American Music Awards 2015 Winners: One Direction Upsets Taylor Swift for Artist of the Year

The winners are in for the American Music Awards 2015, and there were some big surprises at the ceremony. One Direction not only won Favorite Pop/Rock Group, they also defeated Taylor Swift in the Artist of the Year category in perhaps the night's biggest upset, considering the wealth of competition in the category (nominees in the category included Ariana Grande, Maroon 5, Ed Sheeran, Sam Smith and The Weeknd).

Granted, I don't know that it's necessarily THAT big of a shock for One Direction to have won. Sure, Taylor Swift had a bigger year on the charts (hell, Justin Bieber is already having a bigger year than 1D), but One Direction has been in headlines a lot, and their tracks are dominating the radio. It's possible a surge of 1D affection took hold of the voting bloc, particularly considering that this year is basically the group's last for a while (if not forever).

That said, Taylor Swift didn't exactly go home empty-handed, nor did many of the other stars who found themselves nominated for Artist of the Year. Taylor Swift earned Song of the Year for "Blank Space", Favorite Pop/Rock album for 1989, and Favorite Adult Contemporary Artist. Meanwhile, Ed Sheeran won Favorite Male Pop/Rock Artist, and The Weeknd won a pair of awards for Favorite Male Soul/R&B Artist and Favorite Soul/R&B Album for Beauty Behind the Madness.

AMERICAN MUSIC AWARDS 2015 WINNERS LIST

ARTIST OF THE YEAR
One Direction

NEW ARTIST OF THE YEAR PRESENTED BY KOHL’S
Sam Hunt

SONG OF THE YEAR
Taylor Swift, “Blank Space”

COLLABORATION OF THE YEAR UN-LEASHED BY T-MOBILE
Skrillex & Diplo Featuring Justin Bieber, “Where Are Ü Now”

FAVORITE MALE ARTIST – POP/ROCK
Ed Sheeran

FAVORITE FEMALE ARTIST – POP/ROCK
Ariana Grande

FAVORITE DUO OR GROUP – POP/ROCK
One Direction

FAVORITE ALBUM – POP/ROCK
Taylor Swift, 1989

FAVORITE MALE ARTIST – COUNTRY
Luke Bryan

FAVORITE FEMALE ARTIST – COUNTRY
Carrie Underwood

FAVORITE DUO or GROUP - COUNTRY
Florida Georgia Line

FAVORITE ALBUM - COUNTRY
Florida Georgia Line, Anything Goes

FAVORITE ARTIST – RAP/HIP-HOP
Nicki Minaj

FAVORITE ALBUM – RAP/HIP-HOP
Nicki Minaj, The Pinkprint

FAVORITE MALE ARTIST – SOUL/R&B
The Weeknd

FAVORITE FEMALE ARTIST – SOUL/R&B
Rihanna

FAVORITE ALBUM – SOUL/R&B
The Weeknd, Beauty Behind the Madness

FAVORITE ARTIST - ALTERNATIVE ROCK
Fall Out Boy

FAVORITE ARTIST - ADULT CONTEMPORARY
Taylor Swift

FAVORITE ARTIST - LATIN
Enrique Iglesias

FAVORITE ARTIST - CONTEMPORARY INSPIRATIONAL
Casting Crowns

FAVORITE ARTIST - ELECTRONIC DANCE MUSIC (EDM)
Calvin Harris

TOP SOUNDTRACK
Pitch Perfect 2

What did you think of the American Music Awards 2015? Sound off in the comments!

And for more on the big winners from tonight's show, read up on the chart battle between Justin Bieber and One Direction!