#APMAs Trends Worldwide on Twitter and Facebook for Fourth Consecutive Year, Reaching #1 Overall on Twitter and #1 Overall Broadcast on Twitch.
Hosted by Black Veil Brides and Andy Black frontman Andy Biersack, APMAs v.4 was a feast for the eyes and ears of those tuning in. Starting with a high-spirited version of “Good Time” by All Time Low (whose wisecracking guitarists Alex Gaskarth and Jack Barakat emceed the show’s two previous years), the event went straight vertical from there, powered by an array of inspired performances. This year’s selection of once-in-a-lifetime collaborations were Japanese rock ambassadors ONE OK ROCK teaming up with Goldfinger frontman John Feldmann on”I Was King”; New Years Day-led by AP‘s sultry red carpet co-host Ash Costello-showed that sisters were doing it for themselves with some help from Halestormfrontwoman Lzzy Hale on a cover of “Only Happy When It Rains” by alt-rock icons Garbage. Fearless Records’ Punk Goes… series came to life when Grayscale performed a cover of Justin Bieber (“Love Yourself”) before enlisting State Champs’ Derek DiScanio to rock out Sean Mendez’ “Stitches.” Plain White T’s performed a dialed-down acoustic version of their 2005 hit “Hey There, Delilah,” while metal mavericks Nothing More also left their amps off for a compelling three-song set that included “Go To War,” “This Is The First Time (Ballast),” and a compelling version of Skrillex’s “First Of The Year.” Things heated up once again when The Pretty Reckless threw some fire with “Hangman”; Pierce The Veil delivered a rousing performance of “Circles,” as well as a stirring cover of Soundgarden’s “Black Hole Sun”; brooding rockers Starset captivated the crowd with “Satellite”; and Andrew McMahon In The Wilderness visited “Cecilia And The Satellite” and other moments in his career from his days in Something Corporate (“I Woke Up In A Car”) and Jack’s Mannequin (“Dark Blue”). Wiseguy savants Waterparks essentially wrote pop-punk’s next chapter with “Stupid For You,” Dance Gavin Dance revved up the crowd with “Betrayed By The Game,” while Sleeping With Sirens enlisted a youth choir to perform “Legends,” the first single from their impending album.”
The APMAs keeps to the beat of culture, which is why the event featured a powerful “drum explosion” from three of music’s finest drummers: Adrian Young of DREAMCAR and No Doubt; Sum 41‘s Frank Zummo and very special guest Josh Dun of Twenty One Pilots. The trio brought the house down with a dazzling display of impeccable musicianship and show-biz flash. Not to be outdone though, show host Biersack and his wife Juliet Simms delivered a heartrending performance of international superstar Adele’s “When We Were Young.” While rock and punk were the order of the night, the APMAs repped the city’s hip-hop cred in a big way, with a tough performance from old-school avatars Bone Thugs (“1st Of Tha Month,” “Crossroads,” “Coming Home”) and electrifying next-gen prime mover Machine Gun Kelly (“Gunner,” “Let You Go”).
This year’s set of honorary APMAs “Skullys” included the introduction of the new Influencer award, which was given to musical polymath John Feldmann for his multi-faceted and highly storied career working with artists across all genres. Icon Award recipient Laura Jane Graceof Against Me! was recognized for her advocacy in the transgender community, promoting awareness and cultural understanding. After receiving this year’s honorary Icon award from PVRIS’ Lynn Gunn and Mina Caputo of NYC metal unit Life Of Agony, Grace took the stage with Against Me! for some life-affirming versions of “I Was A Teenage Anarchist” and an amazing medley including “Delicate, Petite And All The Things I’ll Never Be,” the Supremes’ 1964 hit “Where Did Our Love Go,” and “True Trans Soul Rebel” – two of which featured passionate, crowd-stirring duets with Caputo.