The American Music Awards proved to be a big ratings winner Wednesday night on both sides of the border.

In Canada, an estimated 1,469,000 tuned in to watch CTV's carriage of the awards show, making it the second-highest rated show of the night, according to Nielsen Media Research.

Variety reports that in the U.S., the three-hour show averaged 16.02 million viewers and a 7.3 rating/18 share of adults 18-49 demographic. These are ABC's strongest Wednesday scores since the Orange Bowl college football game in January 2001, the report said.

At a time when most shows are experiencing ratings erosion, the AMAs have held their ratings, and this year's numbers are the show's best in four years, Variety said.

The U.S. data showed that Britney Spears' performance accounted for the highest-rated half-hour of the AMAs, attracting 18.18 million viewers between 9 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. (More on the 2002 AMAs)