8 Highlights from the 2016 AMAs

The 44th annual American Music Awards took over the Microsoft Theater in rainy Los Angeles last night, bringing together names like Drake, Lady Gaga, The Chainsmokers, Ariana Grande and Sting.

Taking the reigns as event co-host, Gigi Hadid joined former SNL funnyman, Jay Pharoah, and both wasted no time making a mockery of Donald and Melania Trump. This wasn't the last mention made of the president-elect; ask Chrissy Teigen how she really feels about the soon-to-be U.S. president. There was even a performance by Green Day that saw the band sing a cover of MDC's "Born to Die," chanting lyrics like: No Trump / no KKK / no fascist USA.

Luckily, the night wasn't all about politics and there was some fun had. Here's a selection of notable takeaways from the 2016 AMAs.

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Canadian artists take centre stage

Gotta love when Canadians dominate the American Music Awards. #AMAs pic.twitter.com/NfWWb1oDm0

” OXTAIL GAWD (@ThatDudeMCFLY) November 21, 2016

While it may be the American Music Awards, it was hard not to notice the roster of Canadian talent spotlighted. Drake was nominated for a whopping 13 awards, which beats Michael Jackson’s record of 11 nominations that he received back in 1984. Drake ended up taking home the award of Best Album of the Year for Views and also snagged a win for Favorite Rap/Hip-Hop Artist and Favorite Song, among others. Justin Bieber may not have been in attendance but his presence was known as the Biebs secured four awards including Favorite Rock/Pop Male Artist and Favourite Rock/Pop Album for Purpose. Shawn Mendes showed off his multi-talented music knack by performing two songs (“Treat You Better” and “Mercy”) switching between guitar and piano accompaniment on each track. The Weeknd got the crowd gyrating thanks to his falsetto-rich performance of “Starboy” done inside a glass encrusted cave. Then there was Alessia Cara who received a nom for Best New Artist but former One Direction member, Zayn Malik ended up winning the category. Halfway through the show we also got to see Bieber perform”Let Me Love You” to a Swiss audience of sobbing teenage girls. Were we supposed to be watching JB or trying to understand why people looked like they had lost grip on reality? So many tears.