Home » Music » R&B/Soul Music » And The Winners Are...Soul Music's Elite

And The Winners Are...Soul Music's Elite

© Paula Chase-Hyman

It's not that the 2002 American Music Awardsweren't entertaining, but for me, the shameless self promotion that saturated the show took away a lot of the entertainment value.

Maybe it started out as a joke, but it arrived at a point (very quickly) where the words self-indulgent, insecure celebs rang in my ears. These people don't get enough ink, radio air-space, face time with the camera and other free publicity on a daily basis- now they have to resort to plugging their projects in between announcing nominations?!

When the Backstreet Boys brought out a new artist from their new label and let her sing a 30 second solo before actually getting to the task of the nominated artists, I was through. And that was only 5 minutes into the show!

After that it was 120 minutes of each artist trying to top the last promo. And I'm still not clear if Puff Daddy's reference to the Bishop Don Juan's outrageous, pimp gear as part of the Sean Jean line was a joke or not. God, I hope so.

But if I wanted to watch a 120 minute long infomercial, I'd turn to BET on Sunday.

But, this was a night about recognition of the people's favorites, right? Right?

Maybe you wouldn't know it from last night's antics, but the people's choices were acknowledged last night and there were no real surprises.

If you didn't notice - R&B/Soul had an unmistakable presence at last night's show, well represented and thoroughly acknowledged.

Because the AMAs are based on record sales and radio play, R&B tends to have a better showing there than at the Grammy's. I'd say that means that despite a more formal nod from "the Academy," R&B and Pop music pleases the masses, immensely.

But if you missed it, here are some of the high and lowlights and how some of your favorite artists fared:

Lowlights

- How in hell does Jenny McCarthy keep working? I can't recall the last thing she starred in yet here she is front and center hosting the AMAs..go figure. She's silly and crude and didn't add much to the broadcast. Of course Diddy and his ego were probably tough to compete with.

- Once again, the self-promotion became old very fast. But how 'bout that "un-self promotion" of Sheryl Crow. She promoted her co-presenters work and they hers. Oh, brother!

- Booing of N'sync. What's that all about?

- Britney's performance of "I'm Not A Girl, Not Yet A Woman." Note to Britney, stick to the fast tempo songs. I believe the ballads showcase just how little singing talent she possesses.

The copyright of the article And The Winners Are...Soul Music's Elite in R&B/Soul Music is owned by Paula Chase-Hyman. Permission to republish And The Winners Are...Soul Music's Elite in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.