The American Music Awards (AMAs) will be celebrating their 42nd anniversary this year on November 22. Earlier this week, the AMAs announced some of their incredibly talented nominees for this year. The winners of the popular ABC award show are completely determined by public polls.
This year, country-turned-pop superstar, Taylor Swift leads AMA nominations with six categories, including Song of the Year (“Blank Space”), Collaboration of the Year (“Bad Blood” feat. Kendrick Lamar), Favorite Female Artist – Pop/Rock, Favorite Album Pop/Rock (“1989”) and the coveted, Artist of the Year.
Musicians, singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran and R&B crooner The Weeknd, closely follow Swift each with five nominations. Ed Sheeran is nominated for Artist of the Year, Song of the Year (“Thinking Out Loud”), Favorite Male Artist – Pop/Rock, Favorite Album – Pop/Rock (“X”), and Favorite Artist – Adult Contemporary. The Weeknd is nominated for Artist of the Year, New Artist of the Year, Song of the Year (“Can’t Feel My Face”), Favorite Male Artist – Soul/R&B, and Favorite Album – Soul/R&B (“Beauty Behind the Madness”).
One thing all of those nominees have in common is that they’re all up against each other for the biggest award of the night. Artist of the Year has been one of the most competitive categories since 2001 when N*Sync took home the title. Taylor Swift has the record of being a 3-time winner of Artist of the Year with Justin Bieber right behind her with 2 wins. Last year’s winner, One Direction, are nominated for this award for the second time. Will One Direction win back-to-back Artist of the Year titles? Ariana Grande, Nicki Minaj, Sam Smith, Meghan Trainor, and Maroon 5 also join the list of talented artists nominated for this award.
Other nominees will be recognized for the success of their music this year, including, Bruno Mars, Fetty Wap, Rihanna, Nick Jonas, Ariana Grande, Nicki Minaj, Beyonce, Hozier, Fall Out Boy and more! Make sure to check it out on ABC on November 22nd.
You can listen to this playlist of all of the nominees on Spotify!
Don’t forget to cast your vote for your favorite pop/rock, country, alternative rock, or rap/hip-hop artists here. Tell us who you’re voting for by tweeting us @UConnHC!