Like a cyclone that arrives unannounced, Taylor Swift has stormed the Europe Music Awards (EMA) 2022 by surprise to shake up an initially low-profile gala and take 4 of the 6 awards to which she aspired in contrast to Rosalía, the great victim for this unexpected storm .
In front of a list of guests full of emerging artists and not very glittering in the media, except for a few exceptions such as Muse, in the gossip of the 29th edition held today at the PSD Dome Bank in Düsseldorf (Germany) it was striking that none of the main nominees confirm your attendance.
Among them were the phenomenon Harry Styles (a candidate in seven categories, of which in the end he has only materialized those of “best direct” and “best British artist”) or the American Nicki Minaj (who has won two out of five, “best song” for “Super Freaky Girl” and “best hip hop artist”). That list of great candidates also included the aforementioned Rosalía , a candidate for five EMAs. Hers seemed to be her most reasonable presence, given that the Catalan woman already participated only a week ago in a similar ceremony in Madrid, the Los40 Music Awards, where she won three awards.
Taylor Swift, during the gala.
From Las Vegas, perhaps warned that this time he would not suffer the same fate, he has not attended a ceremony that has seen the awards for “best artist”, “best Latin artist” (in favor of the Brazilian Anitta ) fly into other hands. , “best song” (for “Despechá”), “best Spanish artist” (which has been for Bad Gyal ) and “best long video” for his already iconic live on Tik Tok with “Motomami”. On the contrary, it has been the author of “Anti-hero”, a great lover of surprises, who has hit the table with her unexpected visit to this city located on the banks of the Rhine, which she has arrived by private plane. a few hours before the start of the gala and ten years after his last foray into the EMAs.
Swift , who has endorsed the awards for “best artist”, “best pop artist”, “best video” and “best long-form video”, both for her version of more than 10 minutes of the song “All Too Well”, has He is especially grateful for the support of his fans and has shown his “respect” to all of his fellow nominees.
The war in ukraine
Like her, many participants in the ceremony have also been rewarded, see her presenter, Rita Ora (“best look”), or David Guetta , who has won “best electronic artist” and with the “best collaboration” for “ I’m Good (Blue)” with Bebe Rexha against rivals like Shakira and Rauw Alejandro for “Te felicito” or Bad Bunny and Chencho Corleone for “Me Porto Bonito”. While the Latin environment has been left with the meager representation of the Anitta award , South Korea has had more to say at a gala that has celebrated BTS (“best fans”), Blackpink (“best performance in the metaverse” ),Seventeen (the two awards for emerging figures “revelation” and “best Push artist” for this “boyband” made up of 17 members!) and Lisa (“best K-Pop artist”).
In the list of winners there was still room for Chlöe (“best R&B artist”) or for Sam Smith for “Unholy” for “best video with a positive message”. In addition, tribute has been paid to the humanitarian work of three Ukrainians who fight every day to help refugees affected by the humanitarian crisis that is ravaging their country in the war with Russia, a conflict that has been doubly present due to the performance of the band Kalush Orchestra, winners of Eurovision 2022, which this time has not launched any political message.
Unmemorable performances
Guetta and Rexha have been responsible for opening with “I’m Good (Blue)” a ceremony that without respite has jumped to the incendiary performance of Muse with “Will of the people”, her proclamation in favor of the popular will wrapped up here by a legion of masked men inspired by the aesthetics of the series “The Squid Game” in front of a gigantic head that served as Big Brother. Beyond that outburst, the enormous outlay in the media that this production always entails has not been accompanied by a similar investment in stage ideas at a gala that at least has had the morbidity to give the reins of the gala to the natural chemistry of the couple. sentimental formed by Rita Ora and the actor and director Taika Waititi.
And it is that in the search for unpublished postcards, this has not been a particularly memorable edition. Thus, Ava Max has provided with “Million Dollar Baby” the most pop and massive number with about twenty dancers on stage, a solvent proposal but one that was too reminiscent of other views in the past (see Saweetie in 2021).
Of the rest, perhaps it’s only worth rescuing Gayle’s dancer-engendering bed with “ABCDEFu”, the serenity of Stormzy and Debbie’s orange firefly forest with “Fire Babe” or, forcibly, Tom’s intervention in a recorded message Cruise to publicize more than to introduce the song OneRepubic put to the “Top Gun” sequel.