V/A - 2004 AMERICAN MUSIC AWARDS - 32nd annual

32nd Annual American Music Awards
Sponsored by:Welcome to DigitalHit.com's coverage of the 32nd Annual American Music Awards.

8:00 PM ET
The show opens with a solo Gwen Stefani singing a very Kate Bush-esque production number.

8:04 PM ET
Without pausing, we're into the next number, this time from Lenny Kravitz. Catch Lenny's short hair. Looks like he's auditioning for the The Story of OJ. Hmmm...this number isn't the same without Sarah Jessica Parker prancing about.

8:09 PM ET
Time for host Jimmy Kinmmel to take to the stage. Tonight, "instead of watching Desperate Housewives you'll be watching Wasted Rockstars...Jessica Simpson asked Usher where her seat is....Carmen Electra, the Osbournes, if you don't have your own reality show, there's one in the gift basket."

The cameras then show Snoop Dogg backstage running a bake sale. Bobby Brown buys four of his $100 brownies. "Who would've thought we'd see a time where Martha Stewart's in jail and Snoop's baking."

Our first presenter of the evening: Diana Ross. She can sing, but she can't read cue cards — her intro is a garbled mess. She's presenting Favorite Male Artist — Soul / Rhythm & Blues Music and the winner is Usher. It's his first AMA. Usher thanks (in order) Jesus, his management, and Dick Clark. Man, Dick's gonna be pissed.

8:20 PM ET
Nick Lachey and Kelly Osbourne are next. They're presenting Favorite Band, Duo or Group — Pop or Rock and the winner is OutKast. Big Boi thanks God, his band, and his Mom. He also makes reference to Ol' Dirty Bastard, who died last night.

8:23 PM ET
William Shatner's next. He mentions that the time between his first album and his second is 37 years. "You can't rush genius." He intros a breathy performance by Jessica Simpson who sings like she just ran a marathon.

8:26 PM ET
Uncle Kracker and Kenny Chesney immediately follow with a performance. Apparently Kracker missed the "Please wash your hair" memo from Dick Clark.

8:35 PM ET
Time for some country, so Sierra and James Denton from Desperate Housewives present Brooks & Dunn with their fourth AMA. "It makes you appreciate your fans."

Anna Nicole Smith and her new body take to the stage. "Like my body?" Sounding terribly drunk/stoned/dumb, the producers cut her off before she finishes introducing a performance by Kanye West.

8:42 PM ET
Continuing the one performance after another theme, John Mayer takes to the stage to warble a tune.

8:45 PM ET
Jimmy disses Anna Nicole Smith and then introduces the next presenters, Ashanti and Linkin Park. They're presenting Favorite Album — Rap / Hip-Hop and the winner is OutKast.

8:52 PM ET
We can all breathe now. Jojo reads the rules for the AMAs. Time to present Favorite Female Artist — Soul / Rhythm & Blues Music to Alica Keyes, who beats out Beyoncé and Janet Jackson.

"Anna Nicole Smith just took Clay Aiken's virginity...by force."

Kelly Clarkson and Kenny G. now introduce Rod Stewart.

It's amazing...now matter how much time/money they spend on these shows, they still come off as an awards night run by the local Chamber of Commerce.

8:59 PM ET
Time for a performance by Alicia Keyes.

9:07 PM ET
It's time for Pamela Anderson and Big Boi to present Favorite Album — Pop or Rock. The winner is Usher for his album Confessions. He's pleased he's won two so far.

Lost's Matthew Fox introduces a performance by country lass Gretchen Wilson.

9:14 PM ET
The next two presenters are Jenny McCarthy and Gene Simmons. Jenny makes fun of Anna Nicole Smith. They present Favorite Artist — Alternative Music to linkin Park. It's their first AMA win. They thank the fans saying they're the only reason they're there.

9:21 PM ET
A Botox'd Billy Idol introduces a performance by Snoop Dogg and Pharrell.

9:26 PM ET
Kobe Bryant takes to the stage to a mixture of cheers and boos. He presents Favorite Album — Soul / Rhythm & Blues Music to Usher, his third win of the night. Forgetting Jesus this time around, Usher thanks all the lovely ladies and says "Alicia, this is for both of us."

9:33 PM ET
Kathy Griffin and Clay Aiken take to the stage. Griffin's dressed in a wedding dress, saying she's in love with Clay. After the schtick they present Favorite Male Artist — Country Music to Toby Keith.

Wearing next to nothing, Desperate Housewive's Eva Longoria and Nicolette Sheridan present the Award of Merit to Bon Jovi. After a series of clips, we get a performance by the boys from Jersey.

