This year’s People’s Choice Awards is starting to heat up, and let’s just say the star power is out in full force. Big names are vying for top spots in over forty categories ranging between social media influence, music, and television. With that many categories you can expect sparks to be flying in more than a few of them, and the drama is starting to reveal itself as a couple of categories have set up old foes against each other.
No one is fighting for more than Justin Bieber this year as he leads the way with ten nominations, so it makes sense that his name headlines some of this year’s controversy. He may be fighting for a little more this year as he is nominated in the same category as his old adversary: The Weeknd.
The pair of singers have exchanged words more than a few times over the years, and most of that may be attributed to both of their ties to famous pop singer Selena Gomez. They both share many similar styles in terms of fashion and artistry, but also in terms of dating as they are both a couple of Selena’s most famous exes. Now they are going toe-to-toe in not one but two categories this year: Best Male Artist and Best Collaborative Song. The fate of these two artists is seemingly inseparable as they keep popping up in similar conversations.
The Weeknd previously sneak dissed Justin Bieber in one of his tracks before, and Justin has returned some shots on Instagram live. Their history is not totally bleak as the two have been pictured multiple times together smiling and seemingly enjoying their time, but that is not to say that the hatchet is completely buried between the two. Although their escapades with Selena Gomez was more than a few years ago, and the dating life of each celebrity shows how quickly these men move on, publicly there has been no attempt from either party to clear the air even when both men decided to snub the 2021 Grammy Awards.
There seems to be no sign that either artist will snub the People’s Choice Awards this year, so they will most likely compete for the people’s votes in full force. If one were to win out over the other then their rivalry may be reignited, but until then the pressure will continue to build between the two of them.
The overall pressure for most of the nominees is not too large as it is a People’s Choice Awards and the voting is done by amateur voters instead of critics. The difference in voting allows a little more fun within the categories, and some nominees like John Cena and Dwayne Johnson are taking full advantage of that through some friendly competition.
The two actors have shared similar rises to fame as they both started through squaring off in the wrestling ring, fighting for WWE’s top honors for many years. Their bouts lasted for almost a decade during the 2010’s, headlining some of the most famous fights such as WrestleMania XXVIII where Johnson took the win in signature style. In December the duo will continue their rivalry, but it has now moved to the big screen. Cena has credited his shot at Hollywood success to Dwayne Johnson, and now both of them are competing for the Best Male Movie star of 2021. It looks like Cena has caught up to Johnson within the television world seeing as they are competing in the same category. However, Johnson may have a slight edge due to him being awarded the “People’s Champion Award” at this year’s ceremony.
Johnson’s nominees and newly bestowed title as the “People’s Champion” may not be such a coincidence. Earlier in the year Johnson had teased he might make a presidential run if the American people showed out and gave him enough support. Well, America crowning him the “People’s Champion” is the most blatant level of support he could probably receive besides the votes themselves, or it could also just be America choosing its preferred wrestler over John Cena.
If either man wins, then we might see him pay homage to the building relationship that they already share. They went from winning awards in taking each other down in a ring to winning awards by building each other up – a solid showing of real friendship that we all aspire to have.
Video: Dwayne talks about his WWE rivalry with John Cena, reveals what their relationship is like now and has a very important message for John.
Another thing we would all love to have is the Kardashian level of success in the People’s Choice Awards.
The Kardashian’s have been inevitable nominees across multiple award shows for almost a decade, and it seems other nominees like Kandy Burress are a little tired of it. Burress’s hopes of winning are not zero, but considering the Kardashian’s are nominated for their final season of their reality series it is kind of hard to bet on anyone going against them to win the best reality television category. Since their chokehold over the category may come to an end after this year, we may see some of the nominees turn up the volume for next year.
Video: Kardashians Call E! PCAs the "Most Exciting Award Show" | E! People’s Choice Awards
Someone who will be capitalizing on all the potential drama considering the celebrities in attendance is the host Kenan Thompson. Kenan has been slotted to host the show, but he is also nominated for the Best Male TV Star and the Best Comedy Star for 2021. If Kenan were to lose some of the nominations, then it might be possible we see him roast some of the winners who beat him out. He will be surely roasting and parodying in true SNL fashion, but it will be interesting to see who Kenan decides to call out and whether he will refer back to some of SNL’s most epic jokes.
This year’s awards has great potential for some fireworks and entertainment. Some celebrities have some real-life feuds behind them, and others are facing off for fun, but no matter what happens we can probably assume a Kardashian or Jenner is going to win an award.
Writer's Bio: Aaron Sapp is a persistent researcher and writer who graduated from Cal Poly Pomona in 2021. He tends to write in the fields of entertainment, eWaste, and sociology. The Bay Area and Los Angeles based writer is influenced by literature, Hip-Hop, social injustice, and family values. It is normal for him to approach journalistic writing in a way that retains an unbiased approach, sticking to just the facts. He values authenticity and strives to help other writers explore ideas without compromising their own style and voice, and wishes to inspire willpower with all future projects. His hobbies outside of writing include music production, physical activity, and creating different forms of therapy. Read more articles by this author
