All the Wild, Revealing, and Confusing Looks From the American Music Awards

Celebs like Cardi B, Machine Gun Kelly, Bad Bunny, and more brought their finest (and weirdest) styles to Sunday nights' award show.

By Emily Leibert | November 22, 2021 | 5:25pm

Beauty Style

The American Music Awards aired live from the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles on Sunday, and some of the stars who blessed us with their presence wanted to show us they’ve gotten really fucking weird post-pandemic (mid-pandemic? It’s all unclear).

This year’s show was hosted by Cardi B (who changed so many times I lost count), with performances from BTS, pretty princess Olivia Rodrigo (who looked polished and cute, but pretty much same as always), Bad Bunny, and more. Diplo DJ’d for the night, but literally no one asked for that. AND THERE WAS EVEN A REVENGE DRESS.

Let’s get to gawking at people who are richer than us!

Cardi B

Cardi chose a “bold” look for her red carpet arrival, but I’m awarding this gauche mask best accessory of the night for perfectly encapsulating how I feel about the state of reproductive rights in America right now. Disgusted? Confused? Eyes wide with terror? An activist in the making.

Chlöe Bailey

During a mid-show performance, Chlöe Bailey’s bodysuit gave the strength and sensuality of Janet Jackson at the Super Bowl.

Winnie Harlow

The opulence! The beading! The princess hair! Send me the links, Win, so I can wear this to my belated bar mitzvah when I turn 30.

A proxy for Julieta Venegas

Who is this person that just walked off the Stranger Things set? Demogorgon, that u?

Bad Bunny

The singer’s look is Gen Z fuckboi meets Goofy Movie meets “I’m competing in this year’s Iditarod.”

Billy Porter

The Pose actor is rocking Hillary Clinton on bottom and “my depression follows me around like that Zoloft commercial” on top.

Machine Gun Kelly

Maybe this is MGK’s Bat signal for Megan Fox, hinting, “I’m about to put several hundred rings on it.” Or maybe he just gave his stylist two notes: Chic. Doberman.

JoJo Siwa

Is this dress from a pageant and/or debutante ball boutique? Maybe. But look at this grown-up, glowing femme! We get spicy JoJo on Dancing With the Stars, and “I’m a layer cake of maturity” at the AMAs.

Bad Bunny (again)

This is either menacing or cute, depending if you’re seeing robo-Cyclops or Wall-E.

Cardi B (again)

This is Cardi’s runway show. The other singers are just living in it!

Madelyn Cline

This is exactly the kind of dress that might induce moral panic in another decade, because hip bones are risqué, you know. It’s also (possibly) another revenge dress inspired by Princess Diana.

Iann Dior

This look is sharp, but all I want to do is offer a gentle, maternal suggestion that he sweep the front dreads out of his face.

Kali Uchis

I’m wont to believe that the singer came straight from a boudoir shoot. This chanteuse-bedroom look perfectly leans into Uchis’ hyper-femininity. Relatedly, I also own a corset like this that I got from my Savage x Fenty subscription after I forgot to cancel it three months in a row and am now inspired to wear it out. Anyway, love a boob overflowing from the side. Can relate.