All the Surprising Reunions at the 2026 American Music Awards
Fergie with the Black Eyed Peas? The Pussycat Dolls? It all felt very 2008
Reported by Harper's Bazaar.
The 2026 American Music Awards delivered something the fashion world can actually learn from: the power of a committed aesthetic. Because when legacy acts take the stage after years — sometimes decades — apart, the clothes aren't incidental. They're the whole statement.
According to Harper's Bazaar, the night's most visually arresting moment belonged to the Pussycat Dolls, who reunited for the first time since 2006. Nicole Scherzinger, Kimberly Wyatt, and Ashley Roberts didn't ease back in — they arrived in matching red latex, performed a run of era-defining hits including "Don't Cha," "Buttons," and "When I Grow Up" (plus new single "Club Song" alongside Busta Rhymes), and reminded everyone exactly why their look was always as calculated as their choreography. Red latex as a reunion outfit is a choice. It says: we have not softened.
Nostalgia With a Point
Fergie stepped back into the Black Eyed Peas orbit six years after her 2018 exit, joining Will.i.am, Apl.de.ap, and Taboo to accept Best Throwback Song for their 2010 banger "Rock That Body." Meanwhile, Hootie & the Blowfish — Darius Rucker, Mark Bryan, Dean Felber, and Jim Sonefeld — marked exactly 30 years since their 1996 AMA win for Favorite Pop/Rock New Artist with a performance of "Hold My Hand" and "Only Wanna Be With You." Thirty years and they walked back in like punctuation. New Kids on the Block (Jonathan and Jordan Knight, Donnie Wahlberg, Joey McIntyre, Danny Wood) brought out their 1988 track "You Got It (The Right Stuff)," continuing a reunion run that dates back to 2008. And Billy Idol brought guitarist and longtime collaborator Steve Stevens along for a three-song set: "White Wedding," "Eyes Without a Face," and "Dancing With Myself."
What the AMAs staged this year wasn't just nostalgia tourism — it was a masterclass in identity dressing. Each act understood that a reunion demands visual intention. You don't come back after 20 years in something forgettable. You come back in red latex, or you come back in the leather that made you, or you come back looking like no time passed at all — which is, frankly, the most intimidating option.
The real fashion takeaway isn't about the clothes specifically. It's about commitment: knowing your signature so well that stepping back into it feels inevitable rather than desperate.
Read the original at Harper's Bazaar.
