Sir Rod Stewart was “absolutely flabbergasted” after his children surprised him at the American Music Awards.
The 80-year-old ‘Maggie May’ legend was honoured with the Lifetime Achievement Award at the ceremony on Monday night (26.05.25) and he was shocked with five of his eight kids – Kimberly, 45, Sean, 44, Ruby, 37, Renee, 32 and 30-year-old Liam – presented him with the accolade.
After hugging them all on stage, he said in his speech: “I am absolutely flabbergasted. I didn’t know they were here — my children.”
The iconic musician insisted he only ever got started in the business because of a “burning ambition to sing”.
He added: “When I started singing in the early ’60s, well before all of you lot were here, the reason I got into it [was] because I had this burning ambition to sing.
“It’s all I wanted to do. I didn’t want to be rich or famous, and here I am a few years later, picking up this wonderful award.”
Rod – who performed ‘Forever Young’ at the event – also paid tribute to the artists who inspired him, mentioning Sam Cooke, Muddy Waters and David Ruffin in his speech.
Elsewhere at the event, Billie Eilish was the big winner as she won all seven of her nominations.
As well as Artist of the Year, her record ‘Hit Me Hard and Soft’ was named Album of the Year and Favourite Pop Album, and ‘Birds of a Feather’ earned her the Song of the Year and Favourite Pop Song prizes.
She was also named Favourite Touring Artist, Favourite Female Pop Artist.
Billie wasn’t able to attend the ceremony, but she did send video acceptance speeches to thank her fans.
Jennifer Lopez hosted the AMAs for the first time in a decade, and opened the show with a dance medley of 23 of the past year’s biggest hits.
Meanwhile, Janet Jackson accepted the Icon Award, but insisted she doesn’t “consider herself an icon”.
She said: “My family, myself, our dream wasn’t ever to be famous. We weren’t raised like that.
“We always had a special love for music, dancing and singing, and fame came with the result of hard work and dedication.”
American Music Awards 2025 winners list:
ARTIST OF THE YEAR
Billie Eilish
NEW ARTIST OF THE YEAR
Gracie Abrams
ALBUM OF THE YEAR
Billie Eilish – ‘Hit Me Hard and Soft’
SONG OF THE YEAR
Billie Eilish – ‘Birds of a Feather’
COLLABORATION OF THE YEAR
Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars – ‘Die With a Smile’
SOCIAL SONG OF THE YEAR
Doechill – ‘Anxiety’
FAVOURITE TOURING ARTIST
Billie Eilish
FAVOURITE MUSIC VIDEO
Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars – ‘Die With A Smile’
FAVOURITE MALE POP ARTIST
Bruno Mars
FAVOURITE FEMALE POP ARTIST
Billie Eilish
FAVOURITE POP ALBUM
Billie Eilish – ‘Hit Me Hard and Soft’
FAVOURITE POP SONG
Billie Eilish – ‘Birds of a Feather’
FAVOURITE MALE COUNTRY ARTIST
Post Malone
FAVOURITE FEMALE COUNTRY ARTIST
Beyoncé
FAVOURITE COUNTRY DUO or GROUP
Dan + Shay
FAVOURITE COUNTRY ALBUM
Beyoncé – ‘Cowboy Carter’
FAVOURITE COUNTRY SONG
Post Malone featuring Morgan Wallen – ‘I Had Some Help’
FAVOURITE MALE HIP-HOP ARTIST
Eminem
FAVOURITE FEMALE HIP-HOP ARTIST
Megan Thee Stallion
FAVOURITE HIP-HOP ALBUM
Eminem – ‘The Death Of Slim Shady (Coup De Grâce)’
FAVOURITE HIP-HOP SONG
Kendrick Lamar – ‘Not Like Us’
FAVOURITE MALE R+B ARTIST
The Weeknd
FAVOURITE FEMALE R+B ARTIST
SZA
FAVOURITE R+B ALBUM
The Weeknd – ‘Hurry Up Tomorrow’
FAVOURITE R+B SONG
SZA – ‘Saturn’
FAVOURITE MALE LATIN ARTIST
Bad Bunny
FAVOURITE FEMALE LATIN ARTIST
Becky G
FAVOURITE LATIN DUO or GROUP
Julión Álvarez y su Norteño Banda
FAVOURITE LATIN ALBUM
Bad Bunny – ‘DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS’
FAVOURITE LATIN SONG
Shakira – ‘Soltera’
FAVOURITE ROCK ARTIST
Twenty One Pilots
FAVOURITE ROCK ALBUM
Twenty One Pilots – ‘Clancy’
FAVOURITE ROCK SONG
Linkin Park – ‘The Emptiness Machine’
FAVOURITE DANCE/ELECTRONIC ARTIST
Lady Gaga
FAVOURITE SOUNDTRACK
‘Arcane League of Legends: Season 2’
FAVOURITE AFROBEATS ARTIST
Tyla
FAVOURITE K-POP ARTIST
RM