Lionel Richie received the AMA Icon Award during a ceremony held on Sunday, November 20th, 2022.
Smokey Robinson, a longtime friend of Lionel Richie, gave the prize to the iconic singer, who was 73 at the time.
Richie praised his children and colleagues as he collected the prize, and he made a point of addressing personally the “young superstars” assembled in the room so he could give them advice.
Richie said that only unique individuals have the light shine on them and that they should appreciate it. “When you hear the word ‘hip,’ it means today. When you hear the word ‘inspiring,’ it means forever. If you get a chance to have that light on you, understand what God has in store.”
After the singer, 73, finished his address, close friends Stevie Wonder and Charlie Puth took the stage to pay tribute to the great.
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Wonder and Puth selected Commodores tunes as well as Richie’s chart-topping solo hit singles from Richie’s vast music repertoire for the performance. Puth described the duet as a “musical tennis match of Lionel Richie copyright,” and it comprised tremendous classics.
The two took turns performing a clip of a Lionel Richie single, demonstrating the man’s influence throughout the years. Three Times a Lady, All Night Long (All Night), Brick House, and Jesus Is Love were among the songs Wonder covered.
Meanwhile, Puth handled tunes such as Easy and Say You, Say Me. Later, Robinson, Melissa Etheridge, Ari Lennox, Jimmie Allen, Yola, Dustin Lynch, and Muni Long joined them to recreate We Are the World.
Lionel couldn’t stop himself from jumping on stage and joining in.
According to Rolling Stone, Richie is just the second artist after Rihanna to earn the American Music Awards Icon Award. Richie, a 17-time American Music Award winner, sang We Are the World, his chart-topping charity hit that he co-wrote, with an army of all-star singers at the 1987 AMAs.
