AMA Winners Bruno Mars, Coldplay, Niall Horan By the Touring Numbers

The public has spoken, with the American Music Awards for artist of the year going to Bruno Mars, tour of the year to Coldplay, and new artist of the year to Niall Horan, as presented Nov. 19 live from the Microsoft Theater Los Angeles. 

Matt Sayles/Invision/AP) – Niall Horan
Niall Horan performs “Slow Hands” at the American Music Awards at the Microsoft Theater on Sunday, Nov. 19, 2017, in Los Angeles.

Although a case could be made for a handful of other artists,  It’s hard to argue with the choice of Coldplay for tour of the year. The band has regularly been near the top of the Pollstar Global Concert Pulse, with huge ticket sales and grosses during its Head Full of Dreams world tour of stadiums and arenas.  

At one point the band was averaging a gross of close to $7.8 million per event and averaging just under 80,000 tickets sold. 

Recent Coldplay box office reports submitted to Pollstar include Sprint Center in Kansas City Aug. 15 (12,971 tickers, $1.73 million gross), CenturyLink Center Omaha Aug. 14 (13,009, $1.43 million), and two nights at the Bell Center in Montreal Aug. 8-9 (35,731 total tickets, $4.03 million gross) – all of which sold out. 

Also nominated in the Tour category were U2 and Garth Brooks. The AMA winners are determined by a poll of the public and fans, who can vote through the AMAs website.  

Photo by Matt Sayles/Invision/AP – Alessia Cara and Zedd
Alessia Cara, right, and Zedd perform “Stay” at the American Music Awards at the Microsoft Theater on Sunday, Nov. 19, 2017, in Los Angeles.

Artist of the Year Bruno Mars is in the middle of a South American tour, after which he plays a smattering of U.S. dates including multiple Vegas nights, and then a lengthy Australia and Asian run starting in February and taking him into the summer.

Bruno Mars wasn’t at the American Music Awards on Sunday night, but he was the big winner with seven awards, including entertainer of the year. Mars also won video of the year and favorite male artist, pop/rock, and favorite album, pop/rock.

“I wish I could be partying with y’all,” said Mars, who appeared in a video during the awards show, which is produced by Dick Clark Productions. 

Bruno’s U.S. tour wrapped with four dates at the Forum in Inglewood Nov. 7-11. Headline reports submitted to Pollstar include Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia Oct. 10,  which sold 16,555 tickets and grossed $2.08 million, two nights at Madison Square Garden Sept. 22-23, which sold 30,988 tickets and gross more than $4.1 million. On Pollstar’s 3Q Worldwide Ticket Sales chart, he was No. 8 with just under 950,000 tickets sold in 2017.  

He also did two shows each at the Air Canada Centre (Aug. 26-27, 33,488, $3.9 million) and Bell Centre in Montreal Aug. 29-30 (33,905, $3.55 million). 

Favorite New Artist was former One Directioner Niall Horan, who has 90-plus dates on the books, with his “Flicker Sessions” tour of large clubs and theatres taking him toward the end of year, which closes with the star-studded iHeartRadio Jingle Ball Tour that includes Taylor Swift, Demi Lovato, Nick Jonas, Julia Michaels and others on select dates.

Starting again in the spring he’ll embark on the Flicker World Tour, which runs into the end of 2018 in arenas and amphitheatres and kicks off in the UK March 12 at 3Arena in Dublin. Horan performed “Slow Hands” during the awards show, with other performances on the night including Alessia Cara with Zedd, Nick Jonas, Pink and Kelly Clarkson, Diana Ross, Selena Gomez, and Christina Aguilera, who gave a heartfelt tribute to Whitney Houston.  

Linkin Park was awarded Favorite Alternative Rock artist, with band members accepting the award and paying tribute to the recently passed Chester Bennington, saying:  And remember, you guys, all of you tonight, whether you’re a fan or an artist—I want you guys to take a moment to appreciate what you’ve got. And make Chester proud.”

On the hip hop side, Drake was voted best male artist, Kendrick Lamar won for album of the year. Both are booked my WME’s Brent Smith and both have been killing it with sold-out arena tours. 

Kevin Winter/Getty Images) – Pink AMAs
In a pre-recorded segment that aired during the awards show, Pink takes the show outside the Microsoft Theater to the walls of the JW Marriott.

She hits Europe in January, with dates taking her into the end of February and (so far) ending at Mercedes-Benz Arena in Berlin.

Shakira was named favorite Latin artist, with fans must obviously excited about her upcoming tour, although its beginning had to be pushed back with promoter Live Nation saying the singer was suffering from a vocal cord hemorrhage. 

The tour is now set to kick off Jan. 9 at the Amway Center in Orlando, with her last world tour coming in 2010-11 with more than 100 dates worldwide.

Highlights from the broadcast included Barack and Michelle Obama congratulating Diana Ross via video, who was presented the Lifetime Achievement Award. Ross then performed a medley of iconic hits “I’m Coming Out,” “Take Me Higher” and “The Best Years of My Life.”

She dedicated the performance to her fans, saying “You are everything to me,” and invited her family up on the stage to celebrate the honor, including the awards show host Tracee Ellis Ross. She also recently announced a Las Vegas residency titled “Diana Ross: Endless Memories.” It is scheduled Feb. 7, 9-10, 14, 16-17, 21 and 23-24. 

Matt Sayles/Invision/AP – Diana Ross
Diana Ross performs at the American Music Awards at the Microsoft Theater on Sunday, Nov. 19, 2017, in Los Angeles.

Kelly Clarkson and Pink opened the American Music Awards with a tribute to first responders with a powerhouse vocal duet of R.E.M.’s “Everybody Hurts.” Before their performance on Sunday night in Los Angeles, Jamie Foxx stood in front of a group of first responders and said that this year “tested our faith.”

The two pop singers traded vocals on the song while images from recent natural disasters played on screens behind them. They ended the duet with a hug and got a standing ovation.