Bruno Mars kicked off the 2016 American Music Awards with some serious uptown funk: He sang his groovy hit, “24K Magic,” backed by his band who matched his slick, upbeat dance moves.
The song is Mars’ latest smash single after the success of last year’s “Uptown Funk.” He, like many of the artists set to perform on Sunday, is promoting a new album at the AMAs, airing live on ABC from the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles.
Mars released his new project on Friday, while others are also promoting new albums, including Lady Gaga, the Weeknd, Sting, Green Day, Shawn Mendes, John Legend and The Chainsmokers. One Direction’s Niall Horan and Maroon 5, who recently dropped new singles, will also perform. Kendrick Lamar will join Adam Levine and friends onstage.
It wasn’t clear if Drake, who is the leading nominee, would attend the three-hour show. The Grammy-winning rapper broke Michael Jackson’s record for most AMA nominations after scoring 13 nominations. Drake, however, hasn’t attended many awards shows in the last few years even when he leads in nominations.
Former “Saturday Night Live” comic Jay Pharaoh, who is hosting the show with model Gigi Hadid, impersonated Drake in funny form on the red carpet ahead of the show.