Let’s be real -- 2015 was a roller coaster ride, especially in pop culture. A Fast and Furious movie dominated the box office, the summer was full of heartbreak and divorce and everything was Star Wars. Having a show like the People’s Choice Awards kick off the often too serious awards season was a lighthearted good time and provided plenty of awkward moments (we’re looking at you, Jack Black) to moments that had us seriously cheering at our TV screens.
Best Performance: To kick off the good times, Breakout Artist winner Shawn Mendes gave us a wonderful medley of “Stitches” and “I Know What You Did Last Summer” with special guest Camilla Cabello, proving that this baby-faced singer with the killer voice is definitely one to watch in 2016.
Best Joke: Undoubtedly the best joke of the night? The spoof of the infamous Miss Universe flub. Bringing Tom Lennon up on stage, host Jane Lynch gloriously interrupted him mid-touching speech to bring Miss Columbia up on stage, clarifying that Lennon was just the runner-up.
Best Acceptance Speech (male): I have yet to meet anyone who watched Furious 7’s final scene and hasn’t teared up every time. Even I’ll admit that the movie was well deserving of the awards it went home with, so I wasn’t surprised when Vin Diesel took the stage. What I wasn’t expecting was to be so moved by Diesel’s touching words about late friend and co-star, Paul Walker, and his enduring love for the series. Diesel is Furious’ biggest supporter and hype man and has consistently remained firm on the fact that Walker was one of the pillars of the franchise and they’re continuing on with him in mind. Plus, c’mon, you totally teared up listening to him sing “See You Again.”
Best Acceptance Speech (female): Sandra Bullock took home the award for Best Action Movie Actress and confirmed, once more, that she deserves to win everything she’s nominated for, ever. In a wonderful move, she gave a touching speech based off a conversation with her son, Louis and gave props to working moms everywhere.
Ellen’s Tribute: Is there anyone who doesn’t love Ellen DeGeneres? She took home the Humanitarian Award after a tribute from friend Melissa McCarthy and explained that she doesn’t do what she does for the praise, she does it to make people happy, which she’s done time and time again. Of course, the speech was peppered with her own brand of humor, which gave life to a show that had been starting to drag. She then gave the masses what they wanted to make them even happier: a picture of fellow PCA winner Chris Hemsworth shirtless.
Best Moment: I’ll admit, by the end of the show, my interest had started to wane, especially as they started announcing categories I wasn’t too invested in. By the time they got to the talk shows portion, I was zoning out. And then, out of nowhere, the stage crash around the world was heard. An uninvited guest popped up on the stage and was promptly shown who’s boss by the ladies of The Talk. I’m not even sure there are words to explain this moment; take a look for yourself.
A full list of winners can be found here.
Have a moment you thought was particularly memorable? Share with us below!