CLEVELAND, Ohio - The 2017 Alternative Press Music Awards were far from perfect in their return to Northeast Ohio.
Presenters missed cues. There were video malfunctions. Some of the gimmicks and performances didn't work. And sadly, for the third year in a row, a few of the acts got way too drunk toward the night's end.
But the biggest disappointment came when the night's de facto headliner Korn didn't perform, despite the band being listed at the top of every promotional poster for the show. Instead, host Andy Biersack and wife Juliet Simms covered Adele's "When We Were Young" to close the show (It wasn't great).
Thankfully, this year's APMAs had enough compelling moments to make up for any missteps. Josh Dun of Twenty One Pilots gave us the night's biggest surprise. Pierce The Veil honored a fallen legend. And Andrew McMahon turned back the clock:
One Ok Rock...rocks
Odds are most fans haven't had the chance to see Japanese rock band One Ok Rock perform live. They didn't disappoint. The band's blend of pop-driven post-hardcore was a refreshing moment early on in the ceremony, especially when the group was joined by Influencer Award recipient John Feldmann of Goldfinger, who appeared to be having the time of his life during the performance of "I Was King."
Nothing More gets innovative
Nothing More's stage show is pure chaos, and I mean that in the best possible way. The band's shirtless frontman Jonny Hawkins is fearless in a way that's reminiscent of Trent Reznor in Nine Inch Nails' early days. At one point during Nothing More's brief set, Hawkins hopped on top of a rising contraption that's hard to describe other than it looked like he was commanding a transformer.
"Hey There Delilah"
Once it was announced Plain White T's would be delivering a "special" performance of "Hey There Delilah," fans began wondering what exactly that could mean. As it turns out, it found the full band doing a stunning acoustic rendition of their massive hit from stage box as the entire crowd sang along.
Punk Goes Pop
One of the more surprising highlights of the night came during the Punk Goes Pop segment when Grayscale took the stage to do its version of Justin Bieber's "Love Yourself." Things got even livelier when State Champs' singer Derek DiScanio joined the band to do State Champs' version of Shawn Mendes' "Stitches."
Taylor Momsen and The Pretty Reckless
Few singers these days can command the stage like Taylor Momsen. The young rock star clearly takes her cues from 1990s grunge, hair in face as she delivers epic notes. Her band The Pretty Reckless were awe inspiring during their performance of "The Walls Are Closing In/Hangman."
Waterparks wins Best Breakthrough Band
It's hard to imagine anyone having more fun at this year's APMAs than Waterparks. The young pop-punk band rightfully earned Best Breakthrough Band, which drew a huge roar from the crowd. But it was singer Awsten Knight who captured the moment best - "My mom called this," he said. "My mom knew!"
Andrew McMahon turns back the clock
Andrew McMahon and the Wilderness were fresh off of opening for Billy Joel at Cleveland's Progressive Field. Thus, the band was riding high, as McMahon put fans in a time machine. First, he performed Jack's Mannequin's "Dark Blue," which was followed by Something Corporate's "Woke Up In a Car." By the time he got to his current band's hit "Cecilia and the Satellite," McMahon had the crowd eating out of the palm of his hand.
Drum-off to end all drum-offs
The drum showcase featuring Frank Zummo of Sum 41 and Adrian Younge of No Doubt received a jolt when Twenty One Pilots' Josh Dun showed up as a surprise guest. The trio then went ballistic in a drum-off unlike anything you've seen, touching on hits from each of the drummer's main groups. Seriously, watch it again and again.
Andy Biersack as host
After two years of the slapstick humor offered up by Alex and Jack from All Time Low, Biersack's more laid back approach as host was refreshing. It took a second to get used to his dry sense of humor. But Biersack, known by his stage name Andy Black, had solid comedic timing and knew when to play it straight. One of his best moments came when he went off script to pay tribute to his mentor and friend John Feldmann.
Pierce The Veil's Chris Cornell tribute
This was quite the surprise. Everyone expected Pierce The Veil to perform its recent hit "Circles." But when late Soundgarden singer Chris Cornell's image appeared on the big screen the mood shifted. Pierce The Veil put everything it had into a performance of Soundgarden's "Black Hole Sun" and they absolutely nailed it in what may have been the night's finest moment.