Justin Bieber leads at American Music Awards

Canadian teen idol Justin Bieber won three early prizes at the American Music Awards on Sunday, and was poised for a showdown with leading nominee Eminem for the artist of the year honor later in the show.   

Bieber, who received four nominations overall, won statuettes for favorite pop album, breakthrough artist and favorite male pop artist.  

"I'm from the smallest town in the world of, like, 30,000 people," Bieber said as he accepted the breakthrough artist award. "I never thought this was possible."

A little later, the 16-year-old star returned to the stage after beating Eminem and R&B singer Usher for the pop artist prize.                   

"I don't know this is possible because I've been saying Eminem since I was, you know, 3, and Usher is my mentor. This is big," he said.

The fresh-faced singer, who was raised in Stratford, Ontario, but now lives in the United States, is perhaps the hottest commodity in the music world. He is the object of intense passion from millions of young girls who burn up Twitter with their messages of devotion.                                        
His album My World 2.0 has sold almost 2 million copies in the United States since its release earlier this year. He records for a label set up by Usher, who helped discover him. 

Eminem and country act Lady Antebellum lead the contenders with five nominations each. Traditionally averse to award shows, the Detroit native did not attend the event at the Nokia Theatre. He won two prizes in the rap hip-hop category, favorite male artist and album for Recovery.

Another no-show was Colombian pop singer Shakira, who was named favorite Latin music artist.  

Other winners at the 38th annual ceremony included Taylor Swift, the Black Eyed Peas, Usher, Carrie Underwood, Brad Paisley and Rihanna.  

Swift won the favorite female country artist prize for the third consecutive year. "I only wanna thank the fans," said Swift. "You get me and you know where I'm coming from."       

The country starlet received only one nomination this year, having dominated the event last year. She will likely scoop up plenty of nominations next year for her recently released chart-topping album.

Fan votes determine
In the other album races this year, Usher was honored in the soul R&B category for Raymond v. Raymond, and Underwood took home the country prize for Play On.       

Paisley was named favorite male country artist, the second award of his career.

Rihanna picked up the fourth award of her career with her win for favorite female soul R&B artist.

All the winners are determined by fan votes, which could give Bieber the edge for artist of the year since his followers take such things seriously. Eminem, on the other hand, is riding high with the biggest album of the year and two No. 1 singles. Also vying for artist of the year are Ke$ha, Lady Gaga and Katy Perry.

The three-hour ceremony is mainly a showcase for artists to sing their new hits, with awards handed out almost as an afterthought. Performers included Rihanna, Kid Rock, Bieber, Perry, Bon Jovi, Swift and the Black Eyed Peas.