[ot-caption title=”Josh Gad, Kaley Cuoco-Sweeting and Kevin Hart present the award for Favorite Comedic Movie Actress at the People’s Choice Awards. (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP)” url=”https://pcpawprint.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/AP988833548660.jpg”]

Once the New Year begins, there is a Hollywood buzz in the air: it is officially award show season. The 41^st People’s Choice Awards took place on January 7^th at the Nokia Theatre located in Los Angeles, California. It is an annual event that recognizes figures in the pop-culture world and acknowledges their achievements. The People’s Choice Awards, also known as “PCAs,” has a unique advantage over the other award shows because all of the voting is controlled by the public. The co-hosts of the evening were Allison Janney and Anna Faris, whose humorous commentary flowed effortlessly; both comedians work together on the television series “Mom.” Many celebrities attended the occasion such as Ellen DeGeneres and wife Portia de Rossi, Betty White, Chris Pratt, Kevin Hart, and Robert Downey Jr.

Unforgettable moments of the night include Kevin Hart, Josh Gad, and Kaley Cuoco-Sweeting presenting the Favorite Comedic Movie Actress to Melissa McCarthy while videoing themselves using three “selfie sticks.” Since the PCAs feature all types of entertainment, there were also musical performances by Iggy Azalea, Fall Out Boy, and Lady Antebellum that intertwined the presenting of the awards. Some notable awards presented were:

• Favorite Movie-Maleficent
• Favorite Movie Actor-Robert Downey Jr.
• Favorite Movie Actress-Jennifer Lawrence
• Favorite Action Movie-Divergent
• Favorite Daytime TV Host-Ellen DeGeneres
• Favorite Late Night Talk Show Host-Jimmy Fallon
• Favorite TV Icon-Betty White
• Favorite Comedic Movie-22 Jump Street
• Favorite Dramatic Movie-The Fault in Our Stars
• Favorite TV Show-The Big Bang Theory
• Favorite Male Artist-Ed Sheeran
• Favorite Female Artist-Taylor Swift
• Favorite Group-Maroon 5
• Favorite Album-X by Ed Sheeran
• Favorite Song-“Shake It Off” by Taylor Swift

One of the most important awards presented at the show was the Favorite Humanitarian award, which was awarded to Ben Affleck. Ben Affleck has been involved in helping the Eastern Congo develop a more-livable society. He has improved the efforts immensely and started a charity to promote funding. After receiving his award, he gave a very humble speech stating how he is only accepting the award on the behalf of his fellow humanitarians because he felt that they deserve it more.

[ot-caption title=”Amy Adams presents the award to Ben Affleck for Favorite Humanitarian 2015. (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP)” url=”https://pcpawprint.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/AP778145712705.jpg”]

Overall, the show was filled with laughter, joy, wonderful performances, and acceptance speeches. Next up for major awards shows: The 56th Annual Grammy Awards on Monday, January 26th; so get your DVRs ready to watch the biggest night of music.