AMAs 2017: Jamie Foxx, P!nk, Kelly Clarkson open show with messages of hope

Jamie Foxx

The AMAs 2017 opening brought many performances to the table, but the show chose to do something a little bit different courtesy of Jamie Foxx. Rather than feature some high-octane performances straight out of the gate, the singer/actor chose instead to honor First Responders for all that they have done to help those in need over the past year.

The AMAs are one of the most non-political shows out there — therefore we didn’t expect the show to get into anything too polarizing. They kept this as more of an inspirational opening as opposed to a controversial one, and used a combination of Foxx, Kelly Clarkson, and P!nk to lead off the show in the right way. Foxx introduced the two singers to perform a rendition of “Everybody Hurts.” The idea here was to present a powerful, relatable opening to the show that allowed everyone to be on the same page. Nobody was meant to feel different from anyone else.

Clarkson and P!nk were of course outstanding, not that we really expected anything less. The one thing that we do wonder, however, is if the show went almost too general. In terms of disasters they didn’t specifically mention Hurricane Harvey, the devastation in Puerto Rico, or some of the insane wildfires in California. We do think that this would have been even stronger of an opening with a little more specificity, just because you could easily argue that any awards show could be opened in such a way given that there are is always a wide array of reasons to honor first responders and the incredible work that they do.

This was a different approach to start off the AMAs given then past openings which have focused a little more on the big, high-energy performances with a ton of backup dancers or elaborate light fixtures. We do think those are coming over the course of the night, but that ABC wanted to start the show off with a reminder that the real world is still out there and there are problems that therefore need to be addressed rather than ignored.

What did you think about the AMAs 2017 opening? Share now in the comments!

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