A who's who of the American music world was out in force this weekend for the annual American Music Awards and it was R&B star Chris Brown who reigned supreme, taking home three top gongs.

The rumoured beau of songstress Rihanna – who also grabbed two gongs herself - pipped Coldplay to the post, winning artist of the year, male pop/rock artist and male soul/R&B artist.

Hosted by US comedian Jimmy Kimmel, the glittering awards do lit up downtown Los Angeles on Saturday night and drew in a younger musician crowd than ever before.

Miley Cyrus, Jonas Brothers, Taylor Swift and Rihanna all made an appearance at the awards do, but it was veteran Christina Aguilera who showed them how it's done, opening the show with a medley of her hits.