Chris Brown Dominates AMAs, Kanye West Wants to be Elvis

Chris Brown took home the coveted Artist of the Year Award at the AMAs, as well as wins for favorite male artist in both the soul/R&B and pop/rock categories. His total of three awards was best on the night, with Kanye West and Alicia Keys among the artists that took home two awards each.

And although Brown took home the hardware, Kanye stole the show with his speech about current musicians' place in history. He likened his peers to the Beatles and the Hendrix of this generation -- and he said that he thinks of himself as Elvis. All of this in the context of encouraging/challenging his peers to raise their game and continue to produce even better musical material.

As is always the case at the AMAs, and most self-promoting celebrity awards shows, the night was mostly about the live performances in front of a national audience. Some of the memorable performances of the night included Rihanna, complete with a chained leather corset, and a lively performance by Miley Cyrus. It seemed that most commercially viable mainstream acts were able to find some stage-time, including Pink, the New Kids on the Block, the Jonas Brothers and the Pussycat Dolls, among many others.

Some acts were better received than others, with Miley Cyrus and Rihanna seeming to be at the top of the list. Some of the less effective turns were taken by the New Kids and Christina Aguilera near the opening of the show.

Annie Lenox, one of the senior members of the music industry at age 53, was given the Award of Merit by Justin Timberlake. She remarked to her much younger peers, "I never thought I would live to see the day that I could be 53 years old standing on a stage. It's been an incredible journey. Music: my friend, my accompaniment through life."

Other awards went to Brad Paisley for favorite country artist and Taylor Swift for favorite female country act.