IT was the battle for the raunchy stakes at the American Music Awards in Los Angeles.

Slugging it out were the scantily-clad divas - Christina Aguilera, Beyonce Knowles and Rihanna, as they performed in sexy outfits at the American Music Awards on Sunday.

If Aguilera revisited her 'Dirrty' past by dressing in a racy lace basque, satin hotpants and fishnet tights, Beyonce wasn't far behind.

She too went for the fishnets and hotpants, and made it a point to show off her cleavage in a revealing black and white puffball waistcoat, the Daily Mail reported.

Together with two doppelganger dancers, Beyonce performed a high energy routine to her latest track, Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It).

Rihanna opted for a sexy biker look - a leather corset dripping with 'heavy metal' plus skin-tight leather trousers and thigh-high boots.

The raunchy outfits were a change of pace for the singers, who looked staid in comparison on the red carpet prior to the ceremony.

Aguilera looked stunning in a silvery sparkly floor-length gown and matching jewellery as she posed on the red carpet.

Rihanna, who won Favourite Soul/R&B Female Artist and Favourite Pop/Rock Album at the bash, wore an unusual ivory coloured strapless mini dress.

The three solo stars weren't the only sexy performances of the night. The Pussycat Dolls also did a raunchy number on stage.

F1 champ

Lewis Hamilton watched from the audience as his girlfriend, Pussycat Dolls frontwoman Nicole Scherzinger, pole-danced with her bandmates.

Meanwhile, Paris Hilton took to the red carpet in a halterneck gold sequined dress with matching gold shoes.

The telecast was a fast-paced flood of music that clearly catered to viewers with short attention spans.

Instead of excess gabbing, wordy lead-ins and silly, superfluous segments, the awards got right to the point - hand out awards and let the performers do their thing.

Hosted by US comedian Jimmy Kimmel, the glittering awards drew a younger musician crowd than ever before.

Miley Cyrus, Jonas Brothers and Taylor Swift all made an appearance at the awards do.

This article was first published in The New Paper on Nov 26, 2008.