set the AMA stage on fire in a performance of The Hills, a long-running US No 1.
Macklemore and Leon Bridges duetted on the emotional Kevin, about prescription pill addiction. However, the evening’s most moving moment was a tribute to the victims of the Paris attacks by Celine Dion, who sang Edith Piaf’s Hymne à L’amour.
Harrison Ford surprised audiences in an appearance on stage to introduce the a cappella group Pentatonix. Following a new clip from Star Wars: The Force Awakens, set to premiere in the US this December, Pentatonix performed excerpts from the Star Wars soundtrack, composed by John Williams.
Heavily hyped, the clip revealed little more about the film, consisting of footage of Rey and Finn - played by Daisy Ridley and John Boyega – running away from an explosion.
The American Music awards were presented by Jennifer Lopez, who began the show in spectacular style with a Las Vegas-style dance medley of the biggest hits of the year.
The camera cut to Nicki Minaj - who won two awards - looking stony-faced at Lopez’s booty-shaking to Anaconda, but the rapper denied that she had been displeased by the performance.