40th Anniversary American Music Awards
Rihanna and Nicki Minaj are the leading nominees for the 40th Anniversary American Music Awards, announced this morning by Christina Aguilera. Christina is the first artist confirmed to perform on the awards show, which will air November 18 on ABC. (This is video of her performing last year)
Nicki and Rihanna each have four nominations individually. Following with three nods each are Justin Bieber, Maroon 5, Drake, One Direction and Usher. The nominees for the most prestigious category -- Artist of the Year -- are Justin Bieber, Katy Perry, Maroon 5, Rihanna and Drake.
Top country nominees include Jason Aldean, Taylor Swift, Carrie Underwood, Rascal Flatts, Lady Antebellum and Lionel Richie, who released his first country album this past year. The Alternative Rock nominees include The Black Keys, Gotye and Linkin Park.
Other nominees include Train, Kelly Clarkson, Chris Brown and Trey Songz.
A new category has been added to the AMAs this year: Favorite Electronic Dance Music Artist. The nominees in that category are David Guetta, Skrillex and Calvin Harris.
Winners will be determined by online vote; you can vote starting today at AMAVote.com, as well as at AMA.abc.com.
Here are the nominees:
ARTIST OF THE YEAR
Justin Bieber
Drake
Maroon 5
Katy Perry
Rihanna
NEW ARTIST OF THE YEAR
J. Cole
fun.
Gotye
Carly Rae Jepsen
One Direction
FAVORITE MALE ARTIST – POP/ROCK
Justin Bieber
Flo Rida
Pitbull
Usher
FAVORITE FEMALE ARTIST – POP/ROCK
Kelly Clarkson
Nicki Minaj
Katy Perry
Rihanna
FAVORITE BAND, DUO OR GROUP – POP/ROCK
fun.
Maroon 5
One Direction
The Wanted
FAVORITE ALBUM – POP/ROCK
Justin Bieber /Believe
Maroon 5/Overexposed
Nicki Minaj/Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded
One Direction/Up All Night
FAVORITE MALE ARTIST – COUNTRY
Jason Aldean
Luke Bryan
Eric Church
FAVORITE FEMALE ARTIST – COUNTRY
Miranda Lambert
Taylor Swift
Carrie Underwood
FAVORITE BAND, DUO or GROUP - COUNTRY
Zac Brown Band
Lady Antebellum
Rascal Flatts
FAVORITE ALBUM - COUNTRY
Luke Bryan/Tailgates & Tanlines
Lionel Richie/Tuskegee
Carrie Underwood/Blown Away
FAVORITE ARTIST – RAP/HIP-HOP
Drake
Nicki Minaj
Tyga
FAVORITE ALBUM – RAP/HIP-HOP
J. Cole/Cole World: The Sideline Story
Drake/Take Care
Nicki Minaj/Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded
FAVORITE MALE ARTIST – SOUL/R&B
Chris Brown
Trey Songz
Usher
FAVORITE FEMALE ARTIST – SOUL/R&B
Beyoncé
Mary J. Blige
Rihanna
FAVORITE ALBUM – SOUL/R&B
Chris Brown/Fortune
Rihanna/Talk That Talk
Usher/Looking 4 Myself
FAVORITE ARTIST - ALTERNATIVE ROCK
The Black Keys
Gotye
Linkin Park
FAVORITE ARTIST - ADULT CONTEMPORARY
Adele
Kelly Clarkson
Train
FAVORITE ARTIST - LATIN
Don Omar
Pitbull
Shakira
FAVORITE ARTIST - CONTEMPORARY INSPIRATIONAL
Jeremy Camp
Newsboys
tobyMac
FAVORITE ARTIST - ELECTRONIC DANCE MUSIC (EDM)
David Guetta
Calvin Harris
Skrillex