2013 AMAs: Katy Perry opens show with geisha-themed ‘Unconditionally’ performance

When you have an awards show like the American Music Awards, we have to be honest here and ask: How many people are actually watching the show for the awards? We have a hard time thinking that it is that many. Instead, this is one of those shows that really relies on having a fantastic performance to open the show, and then some more great performances throughout to actually keep you entertained. Thanks to that, you need a killer first performance to get things off on the right foot.

So while Katy Perry closed the MTV Video Music Awards earlier this year, she actually opened the AMAs tonight with a performance of her new hit “Unconditionally.” This had a distinctive geisha theme, whether you are talking about her own costume to the overall set design. It was also colorful enough to be reminiscent of her recent music video to “Roar.”

The one thing that was curious about this performance was that it was basically ABC opening the show with a ballad. How often does that happen? Typically, you want to have the ballads in around the middle of the show, that way you can start and end with things that area a little more uptempo and get your heart rate going a little bit. So while the vocal here was great for a live format, there was really not that much in this performance overall that is going to get people talking on the internet for weeks to come. The biggest distinction that the performance may have is being one of Katy’s first live performances of this song on American television. (She’s already covered it on both the EMAs, and the British version of “The X Factor.”)

If you want to read some more news and highlights when it comes to the AMAs, just be sure to visit the link here. We’ll also have a winners’ list here published here soon enough.

Photo: ABC