AMAs Reward Destiny's Child, McGraw

11/23/2005 12:57 AM, E! Online
Sarah Hall

The members of Destiny's Child may have gone their separate ways, but that didn't stop the band from picking up a pair of awards at Tuesday's American Music Awards.

The former girl group won the award for Favorite Band, Duo or Group in the Soul/R&B category, as well as Best Album for their swan song record, Destiny Fulfilled.

Only Kelly Rowland was on hand to collect the awards on behalf of the trio, which gave its final performance earlier this month on Jimmy Kimmel Live.

"This feels very awkward being up here by myself," the singer said. "I miss my girls, Beyoncé and Michelle, wherever you are. I love you so much."

Tim McGraw, Kelly Clarkson, Green Day and the Black Eyed Peas also doubled up at the AMAs, each collecting a pair of statuettes.

Mariah Carey led all nominees going into the 33rd Annual American Music Awards, with a total of four nominations. The singer, who opened the ceremony with a performance of "Don't Forget About Us," collected the prize for Favorite Female Artist in the Soul/R&B category, but was shut out in all other categories.

"Thank you so much for the warmth and the love," Carey said as she accepted her award.

Carey lost out on the award for Favorite Female Artist in the Pop/Rock category to Gwen Stefani, who was fresh off a performance with Pharrell and seemed slightly confused as to which prize she was meant to be collecting.

"What did I win?" Stefani asked as she was presented her first American Music Award. "I guess whatever I won, I just want to say thank you to the fans, especially all my girls. Imagine what it feels like to be me all these years and have your support. It's just outrageous."

Redneck Woman Gretchen Wilson took home Favorite Female Artist honors in the Country category and Missy Elliot took the prize on the Rap/Hip-Hop side for the second year in a row.

"I got to thank God because that's my inspiration for everything that I do," Elliott said, going on to dedicate the award to the late Aaliyah.

Will Smith beat out 50 Cent and Rob Thomas to take the Favorite Male Artist, Pop/Rock prize and R. Kelly was selected as Favorite Male Artist in the Soul/R&B category.

Country-fried crooners Brooks & Dunn won the award for Favorite Duo in the country category for a fifth time, while Tim McGraw roped the prizes for Favorite Male Artist and Best Album for Live Like You Were Dying.

It was a sweet night for Sugarland, which beat out the Killers and Jesse McCartney for Breakthrough New Artist. Meanwhile, proving that American Idol was merely a launching pad for further success, Kelly Clarkson nabbed the Favorite Artist honor in the Adult Contemporary category, as well as the publicly voted T-Mobile Text-In Award.

Undulator extraordinaire Shakira took home the Favorite Artist award in the Latin music category.

"I can only say that when a Spanish song gets played on Top 40 American radio, it means the pseudo rules of the industry are changing," she said. "America is a cross-cultural open country and music is a language on its own."

Cedric the Entertainer presided over the ceremony, which was telecast live on ABC from Los Angeles' Shrine Auditorium. Over the course of the three-hour kudos cast, performers included Lindsay Lohan, Hilary Duff, Kenny Chesney, the Eurythmics, Santana and Los Lonely Boys. Cyndi Lauper and Sarah McLachlan performed a crowd-pleasing version of Lauper's 1980s hit, "Time After Time," and the Rolling Stones closed the show live via satellite from Salt Lake City.

The Stones may have had to beam in their show-ending performance, but at least the band made an appearance, which was more than could be said for many of the nights big winners. Notable AMA absentees included Clarkson, Eminem, the Black Eyed Peas, Green Day and 50 Cent.

AMA nominees are selected based on record sales, with the winners determined by a national poll of 20,000 listeners.

Here's a complete rundown of the winners of the 2005 American Music Awards:

POP/ROCK:

• Male Artist: Will Smith
• Female Artist: Gwen Stefani
• Band, Duo or Group: Black Eyed Peas
• Album: American Idiot (Green Day)

SOUL/RHYTHM & BLUES:

• Male Artist: R. Kelly
• Female Artist: Mariah Carey
• Band, Duo or Group: Destiny's Child
• Album: Destiny Fulfilled (Destiny's Child)

COUNTRY:

• Male Artist: Tim McGraw
• Female Artist: Gretchen Wilson
• Band, Duo or Group: Brooks & Dunn
• Album: Live Like You Were Dying (Tim McGraw)

RAP/HIP-HOP:

• Male Artist: Eminem
• Female Artist: Missy Elliott
• Band, Duo or Group: Black Eyed Peas
• Album: The Massacre, (50 Cent)

ADULT CONTEMPORARY:

• Favorite Artist: Kelly Clarkson

LATIN:

• Favorite Artist: Shakira

ALTERNATIVE:

• Favorite Artist: Coldplay

CONTEMPORARY INSPIRATIONAL:

• Favorite Artist: Mary Mary

BREAKTHROUGH:

• New Artist (all genres): Sugarland

T-MOBILE TEXT-IN AWARD: Kelly Clarkson