9:50 PM ET
The boys from Velvet Revolver introduce the nominees for Favorite Female Artist — Pop or Rock and present the AMA to Sheryl Crow. It's her second AMA. She said it was inspiring to watch young singer-songwriters like Alicia Keyes and John Mayer.

Brian McKnight then introduces a performance by American Idol 3 winner, Fantasia. That's followed by a performance by Maroon 5.

10:01 PM ET
Macy Gray and Brooks & Dunn share the stage to present Favorite Band, Duo or Group — Rap / Hip-Hop to OutKast. Once again, Big Boi takes to the stage.

10:07 PM ET
Janet Jackson and her fully covered breasts appear on the stage to introduce a performance by Usher and Alicia Keyes singing "My Boo".

10:12 PM ET
Tina Marie and Switchfoot introduce the Favorite Album — Country Music category. Toby Keith wins his second AMA of the night. He dedicates it to his little son's Little League football team.

Mandy Moore introduces a performance by Josh Groban.

10:24 PM ET
Chingy introduces the winner of the T-Mobile Text-In Award...and the winner is Kenny Chesney. He's very surprised that he beat Usher and thanks the fans for supporting him.

Jimmy Kimmel then introduces Doobie Brothers' Michael MacDonald who intro's a performance by Toby Keith.

10:35 PM ET
John Stamos and Carmen Electra do some schtick and then present Breakthrough Favorite New Artist to Gretchen Wilson. She's happy to win and ahhpt to be at a show that celebrates all genres. Jimmy Kimmel then introduces MercyMe who talk about the voting process. They then introduce the nominees for Favorite Artist — Adult Contemporary Music. The winner is Sheryl Crow. She thanks the fans that have stuck with her for so long.

10:38 PM ET
The Yin Yang Twins introduce a performance featuring Jamie Foxx and Kanye West.

10:48 PM ET
Good Morning America's Tony Perkins talks about a rare video clip of The Beatles. Ringo Starr introduces it. The whole thing is a marketing tie-in for a new CD release. Jimmy Kimmel calls then on it by yelling "Boring!" at the end of it.

10:53 PM ET
Before presenting Usher with Favorite Male Artist — Pop or Rock Jimmy also announces that Reba McEntire has won Favorite Female Artist — Country Music but is not there.

Here are the nominees and winners:

Favorite Male Artist — Pop or Rock
Josh Groban
Lenny Kravitz
Michael McDonald
Usher
Favorite Female Artist — Pop or Rock
Sheryl Crow
Avril Lavigne
Jessica Simpson
Favorite Band, Duo or Group — Pop or Rock
Evanescence
Nickelback
OutKast
Favorite Album — Pop or Rock
"Feels Like Home" (Norah Jones)
"In This Skin" (Jessica Simpson)
"Confessions" (Usher)
Favorite Male Artist — Soul / Rhythm & Blues Music
R. Kelly
Prince
Ruben Studdard
Usher
Favorite Female Artist — Soul / Rhythm & Blues Music
Beyoncé
Janet Jackson
Alicia Keys
Favorite Album — Soul / Rhythm & Blues Music
"The Diary of Alicia Keys" (Alicia Keys)
"Musicology" (Prince)
"Confessions" (Usher)
Favorite Male Artist — Country Music
Kenny Chesney
Alan Jackson
Toby Keith
Tim McGraw
Favorite Female Artist — Country Music
Martina McBride
Reba McEntire
Gretchen Wilson
Favorite Band, Duo or Group — Country Music
Brooks & Dunn
Lonestar
Rascal Flatts
Favorite Album — Country Music
"When The Sun Goes Down" (Kenny Chesney)
"Shock'n Y'All" (Toby Keith)
"Martina" (Martina McBride)
Favorite Male Artist — Rap / Hip-Hop
Jay-Z
Juvenile
Lil' Flip
Kanye West
Favorite Band, Duo or Group — Rap / Hip-Hop
G-Unit
OutKast
Ying Yang Twins
Favorite Album — Rap / Hip-Hop
"The Black Album" (Jay-Z)
"Speakerboxxx/The Love Below" (OutKast)
"The College Dropout" (Kanye West)
Favorite Artist — Alternative Music
Incubus
Jet
Linkin Park
Favorite Artist — Adult Contemporary Music
Harry Connick, Jr.
Sheryl Crow
Norah Jones
Favorite Artist — Latin Music
Marc Anthony
Intocable
Paulina Rubio
Favorite Artist — Contemporary Inspirational Music
Steven Curtis Chapman
MercyMe
Third Day
Breakthrough Favorite New Artist (All Genres)
Maroon 5
Kanye West
Gretchen Wilson
Award of Merit
Bon Jovi
T-Mobile Text-In Award
Kenny Chesney
Evanescence
Norah Jones
OutKast Usher