17 Best and Worst Dressed Celebs at the 2017 AMAs

1. Most Backish: Tracee Ellis Ross in Stella McCartney

Sorry, but sometimes puns are even harder to resist than sandwiches. We do love the open back on Tracee's sequined Stella, though, and a modest front and sexy rear view are always an effective pairing. Tracee and her styling team are very, very smart: Note how the red lip and shoes pick up the subtle red piping on the dress, and the way she — as the host, and on a night where mom Diana is being honored — comes off like a foxy, ageless chip off the old(er) Ross. [See? PUNS.]

2. Most Iconic: Diana Ross

And when you're Diana Ross, you can wear whatever you want. Even if this is what you want.

3. Most Blondish: Selena Gomez in Coach

We say 'ish' because she left a fair bit of root underneath her new dye job, which had to be the big surprise of the red carpet. Every girl loves a breakover — a "breakup makeover," this one courtesy of The Weeknd — and while Selena carries off the blonde better than we expected, we miss her original lush dark locks. They'd have gone so well with this sexy-spy costume, which apparently never got a chance to decide if it was a coat or a dress.

4. Closest Homage to The Bodyguard: Hailee Steinfeld in Mugler

Christina Aguilera sang the tribute, but nobody really evoked the spirit of Whitney Houston's movie-musical on the red carpet — except, perhaps, Hailee. The alienesque bra and extreme pointed shoulder pads both strike us as something Houston's Rachel Marron would've worn while stomping around singing about how she's the Queen of the Night. She, however, would've chosen sexier shoes. We're just sure of it.

5. Most Drenched: Ciara in Alexandre Vauthier

Well, she is married to a dude who plays football in Seattle, so it makes sense that she's paying homage to the city's signature weather.

6. Biggest Bummer: Demi Lovato in Ester Abner

Demi has been doing some intriguing things with stylist of the hour Law Roach (who also dresses Zendaya and Queen Celine). This is one of them ... in the sense that we're intrigued about why it's happening. The hair is more, well, Moore, and the dress looks like it got bored of itself halfway through and just threw itself into a ponytail. Demi can carry way more drama than this. Maybe Law was on vacation?

7. Best Baby Step: Alessia Cara

Alessia — she of those smoky, powerful pipes — has always stuck with her dressed-down aesthetic of jeans or cargo pants and sneakers, which became a memorable part of her VMAs performance (in which she removed a gown to reveal her truer casual self, while singing about acceptance). This is an interesting way to amp up the formality without losing that sense of self: While we wish the sweatpants weren't all bunched as if they are hiding a diaper, the shirt is simple and elegant, and we love that she kept the shit-kickin' boots. It is a baby step, but we see where she's heading.

8. Best J.Lo: Jenna Dewan Tatum in Julien Macdonald

It's not that Jenna is a stranger to slinky gowns, but the person we thought of first when we saw this is her World of Dance colleague, Jennifer Lopez. It's gorgeous and it fits Dewan Tatum like a glove, but it's also reminiscent of things our Jenny has worn in the past — in a way that feels like JDT took Julien a J.Lo mood board and said, "Give me Jenna From The Block."

9. Freakiest: Julia Michaels in Phuong My

Julia found this out the hard way: You do not want a Valentine from Voldemort.

10. Best Re-Envisoned Officewear: Kat Graham in Ronald van der Kemp

This is your everyday pencil skirt and oxford shirt combo, if someone looked at them and thought, "I need to make these directional." That transformation would be hard for most people to pull off, but not for the notably edgy Kat Graham. (Also, the people-watching in this office would be amazing.)

11. Best Synergy: Yara Shahidi in Prada

And if Kat is rebooting officewear, Yara is wearing a high-fashion re-envisioning of your classic schoolgirl look — like an even more stylish Clueless — and we can think of no better way to remind everyone that Yara is about to star as a college student on the black-ish spin-off grown-ish. Consider our DVRs set.

12. Most True to Form: Heidi Klum in Versace

She doesn't look bad, but boy is this predictable. Wake us up when Heidi arrives wearing something that isn't slinky and body-con.

13. Most Like A Fluffy Birthday Cake: Pink in Monique Lhuillier

This dress feels like the designer imposter of something we've seen several times before — most memorably, on Rihanna at the Grammys. That doesn't detract from it being charming and fun on Pink, though, besides which performing suspended from an actual building — as she did during the ceremony — earns her the right to wear any damn thing she pleases.

14. Most Perfectly Festive: Kelly Clarkson in Custom Siriano

Doesn't Kelly Clarkson — our most beloved American Idol, truly — look like the walking embodiment of a glass of champagne? Cheers indeed, madame.

15. Best Dressed Kid: Caleb McLaughlin in Philip Lim

Forget best-dressed kid, the Stranger Things star is in the running for best-dressed, period. The pattern in his shoes matches the pattern of his suit.

16. Most Recent Escapee from Medieval Times: Kelly Rowland in Galia Lahav

Might we offer milady a flagon of mead?

17. Most Undecided: Lilly Singh

We love Lilly's confidence and glow, but we wish her gown was as much of a bawse as she is. The color and the details are assertive and lovely, and while we get the idea of the long sleeve and hem on one diagonal and the shorter ones on the other, we just want the dress to CHOOSE already. We're all too fried from 2017's nonsense to deal with this many complications.