The 47th ceremony of the People's Choice Awards was held on December 7, 2021, at the Barker Hangar in Santa Monica, California. Hosted by Kenan Thompson, the show was the first to be presented before an in-person audience since 2019.[1] The television broadcast marked the first time the show was aired live simultaneously on both NBC and E! after airing solely on E! for the past three years, and on CBS prior to that.[2]
In October, over 300 nominees spanning 40 entertainment categories across film, television, music, and pop culture were announced.[3]F9: The Fast Saga and This Is Us were the most-nominated entries in the Film and Television categories respectively with eight and six nominations each. Justin Bieber led the Music nominations with 10 to his name. The most-awarded nominees of the night were BTS and Dwayne Johnson, who won three awards each: the former won Group, Song, and Music Video of 2021, while the latter won Male and Comedy Movie Star, and was additionally honored with the People's Champion Award, one of three Icon awards given on the night. Black Widow won Movie of 2021, while Loki won TV Show of 2021. Christina Aguilera was honored with the show's first-ever Music Icon Award, in recognition of her career and contributions to the music industry.
Performers
Christina Aguilera was the first performer announced for the show on December 1, 2021.[4]H.E.R. and Blake Shelton were announced as additional performers on December 6, with H.E.R. slated to perform a tribute to R&B singer Marvin Gaye in honor of his life and musical legacy.[2] As the recipient of the inaugural Music Icon Award, Aguilera performed a medley of her most popular songs, including the single "Somos Nada" from her then-upcoming studio album Aguilera (2022). Backed by a group of violinists, the singer opened with a gothic-style rock rendition of "Genie in a Bottle" while wearing a "floor-length black ruffled gown". She then segued into selections from her Back to Basics (2006) and Stripped (2002) albums. Aguilera's performance featured three wardrobe changes, including a black and yellow leather outfit—reminiscent of the one she wore for MTV's TRL Presents: Christina Aguilera Stripped in NYC in 2002, and the original red version from the "Dirrty" music video[5]—for her second segment, and a yellow dress for the finale.[6][7]
Kenan Thompson was announced as the show's host in November.[9] The full lineup of celebrity presenters was announced on December 6.[2]Laverne Cox hosted the red carpet pre-show.[10]
Becky G – presented the Music Icon Award to Christina Aguilera[4]