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American Music Awards
Annual awards show From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The American Music Awards (AMAs) is an annual American music awards show produced by Dick Clark Productions since 1974.[1] Nominees are selected on commercial performance, such as sales and airplay. Winners are determined by a poll of the public and fans, who can vote through the AMAs website.[2]
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The event originally aired on ABC, after the network's contract to air the Grammy Awards expired; its contract expired after the 2022 ceremony, putting the American Music Awards on hiatus. In March 2024, it was announced that the AMAs would move to CBS as part of a package with its rights to broadcast the now DCP-owned Golden Globe Awards. The event remained on hiatus for 2024, with CBS airing a 50th anniversary special in October 6 of that year, ahead of a planned return in 2025 with a new May scheduling.
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Conception
The AMAs was created by Dick Clark in 1973 to compete with the Grammy Awards after the move of that year's show to Nashville, Tennessee led to CBS (which has broadcast all Grammy Award shows since then) picking up the Grammy telecasts after its first two in 1971 and 1972 were broadcast on ABC. In 2014, American network Telemundo acquired the rights to produce a Spanish-language version of the American Music Awards and launched the Latin American Music Awards in 2015.[3][4]
Nominations are selected based on commercial performance, such as sales and airplay. Winners have been determined by a poll of the public and fans, who can vote through the AMAs website, while nominations have remained based on sales, airplay, now including activity on social networks, and video viewing. Before 2010, nominations were based only on sales and airplay and nominated every work, even if old. The Grammys have nominations based on vote of the Academy and only nominate a work from their eligibility period that changes often.[5][6][7]
The award statuette is manufactured by New York firm Society Awards.[8]
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History
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The hosts for the first AMAs were Helen Reddy, Roger Miller, and Smokey Robinson. Reddy not only hosted the show but also became the first artist to win an AMA for Favorite Pop/Rock Female Artist.[9] For the first two decades, the AMAs had multiple hosts, each representing a genre of music. For instance, Glen Campbell, who co-hosted the AMAs five times, would host the country portion, while other artists would co-host to represent their genre. In recent years, however, there has been a single host.
In 1991, Keenen Ivory Wayans became the first Hollywood actor to host the AMAs.
The first two AMAs in 1974 and 1975 and the 1994 ceremony were held in February, but from 1976 to 1993 and 1995 through early 2003, the AMAs were held in mid- to late-January, but were moved to November (usually the Sunday before Thanksgiving) beginning in late 2003 so it would prevent the ceremony to further compete with other major awards shows (such as the Golden Globe Awards and the Academy Awards) and allows for ABC to have a well-rated awards show during November sweeps.
For the 2008 awards, Jimmy Kimmel hosted for his fifth year, tying with Glen Campbell for the most AMAs hosted or co-hosted. From 2009–2012, there was no host. Instead, the AMAs followed the Grammys' lead in having various celebrities give introductions. However, rapper Pitbull hosted the 2013 ceremony and 2014 ceremony. Jennifer Lopez hosted the 2015 show.[10] Gigi Hadid and Jay Pharoah hosted the 2016 show. Tracee Ellis Ross hosted the show in 2017 and 2018. Ciara hosted the 2019 show.[11]
Between 2012 and 2014, the American Music Awards used the lock screen wallpaper of Samsung Galaxy smartphones rather than envelopes to reveal winners, as part of a sponsorship by Samsung Electronics. A magnetic screen cover on each phone kept the wallpaper image with the winner's name secret until opened.[12]
In August 2018, Dick Clark Productions announced a two-year sponsorship and content partnership with YouTube Music. However, this partnership seemed to have lasted only for the 2018 ceremony, as there was no mention of the YouTube Music partnership in the 2019 show.[13]
In March 2023, it was announced that the Billboard Music Awards, which are also produced by DCP via co-owned Billboard, had been moved from May to the November scheduling that was typically occupied by the American Music Awards, leading to speculation that the AMAs would be discontinued in order to focus on the Billboard Music Awards, or at the very least cancelled for 2023, so it could move to May in its place. It was reported that the broadcast rights for both events (which had been held by NBC and ABC respectively) would also be shopped; the Billboard Music Awards moved to an online only event in November 2023.[14]
