Rihanna was awarded a top honor at Sunday night’s AMAs, and it was given to her by none other than her mom, who was credited with starting the pop star’s career.

“Rihanna, I am so proud of you tonight,” Monica Fenty said. “I know the journey in your career has not always been an easy one, but tonight I applaud you and admire you for being so strong and so positive and so humble and so focused. It’s amazing how you always manage to take good from all your experiences. I am so blessed to be a part of this historic moment.”

While “humble” may not be a word usually attributed to Rihanna, the crowd seemed to be in agreement as she took the stage with a small orchestra to perform her hit “Diamonds”, from her 2012 album “Unapologetic”.

“About 20 years ago is when I first started making your life a living hell with my annoying like husky ‘man voice,’ you would call it,” Rihanna said with a look at her mom. “I literally begged and pleaded and she finally said yes. And I thank you and we all thank you for that ‘yes’, because that was the beginning of it all.”

Justin Timberlake and Miley Cyrus also performed at last night’s show, making headlines of their own with their performances.

Image: Wikimedia Commons