Music Awards a Night of Thanks and Revenge

The 20th annual American Music Awards ceremony was so tame Monday night at Los Angeles’ Shrine Auditorium that the press was thankful for its old nemesis: Michael Bolton.

Bolton, who urged critics at last year’s American Music Awards to seek out psychotherapy because of what he termed their “nasty, negative” comments in reviews of his music, smiled after winning one of his two awards and told reporters, “Success is the best revenge.”

Bolton’s awards were for favorite male pop-rock artist and favorite male adult contemporary artist.

Moments later, Stephen Stills, the veteran rocker who was at the nationally televised ceremony to help deliver a posthumous award to concert promoter Bill Graham, added some spice to the evening’s Bolton watch.

“What’s wrong with you?” Stills asked the reporters, referring to reviewers who accuse Bolton of being too melodramatic a vocal interpreter. “Michael Bolton is one of the greatest singers to come along in 20 years. Let me know when you can sing like that.”

Except for Michael Jackson showing up with Elizabeth Taylor to accept a special humanitarian music award, the ceremony itself was fairly routine as one thankful artist after another--from Billy Ray Cyrus to Mariah Carey--paraded to the podium to profess how much these awards mean to them because they come from “the people.”

Unlike the Grammy Awards, the record industry equivalent of the motion picture Oscars, the American Music Awards are based on a poll of 20,000 music fans around the country. The voters’ choices Monday ranged from Garth Brooks and Reba McEntire (favorite country artists) to Jackson’s “Dangerous” and “Remember the Time” (best pop-rock album and soul/R&B; single, respectively).

But no one seemed more delighted than Cyrus, who won awards for favorite new country artist and favorite country single (“Achy Breaky Heart”).

Like Bolton, Cyrus also had revenge on his mind.

But his target wasn’t the press. It was fellow country star Travis Tritt, who last year ridiculed “Achy Breaky Heart” as lightweight.

Cyrus went on the offensive during one of his two appearances at the podium.

“There have been those people, perhaps due to paranoia or insecurities or perhaps they consider themselves self-proclaimed critics, who don’t like ‘Achy Breaky Heart,’ ” he hollered on national television. “Here’s a quarter, call someone who cares!”

The punchline, which refers a celebrated Tritt hit, received the loudest applause of the night.

Continuing the theme backstage, Cyrus added earnestly, “(Tritt had) tried to slander me one more time. And the people, my fans, have been telling me that enough is enough. It’s time to say something.”

The evening’s crown jewel was clearly meant to be the appearance by Jackson, the normally reclusive superstar who seems to be everywhere these days--from last week’s inauguration festivities to Sunday’s Super Bowl, where he’ll perform during the halftime show.

After receiving the “first ever” International Artist Award (heretofore called the Michael Jackson International Award), the shy performer caused a commotion when he donned his sunglasses and posed for photos backstage before quickly ducking out.

Other winners, however, were as effusive backstage as they were for the cameras. Declared an excited Carey, who was voted favorite pop-rock female artist: “This is what I dreamed about since I was a kid.”

The evening’s other winners in the pop-rock categories were Genesis (band), Boyz II Men’s “End of the Road” (single) and Pearl Jam (new artist). Pearl Jam was also named favorite new artist in the heavy metal/hard rock field, while Metallica was named favorite band in that category.

In the soul/R&B; competition, the winners were Bobby Brown (male artist), Patti LaBelle (female artist), Boyz II Men (group), En Vogue’s “Funky Divas” (album) and Kriss Kross (new artist). Kris Kross was also named favorite new artist in the rap/hip hop voting, while Sir Mix-A-Lot was named favorite artist.

Other country winners were Alabama (band) and Reba McEntire’s “For My Broken Heart” (album), while k.d. lang was voted favorite new artist in the adult contemporary field, where Carey’s “Unplugged” was declared favorite album.