In March 2024, it was announced that CBS had acquired the rights to broadcast the AMAs under a multi-year deal of unspecified length. The rights were bundled with CBS's five-year agreement to televise the Golden Globe Awards, whose telecast has historically been produced by DCP, and whose assets had been acquired by DCP in 2023.[15] It was not stated whether the contract is for the same period as the Golden Globes agreement.[16]
The AMAs continued to be on hiatus for 2024, with a return scheduled for May 2025. In lieu of a 2024 ceremony, a televised special honoring the AMAs' 50th anniversary was aired by CBS on October 6, 2024, including performances and retrospectives paying tribute to the ceremony's history and memorable moments.[17][18] Ratings for the special were up from the last ceremony aired on ABC, with an average of 6.1 million viewers.[19] In February 2025, it was announced that the 51st American Music Awards would air on May 26, 2025 on CBS.[19]
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Ceremonies
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Categories
Current award categories
- Artist of the Year
- New Artist of the Year
- Collaboration of the Year
- Song of the Year
- Favorite Music Video
- Favorite Touring Artist
- Favorite Pop Male Artist
- Favorite Pop Female Artist
- Favorite Pop Duo or Group
- Favorite Pop Album
- Favorite Pop Song
- Favorite R&B Male Artist
- Favorite R&B Female Artist
- Favorite R&B Album
- Favorite R&B Song
- Favorite Country Male Artist
- Favorite Country Female Artist
- Favorite Country Duo or Group
- Favorite Country Album
- Favorite Country Song
- Favorite Hip Hop Artist
- Favorite Hip Hop Album
- Favorite Hip Hop Song
- Favorite Latin Artist
- Favorite Latin Duo or Group
- Favorite Latin Album
- Favorite Latin Song
- Favorite Rock Artist
- Favorite Rock Song
- Favorite Rock Album
- Favorite Dance/Electronic Artist
- Favorite Afrobeats Artist
- Favorite K-Pop Artist
- Favorite Soundtrack
- Social Song of the Year
- Album of the Year
Discontinued awards
- Fan's Choice Award (2003)
- Favorite Social Artist (2018–2020)
- Favorite Trending Song (2021)
- Favorite Inspirational Artist (2002–2022)
- Favorite Gospel Artist (2002–2022)
- Favorite Pop/Rock Video (1984–1988)
- Favorite Pop/Rock Male Video Artist (1985–1987)
- Favorite Pop/Rock Female Video Artist (1985–1987)
- Favorite Pop/Rock Band/Duo/Group Video Artist (1985–1987)
- Favorite Pop/Rock New Artist (1989–Jan 2003)
- Favorite Soul/R&B Band/Duo/Group (1974–Nov 2003, 2005–2006, 2009)
- Favorite Soul/R&B Video (1984–1988)
- Favorite Soul/R&B Male Video Artist (1985–1987)
- Favorite Soul/R&B Female Video Artist (1985–1987)
- Favorite Soul/R&B Band/Duo/Group Video Artist (1985–1987)
- Favorite Soul/R&B New Artist (1989–Jan 2003)
- Favorite Country Video (1984–1988)
- Favorite Country Male Video Artist (1985–1987)
- Favorite Country Female Video Artist (1985–1987)
- Favorite Country Band/Duo/Group Video Artist (1985–1987)
- Favorite Country New Artist (1989–Jan 2003)
- Favorite Rap/Hip-Hop Band/Duo/Group (2003–2008)
- Favorite Rap/Hip-Hop New Artist (1990–1994)
- Favorite Disco Male Artist (1979)
- Favorite Disco Female Artist (1979)
- Favorite Disco Band/Duo/Group (1979)
- Favorite Disco Album (1979)
- Favorite Disco Song (1979)
- Favorite Heavy Metal/Hard Rock Artist (1989–1997)
- Favorite Heavy Metal/Hard Rock Album (1989–1992)
- Favorite Heavy Metal/Hard Rock New Artist (1990–1993)
- Favorite Dance Artist (1990–1992)
- Favorite Dance Song (1990–1992)
- Favorite Dance New Artist (1990–1992)
- Favorite Adult Contemporary Artist (1992–2020)
- Favorite Adult Contemporary Album (1992–1994)
- Favorite Adult Contemporary New Artist (1992–1994)
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Most wins
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The record for most American Music Awards won is held by Taylor Swift with 40 awards.[20] The record for most American Music Awards won by a male artist belongs to Michael Jackson, who has collected 26 awards.[21] The record for most American Music Awards won by a group belongs to Alabama, who have collected 18 awards.[22]
Most wins in a single ceremony
The record for the most American Music Awards won in a single year is held by Michael Jackson (in 1984) and Whitney Houston (in 1994), each with 8 awards to their credit (including the Award of Merit, with which both artists were honored in the respective years).
