Stevie Wonder Honors Dick Clark At American Music Awards

Stevie Wonder paid tribute to Dick Clark at the American Music Awards, part of an effort to honor the television icon who passed away this year.

As Vibe reported, Stevie Wonder’s tribute to Dick Clark gave a chance for one musical icon to pay tribute to one from television. Wonder has won 22 Grammys and 11 American Music Awards, the awards Clark created for the ABC network in 1973.

The American Music Awards are based on sales and amount of airtime musicians receive across all media platforms, creating a different format than the Grammys, which are based on votes from music industry members.

Stevie Wonder was not the only one to pay tribute to Clark.

“I am honored to be a part of the AMAs tribute to Dick Clark,” Ryan Seacrest, who will be introducing the tribute, said in a statement. “He was a mentor, friend and a wonderful advocate for popular music, helping make it one of the cornerstones of American culture. We miss him dearly. He gave hundreds of stars their national TV debut. So, it’s only fitting that one of music’s legends, Stevie Wonder, will play at Sunday’s tribute. It will be a great show.”

Seacrest, who the Atlanta Journal Constitution referred to as “the next Dick Clark,” has himself credit Clark’s influence on his own career.

Aside from Stevie Wonder’s tribute to Dick Clark, the American Music Awards also included performances from Christina Aguilera, Justin Bieber, Kelly Clarkson, Carly Rae Jepsen, Carrie Underwood, Ke$ha, Taylor Swift, Usher, and a number of others, TheWrap.com noted.