Let's Relive the 12 Most Iconic American Music Awards Performances Through the Years

Prince had the out-of-this-world stage presence and vocals to make a song feel both intimate and dynamite at the same time — this memorable performance of "Purple Rain" will forever go down in history as one of the AMAs' best.

Janet Jackson's moves were, suffice to say, unparalleled in this late '80s performance of "Control."

Whitney Houston could stand in one place during a performance and still manage to control the attention of an entire arena for an entire 10 minutes. She did exactly that in this emotive medley of "I Loves You, Porgy," "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going," and "I Have Nothing."

We've come to love Britney for always pulling out all the stops when it comes to wardrobe, choreography, and set design. When she sang "I'm Not a Girl, Not Yet a Woman" at the 2002 AMAs, she blessed us with a more scaled-down and tender showcase, focusing instead on her spectacular vocals.

Queen Bey has so many iconic performances, but the one from the 2008 AMAs has to be one of her very best. The choreography, hairography, and vocals all confirmed that no one can top Beyoncé — except
Beyoncé.

The one thing that Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta is going to give us is a show — this double feature of "Bad Romance" and "Speechless" did just that. The first part of the performance featured fun dance moves in blinking nude bodysuits while the latter half was more focussed on delivering an impeccable vocal.

This unforgettable performance is signature Pink, combining an emotional interpretive dance with her powerhouse voice.

Who can make you emotional while wearing a cat print two-piece suit in front of a low-resolution cat that's crying out diamonds? Why, it's Miley Cyrus flaunting her powerful vocals as she closed out the 2013 AMAs with "Wrecking Ball."

It's easy to overlook this smooth and easy version of "24K Magic" because it's what we've come to expect from Bruno Mars every time. But there's really no denying how this fun performance hyped up the crowd's energy exponentially.

Whether or not you're part of the devoted ARMY or not, BTS undeniably crushed this historical 2017 performance of "DNA" with smooth vocals and in-sync dance moves. They became the first K-Pop group ever to perform at the show.

Between gritty red lighting, roaring flames, and leather attire, Taylor, deep in her Reputation era, gave one hell of a performance combining killer stage presence and vocals here. Honourable mentions include her impeccable 2014 "Blank Space" and 2019 Artist of the Decade medley.

From the moment Megan descended from the ceiling at the 2020 AMAs, we just knew that this was going to be an epic performance. Not only does she stay in pocket the entire time, but she also looked great in her sheer and glittery black bodysuit, and did not disappoint with the choreography.