Who Had the Best Song?

With an American flag behind him and a pin on his lapel, Blake Shelton’s performance of new single “Stay Country or Die Tryin’” near the beginning of the telecast served as a passionate reminder of the holiday that coincided with the 2025 American Music Awards. With a full band that allowed for fiddle riffs, guitar solos and cymbal smashes, Shelton stood tall, and made his AMAs debut with a full-throated anthem.

“Happy 40th birthday, ‘Conga!’” Gloria Estefan crowed onstage at the AMAs, getting the audience moving while hustling through a medley of “Rhythm Is Gonna Get You,” “La Vecina (No Sé Na)” and, of course, her 1985 classic with Miami Sound Machine. The instrumentation from the singles still popped decades later — although considering how quickly Estefan’s performance came to a close, one wishes the legendary performer had more time to showcase her aesthetic.

After being introduced by her partner Blake Shelton, Gwen Stefani kicked things off in a cornfield, performing “Swallow My Tears” from her recent country effort Boutique — but after the first chorus, the beat from “The Sweet Escape” kicked in, and Stefani reminded the world of the solo pop superstardom she grabbed in the mid-2000s. With dancers sporting kilts and oversized lollipops, and a whistle from her trumpet player announcing the medley-capping “Hollaback Girl,” Stefani looked like she was having a blast reliving her past after showcasing her present.

Reneé Rapp’s Broadway background was on full display during her debut performance of new single “Leave Me Alone”: The rising star navigated a crowded bathroom that had its walls collapse, a pop-punk fantasia with kicky dancers and snarling guitar, and a camera hovering from the ceiling, which captured Rapp sprawled out on stage. Rapp is aiming at high-wattage pop stardom, and she used her AMAs performance to illustrate how “Leave Me Alone” can help her get there.

Rod Stewart’s evening-capping performance was preceded by a presentation of the Lifetime Achievement Award to the pop legend, with five of his children surprising Stewart on stage; he seemed equally shocked and moved by the gesture, and that spirit carried over into the evening’s final set. With a voice as familiar as Stewart’s and a song as timeless as “Forever Young,” the AMAs producers lined up a crowd-pleaser to finish off the ceremony — although the Riverdance vibe from the performance, complete with fleet-footed dancers and bagpipes, upended expectations as well.

Following Blake Shelton’s fiery performance a few minutes before her, Lainey Wilson offered a more reflective version of popular country with her presentation of “Somewhere Over Laredo”: In a billowing white getup, Wilson performed in front of a wind machine and rhinestone-encrusted mic stand, and produced plenty of waving arms with her new single. With her AMAs debut, Wilson continued her ascent within country in front of a mainstream audience.

The AMAs performance of Becky G and Manuel Turizo’s recent collaboration “Que Haces” required some nifty technical work from the telecast’s crew, including a clever use of split-screen to open the set — with Becky starting at the top of a staircase, Turizo slowly dancing through the audience at the same time, and the two artists eventually colliding — and the cameras lingering on their creative chemistry in the final minute. Their respective tones blended impressively as dancers hovered around them, providing a quick moment of intimacy in a crowded scenario.

Benson Boone may be moving on from “Beautiful Things” to other singles such as new hit “Mystical Magical,” but the singer-songwriter exuded rock-star energy while prowling through the audience, singing the falsetto-heavy chorus in front of a four-piece string section, rocking an eye-popping magenta suit and, of course, hitting an acrobatic flip mid-song. Benson is feeling himself, and proving his staying power beyond his breakout smash.

Janet Jackson’s first TV performance in seven years is a major deal for both casual pop listeners and hardcore fans; AMAs host Jennifer Lopez, who once danced in Jackson’s music video for “That’s the Way Love Goes,” is one of the latter, introducing her performance by proclaiming that the superstar set “the blueprint for how to be a strong female artist in this industry.” Instead of sprawling across her catalog to precede the acceptance of her Icon Award, though, Jackson stuck to a pair of still-potent singles from her 2001 album All For You: “Someone to Call My Lover” was unfurled with breezy choreography to match its smile-inducing hook, and “All For You” had colorful visuals, high energy and finger snaps. Jackson didn’t overreach during the performance, instead revisiting one of her strongest eras to demonstrate how thoroughly she can still command attentions.

Alex Warren’s AMAs debut began humbly enough — just the singer-songwriter under a lone spotlight, in front of a black background. A few seconds into his performance of global smash “Ordinary,” however, Warren retreated a few feet to the back toward a swelling chorus of voices, and the background morphed into the enormous moon of the song’s artwork, capturing the magnitude of the moment for an artist who’s been enjoying a meteoric rise. With deep emotion in his eyes and a chorus that sounded arena-sized with so many voices joining his own, Warren added gravity to the AMAs stage, and earned the pyrotechnics that capped off the performance.

After spending decades showing off her talents as a true triple threat, Jennifer Lopez kicked off the 2025 American Music Awards by delving deep into her dazzling skill set. The evening’s host began her performance — and the telecast — with a ballad version of her hit “Dance Again,” complete with cinematic mirrors and go-for-broke vocals. Then, she took the song title’s advice, proceeding to race through an elaborate dance routine set to a mega-mix of the year’s biggest hits, from Kendrick Lamar’s “TV Off” to Shaboozey’s “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” to Billie Eilish’s “Birds of a Feather.”

Not only was the performance a smart way to start an awards ceremony honoring the most popular music of the past year, but J. Lo’s expert choreography and unflagging energy served as reminders of a legendary performer’s vitality. She set the tone for the rest of the evening, and in the end, no one could top her.