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Girl Power Moments from People’s Choice Awards 2017

This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at FSU chapter.

Last week, the 43rd People’s Choice Awards aired live on CBS from the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles, California. The night was filled with incredible performances and inspirational speeches. This year’s show celebrated many strong women in pop culture, and here are our four biggest highlights:

Fifth Harmony gave a whole new meaning to “new year, new us” with their performance.

Courtesy: Celeb Buzz

Fifth Harmony, this year’s winner of “Favorite Group”, performed for the first time as a quartet since Camila Cabello left the group in late December to pursue her solo career. The girl group sang their hit song “Work From Home.” Determined to prove that they can still succeed in the business with one less member, Fifth Harmony’s performance consisted of unique changes. The first lyrics of the song, originally sung by Cabello, were changed from “I ain’t worried ‘bout nothin’/I ain’t wearin’ na nada” to “We ain’t worried ‘bout nothing/We ain’t worried ‘bout nada”, letting their fans know that they have no plans to let Cabello’s departure hold them back. Fifth Harmony stole the show with their fierce choreography and high energy and the group continues to be supported by their fans through this transition. As Lauren Jauregui, a member of the group, confidently assured us while accepting Fifth Harmony’s award, “There is so much more to come!”

Ellen DeGeneres thanked mashed potatoes for her record-breaking success.

Courtesy of: WCYB

Ellen DeGeneres, TV talk show host and comedy sensation, made PCA history by becoming the most-awarded celebrity, winning over 20 awards in total. At this year’s award show, she won three categories: “Favorite Daytime TV Host”, “Favorite Animated Movie Voice” and “Favorite Comedic Collaboration.” To celebrate her accomplishment, Justin Timberlake, adored singer-songwriter and close friend of DeGeneres’s, presented her 20th award to her. During her acceptance speech, we were all reminded why Ellen DeGeneres is so relatable when she admitted, “I love mashed potatoes. Don’t you love mashed potatoes? I forget about them sometimes.” DeGeneres, as usual, had the entire crowd laughing and cheering for her. “Seventeen? I get it. Eighteen? Sure. Nineteen? I can see that. But twenty is outrageous. This is really something,” she confessed.

Kristen Bell shocked everyone when she appeared human.

Courtesy: Getty Images

While introducing Tyler Perry as the “Favorite Humanitarian” winner at the PCA’s, comedic actress Kristen Bell remained cool and collected when the teleprompter stopped working. While reading off a list of Perry’s accomplishments, such as building homes and repairing schools, Bell abruptly paused and then exclaimed, “The teleprompter has gone out! But I suppose I can finish.” Instead of freezing up and being embarrassed about the technological error, Bell confidently continued, “With this guardian angel at our side, we’re all incredibly grateful to have someone like him that can teach us to grow and give back as example.”

Something good actually came out of Blake Lively stranded on a rock for an hour and a half: her acceptance speech.

Courtesy of: E! News

After five previous nominations, actress Blake Lively finally won her first PCA this year, “Favorite Dramatic Movie Actress”, for her movie The Shallows. “My mama, she always taught me as a kid that you can’t ever let anyone limit you,” she preached during her acceptance speech. “Don’t ever let anyone tell you there’s something you can’t do.” Lively continued to discuss women empowerment by mentioning the success of the dynamic and diverse girl group, The Spice Girls. “When you voted for this, you didn’t just vote for this movie or me, but you voted for girl power. And so thank you!” The actress closed with encouraging her fans to tell their stories over social media, because we are all “valuable” and “no one can limit us.”

Shelby Curran is a senior at Florida State University majoring in English with a concentration in Editing, Writing, and Media and minoring in Communications.
Her Campus at Florida State University.