Recording artists Wang Taili (second from left) and Xiao Yang (right) of the Chopstick Brothers perform onstage at the 2014 American Music Awards at the Nokia Theatre L.A. Live on Sunday in Los Angeles, California. Photo: CFP

As the curtain came down on the American Music Awards (AMAs) on Sunday, most overseas media reported on the night's biggest winners such as Taylor Swift. However, over in China, local media's focus was firmly set on the appearance of three Chinese stars at the ceremony.

First reports were celebratory in nature. The Chinese duo the Chopstick Brothers won the International Song Award with their viral track "Little Apple" and Chinese singer Jason Zhang (Zhang Jie) walked away with the International Artist Award. However, controversy soon followed after Chinese netizens began to notice the lack of importance the AMAs were actually placing on these awards, both of which were brand new categories for this year, as well as the lack of attention from overseas media.

According to videos released on tudou.com, the Chopstick Brothers didn't even receive their award on stage. Instead, after the duo came off stage from performing "Little Apple," they were hastily given the award by event host Pitbull, who then proceeded to hurry back on stage. Zhang, on the other hand, while getting a chance to accept his award in front of the live audience, was only able to give a short acceptance speech in English and then sing a short section of Michael Jackson's "Heal the World" before being played off stage.

"Don't click this video if you're afraid of watching embarrassing moments… the audience is just sitting there wearing a look on their faces 'I don't know who this is,'" commented netizen Yinyuechehuoxianchang when reposting the video on his Weibo account.

It soon came to light that these two segments hadn't been part of the live broadcast of the show and instead had been filmed during the show's commercial breaks, which may explain why Pitbull was in such a hurry to run back on stage after tossing the Chopstick Brothers their award - he had to get back before the commercials were over. As for the performers themselves, it's hard to tell if they knew their segments weren't being watched by audiences in the US. Even an article posted on US music magazine Rolling Stone's website asked, "Did Zhang know the award wasn't being broadcast in the United States, and if so, why did he accept it in English?"

This treatment has left some wondering if these awards were actually an acknowledgement of these artists' huge fanbases in China, or more of a marketing stunt.

No matter the answer, many in China have already started to feel that these awards aren't as big a deal as they are made out to be.

For one, there is also some confusion of just how important these categories are, as they seem to have come out of nowhere. When the AMAs released its nominee list last month, neither of these two awards were mentioned, let alone the names of the artists competing for the prize.

This makes some wonder if these categories have been established purely to cater to audiences in Asia.

Meanwhile, the value of foreign awards have gone down in the eyes of many Chinese audiences as they seem to be more of a popularity contest than an indication of an artist's actual talent.

For instance, after Chinese singer Han Geng won Best Worldwide Act at the MTV Europe Music Awards against strong competitors such as Rihanna in 2012, this award has continually been won by Chinese superstars over the next two years: Li Yuchun defeated Justin Bieber and Exo in 2013, and Zhou Bichang beat B.A.P and One Direction in 2014. 

There is no denying the power of Chinese fans, whose dedication and huge numbers can have great influence in award shows where fan voting takes place. The power of social media to help these fans organize has only further increased their power.

With this in mind, there are many who feel that Chinese stars were only able to win in the above cases purely because they had a huge organized army of fans standing behind them in China and not because they have had an impact on the global music industry.  Which makes the "Worldwide" part of the award's title seem a bit disingenuous.