- Michael Jackson 8 (1984)
- Whitney Houston 8 (1994)
Most wins by category
The following list shows the artists with most wins in each category, adapted from the AMAs official website.[23]
- Artist of the Year: Taylor Swift (7 wins)
- Collaboration of the Year: Justin Bieber (3 wins)
- Song of the Year: Kenny Rogers (5 wins)
- Favorite Music Video: Taylor Swift (3 wins)
- Favorite Male Artist – Pop/Rock: Justin Bieber (4 wins)
- Favorite Female Artist – Pop/Rock: Taylor Swift (6 wins)
- Favorite Duo or Group – Pop/Rock: BTS (4 wins)
- Favorite Album – Pop/Rock: Taylor Swift (4 wins)
- Favorite Male Artist – Country: Garth Brooks (8 wins)
- Favorite Female Artist – Country: Reba McEntire (11 wins)
- Favorite Duo or Group – Country: Alabama (13 wins)
- Favorite Album – Country: Carrie Underwood (6 wins)
- Favorite Artist – Rap/Hip-Hop: Nicki Minaj (5 wins)
- Favorite Song – Rap/Hip-Hop: Cardi B (3 wins)
- Favorite Album – Rap/Hip-Hop: Nicki Minaj (3 wins)
- Favorite Male Artist – Soul/R&B: Luther Vandross (7 wins)
- Favorite Female Artist – Soul/R&B: Beyoncé, Rihanna (7 wins each)
- Favorite Album – Soul/R&B: Michael Jackson (4 wins)
- Favorite Artist – Alternative Rock: Linkin Park (6 wins)
- Favorite Artist – Adult Contemporary: Celine Dion (4 wins)
- Favorite Artist – Latin Music: Enrique Iglesias (7 wins)
- Favorite Artist – Contemporary Inspirational: Casting Crowns (4 wins)
- Favorite Artist – Electronic Dance Music: Marshmello (3 wins)
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Special awards
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Award of Merit
The American Music Award of Merit has been awarded to 32 artists, the latest being Sting (2016).[24]
International Artist Award of Excellence
The International Artist Award of Excellence is described as "an award which recognizes artists whose popularity and impact cross national boundaries and is only given when there is a deserving recipient who is worthy of recognition for their accomplishments" and has been awarded to seven artists:[25]
- Michael Jackson (1993)
- Rod Stewart (1994)
- Led Zeppelin (1995)
- Bee Gees (1997)
- Aerosmith (2001)
- Beyoncé (2007)
- Whitney Houston (2009)
Icon Award
The Icon Award was introduced in the 2013 ceremony, producer Larry Klein stated that the award was created "to honor an artist whose body of work has made a profound influence over pop music on a global level."[26]
- Rihanna (2013)
- Lionel Richie (2022)
- Janet Jackson (2025)[27]
Dick Clark Award for Excellence
At the 2014 award ceremony, the Dick Clark Award for Excellence was given.[28] It was created to recognize "an artist who achieves a groundbreaking feat or creates a landmark work."[29]
- Taylor Swift (2014)
Award of Achievement
- Michael Jackson (1989)
- Prince (1990)
- Mariah Carey (2000 and 2008)
- Katy Perry (2011)
Lifetime Achievement Award
- Diana Ross (2017)
Artist of the Decade
- 2010s: Taylor Swift (2019)[30]
- 1990s: Garth Brooks (2000)[31][32]
In 2000, the AMAs held a poll to elect the Artist of the Decade for each previous decade of the Rock and Roll era. According to some sources, the result of this poll is not counted in the total of AMAs won by these artists.[33][34][35] The results were:
- 1950s: Elvis Presley
- 1960s: The Beatles
- 1970s: Stevie Wonder
- 1980s: Michael Jackson
Artist of the Century
Michael Jackson won the Artist of the Century award in the 29th American Music Awards held on January 9, 2002.[36]
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Ratings
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See also
References
External links
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