The Eminem Show

The night's biggest winner at the American Music Awards wasn't even there. Eminem won all four awards he was nominated for, including best album (''The Eminem Show'') and best male artist in both the Pop/Rock and Hip-hop/R&B fields, but he was one of several winners who couldn't make it to the fan-driven music award show's podium. Creed, Mary J. Blige, Dixie Chicks, and even Tim McGraw, who opened the ceremony with a duet with Elton John, were no-shows when their names were called. Of the four artists who won multiple awards -- besides Eminem's four, there were two each for Creed, Dixie Chicks, and Ashanti -- only Ashanti picked up the statuette.

In the Dick Clark-produced American Music Awards, where prizes are selected according to sales figures and listener polls, there were few surprises (one of the bigger ones: LeAnn Rimes showed more skin than Christina Aguilera and Mariah Carey put together), although the unpredictable Osbournes, who hosted the show, did keep the TV censors busy bleeping out much of what they had to say.

Alabama, the country stalwarts now on their farewell tour, won the career achievement prize, the Order of Merit, with such nonmusical dignitaries as NASCAR legend Richard Petty and former president George Bush paying them tribute via videotape. (Bet that's the only time either of them has appeared at the same event as Shaggy and Missy Elliott.)

This year marked the 30th anniversary of the AMAs. The ceremony was broadcast live (well, almost, with slight tape-delay to accommodate the bleeping Osbournes) on ABC from the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles. A full list of winners is below.

Pop/Rock Male Artist
Eminem