HEY BUDDY, IT’S THE 2003 RADIO MUSIC AWARDS

It ain’t an awards show until Michael Jackson gets some hardware, and last night’s Radio Music Awards lived up to the unwritten law of awards shows. Jackson took home the Humanitarian Award, graciously saying, “Thank you for your love, your support, all that you've done. I can’t wait to see you all again at the American Music Awards in three weeks.”

Beyonce opened the show, which aired on NBC, by singing “Baby Boy” while surrounded by fire. She wasn’t at the Aladdin Hotel in Las Vegas, where the show was broadcast from, but in the hills outside of Los Angeles. Or maybe it just looked that way. Other performers included Jewel, Avril Lavigne, Michelle Branch, and Nelly, P. Diddy and Murphy. Casey Kasem received the Radio Icon Award

Stevie Nicks presented Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers with their Legend Award. Petty and the band then took the stage for “I’m Crying” and “Runnin’ Down a Dream.”

Nominees in each category were based on radio’s top-playing songs. Radio program and music directors nationwide voted on the winners, or rather, the PDs and MDs who can actually read and write voted on the winners.

The show was produced by Clear Channel Radio and Tall Pony Productions.

Thanks for skimming the above story, here’s the list of winners:
Artist of the Year/Country Radio: Tim McGraw
Artist of the Year/Hip Hop Radio: 50 Cent
Artist of the Year/Modern Adult Contemporary Radio: John Mayer
Artist of the Year/Top 40 Radio: Justin Timberlake
Song of the Year/Modern Adult Contemporary Radio: “Complicated,” Avril Lavigne
Best Driving Song: “Shake Ya Tailfeather,” Nelly, P. Diddy & Murphy Lee
Best Hook Up Song: “Intuition,” Jewel