Iggy Azalea took the stage for a second time during the evening. After accepting the award for Favorite Hip Hop Artist, donned in all white, she later performed her new single “Beg For It.”
See more People's Choice Awards: Iggy Azalea Performance Stuns
Iggy Azalea might be a popular punching bag for hip-hop purists (Azealia Banks in particular), but she’s got one major force standing behind her: the people.
The “Black Widow” rapper was named Favorite Hip-Hop Artist at the 2015 People’s Choice Awards, beating out Jay Z, Drake, her mentor T.I. and, yes, Nicki Minaj.
Read more People’s Choice Awards: Complete Winners List
But controversy couldn’t even stay away from Iggy for the short time it took to accept her award. Just before naming Iggy the winner, presenter Monica Potter — as part of a gag with Dax Shepard — listed off a few mangled rapper names like “Snoopy Dogg” and “Dr. Drew.” The last one she named? Igloo Australia, a derogatory moniker Banks branded Azalea with on Twitter that’s stuck with some haters.
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Iggy brushed off the reference, though, thanking her fans and assuring them the fan-voted award is “not wasted on me.” She also managed to hit on Shepard, telling him he looks “much, much better in person.”
Watch more People’s Choice Awards: Iggy Azalea Performance Stuns
Later during the show, Iggy delivered the evening’s most visually arresting segment with her performance of “Beg For It.” Danish singer MØ, who sings the song’s hook, wasn’t present, but the stage setup was done in the style of the early 20th century Dutch art movement De Stijl — all sharp angles and primary colors. So, Dutch, Danish… close enough, right?
In the Favorite Male Country Artist category, another newcomer beat established names when Hunter Hayes bested Blake Shelton, Brad Paisley, Luke Bryan and Tim McGraw. The 23-year-old singer-songwriter shouted out his elders in his acceptance speech, admitting, “This is quite the category and I don’t know what I’m doing with this…Thanks for giving me a reason to believe in myself. God bless you.”
See more People’s Choice Awards: The Red-Carpet Arrivals
Not long after performing an energetic performance of “Freestyle,” Lady Antebellum nabbed Favorite Country Group award. Much like Iggy gently hitting on Dax Shepard, frontman Charles Kelley flirted with award presenter Lisa Edelstein after taking the stage, telling her, “Your show’s amazing and you’re so hot in it.” And much like Shepard, Edelstein is totally taken.
The night’s most memorable performance came courtesy of Fall Out Boy, who played “Centuries” from their upcoming album American Beauty/American Psycho. Patrick Stump went totally balls out, scatting the song’s “Tom Diner” sample and imbuing the chorus with some serious vocal vibrato.
Read more People’s Choice Awards: Full Coverage
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