Saturday night, Nickelodeon held its 30th annual Kids’ Choice Awards with host John Cena at USC’s Galen Center in Los Angeles.
Among the starry crowd who either flocked to see miniature orange blimps awarded to kids’ favorites or hand them out themselves were Heidi Klum, Gwen Stefani, Mariah Carey, Demi Lovato, Big Sean and Zoe Saldana.
Big wins of the night for adults such Kevin Hart and Ellen DeGeneres brought moments for encouraging words like the oath DeGeneres led for the crowd who repeated, “I am good enough just like I am. I am supposed to be unique and different.” She added, “I promise to brush my teeth everyday and watch ‘The Ellen Show’ every single day.”
The night also proved there was no shortage of opportunities to slime its attendees. However, there was a clear line between guests who wanted to be slimed and those who didn’t.
“I would absolutely freak, as I’m sure would Roberto Cavalli, who does not give pieces to anyone,” laughed Machine Gun Kelly, referring to his floral-embroidered and sequin-embellished blazer.
Stefani echoed in Libertine, saying, “I told them I didn’t want to get slimed, but I feel like if you’re here you’re fair game so we’ll see what happens. Either way, I’m good because I’m all up for a makeup change.”
But for “Black-ish” star Allen Maldonado, who wore his own line, Vineyards Phinest, the slimy substance, which has been said to taste like glue or milk, was more than welcome. “Look, I’m a big kid in my heart and I’m still a kid in my mind. So slime me any day,” he said.
While the three didn’t receive the green treatment, stars like Lovato, Hart, and Chris Pratt were drenched.
With an audience full of kids, the network didn’t shy away from taking advantage of its target audience with film previews for “Smurfs: The Lost Village,” “Transformers: The Last Knight,” “Wonder Woman,” “Power Rangers,” and “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2” throughout the night.
However, there was a balance as the ceremony stayed true to its playful nature by giving Cena a comedic role with a dance competition against Nick Cannon and an arm wrestling match refereed by DJ Khaled. The night was also laced with musical performances from Kelly and Little Mix as well as the solo debut for former Fifth Harmony member Camila Cabello.
One constant for the KCAs proved to be the youthful plus-ones.
Kelly, who brought his daughter confessed that although he used to binge watch Nick on sick days as a kid he needed help identifying key players on the orange carpet. “Just watching my daughter be in awe of everyone she sees is cool. I wish I was back in tune with everything that’s going on.”
And while accepting her award for “Favorite TV Actress” Zendaya noted, “I brought my little nieces here tonight to remind them why I do this. They represent every beautiful young face I see. Thank you for allowing me to be that person for you.”
