Lionel Richie Wins AMA Icon Award at the 2022 AMAs as Stevie Wonder and Charlie Puth Sing Tribute

Lionel Richie is making history at the 2022 American Music Awards!

The legendary singer, 73, accepted the AMA Icon Award on Sunday night, making him the only artist to take the AMAs stage in every decade since the show began.

Richie's award was presented to him by Smokey Robinson, who joked that he first knew the "Easy" singer as "the guy with the biggest afro in the Commodores."

"He's had a solo career second to none... Simply put, there have been few careers that have had as much diversity as Lionel Richie," said Robinson, 82, who joked that fans often confused the two, and they'd each gotten used to signing autographs as the other person.

As he accepted his award, Richie thanked his family and colleagues and made a point of speaking directly to the "young superstars" gathered in the room so he could offer them advice.

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"What I want to say and take this time to do is to talk to the young superstars. God has given you a light. That light is special, that light is only given to a few," he said. "When you hear the word 'hip,' it means today. When you hear the word 'inspiring,' it means forever. If you get a chance to have that light on you, understand what God has in store."

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The American Idol judge continued: "He's not trying to tell you that your car looks great, your clothes look great. He/she/mother/God is trying to tell you that you are chosen to inspire. Take this opportunity. That light is on you. Inspire."

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Once Richie's speech wrapped, Stevie Wonder and Charlie Puth took the stage, with each taking turns singing portions of Richie's biggest hits on the piano, a format Puth joked was a "musical tennis match of Lionel Richie copyright."

Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Stevie Wonder and Charlie Puth

"This is a great night because we're here to honor a great man," Wonder, 72, said.

As the performance went on, Wonder covered hits like "Three Times a Lady" (which Taylor Swift was seen singing along to in the crowd), "All Night Long (All Night)," "Brick House" and "Jesus Is Love."

Puth, meanwhile, handled songs like "Easy" and "Say You, Say Me." Eventually, the pair were joined by Robinson, Melissa Etheridge, Ari Lennox, Jimmie Allen, Yola, Dustin Lynch and Muni Long to wrap things up with "We Are the World."

Kevin Winter/Getty

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Richie and Wonder are longtime friends, with Richie saying on Instagram in 2020 that he and the "Superstition" singer have been pals "since day one."

The AMA Icon Award is "given to an artist whose body of work has made a global influence over the music industry and the world," according to a press release.

Richie — who won his first AMA in 19179 — now has 18 wins under his belt. He's sold more than 125 million albums, and has four Grammy Awards and 12 No. 1 hits on his resumé.

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"I'm immensely grateful for a career that has taken me to places I never imagined that I'd go, from arenas worldwide to studio sets to the AMA stage," he said in a statement ahead of the show. "I can recall one of the first times I got to perform at the AMAs. It was to sing 'We Are the World' among the most iconic musicians of my generation, so it is surreal to be receiving this recognition 36 years later."

The 2022 AMAs are airing live Sunday night from the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles.