Blake Shelton, Gwen Stefani Face Criticism Over AMAs Pre-Taped Performances

At the 2025 American Music Awards, Blake Shelton and Gwen Stefani's performances were pre-taped despite being presented as live, leading to disappointment and criticism from fans attending the show at Fontainebleau Las Vegas. Viewers at home saw the performances as live, but the in-person audience noticed the artists were absent from the stage during their acts, sparking backlash on social media with accusations of being misled. Shelton responded on X (formerly Twitter), stating they performed when asked by the show and expressing limited comment on the controversy, while Stefani had no direct comment but engaged with the show via social media. The pre-taped performances are a standard practice at many major awards shows, though transparency with live audiences was lacking this time. Other stars also accepted awards or appeared via pre-recorded videos, contributing to the sense among fans that many nominees and performers skipped the live event. Despite the backlash, many fans still praised Shelton and Stefani's performances, regardless of the format.