The American Music Awards showed just how wide the gap is between its ceremony and the annual Grammy Awards by showering the Spice Girls with three honors, making the group the night's big winner.

The Girls, who were unable to attend Monday night's ceremony at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, dominated the Pop/Rock category, earning half of the awards handed out in that genre. The Girls picked up awards for Best Pop/Rock Group or Duo, Best Pop/Rock Album (for "Spice") and Best New Pop/Rock Artist. The Spicy ones managed to shut out fellow pop/rock nominees the Wallflowers, matchbox 20, Jewel, and U2 who never made it to the winners¹ circle.

The Girls' resounding AMA success just a few weeks after they were ignored the folks who handed out the Grammy nominations may be attributed to the fact that AMA winners are voted on by record buyers, while Grammy winners are voted on by members of the music industry. Of course, any music awards show just wouldn't be complete without

Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds picking up a few more items for his mantle, and Babyface added to his collection Monday night with statuettes for Best Male Artist in both the Pop/Rock and Soul/Rhythm & Blues categories.

Celine Dion, Mariah Carey, Boyz II Men, Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, Mary J. Blige, Erykah Badu, and Bush were also among the night's winners (for a full list of winners, see the bottom of the page).

Meanwhile, Puff Daddy, who lead the field going into the evening with five nominations (see [article id="1427397"]"Puff Daddy, Spice Girls, Wallflowers Pick Up AMA Nominations"[/article] in the MTV News Gallery), couldn't cash in any of those nods as he went home empty-handed. Puffy did take the stage, however, without his Bad Boy protege Mase to crank out a medley of "It's All About The Benjamins" and "Mo' Money Mo' Problems." Janet Jackson, Boyz II Men, Mary J. Blige, and Garth Brooks also turned in performances Monday night, while Mariah Carey and

the Spice Girls offered videotaped performances beamed in from other locations.

Here's a complete list of winners who joined host Drew Carey on-stage Monday night at the American Music Awards:

Pop/Rock:

• Male Artist - Babyface
• Female Artist - Celine Dion
• Band, Duo or Group - Spice Girls
• Album - "Spice," Spice Girls
• New Artist - Spice Girls

Soul/Rhythm & Blues:

• Male Artist - Babyface
• Female Artist - Mariah Carey
• Band, Duo or Group - Boyz II Men
• Album - "Share My World," Mary J. Blige
• New Artist - Erykah Badu

Rap/Hip-Hop:

• Artist - Bone Thugs-N-Harmony

Alternative:

• Artist - Bush

Soundtrack:

• "Men in Black"

Adult Contemporary:

• Artist - Elton John

Country:

• Male Artist - George Strait
• Female Artist - Reba McEntire
• Band, Duo or Group - Alabama
• Album - "Carrying Your

Love With Me," George Strait

Latin Music:

• Artist - Julio Iglesias