It’s the 40th anniversary of the American Music Awards, a show started by Dick Clark as an alternative to the Grammys in 1973.
Lionel Richie SXSW 2012 - Photo By Ros O'Gorman
The difference between the two awards is that the Grammys are voted on by industry members whereas the AMA’s are voted by the people.
As always, the AMA’s salute the biggest selling artists in a variety of genres and, usually, the fans pick the flavor of the moment at the time of voting. That’s why it is very rare for a veteran artist to make the cut.
This year, Lionel Richie actually made the cut, in the country category, for his smash album Tuskeegee.
Overall, Nicki Minaj and Rihanna lead the nominations with four each while Drake, Justin Bieber, Maroon 5, One Direction and Usher have three each and Carrie Underwood, Chris Brown, fun., Gotye, J.Cole, Katy Perry, Kelly Clarkson, Luke Bryan and Pitbull each have two.
The awards will be given out on November 18 at the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles and broadcast on ABC.
The nominees:
- Justin Bieber
- Drake
- Maroon 5
- Katy Perry
- Rihanna
- J. Cole
- fun.
- Gotye
- Carly Rae Jepsen
- One Direction
- Justin Bieber
- Flo Rida
- Pitbull
- Usher
- Kelly Clarkson
- Nicki Minaj
- Katy Perry
- Rihanna
- fun.
- Maroon 5
- One Direction
- The Wanted
- Believe – Justin Bieber
- Overexposed – Maroon 5
- Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded – Nicki Minaj
- Up All Night – One Direction
- Jason Aldean
- Luke Bryan
- Eric Church
- Miranda Lambert
- Taylor Swift
- Carrie Underwood
- Zac Brown Band
- Lady Antebellum
- Rascal Flatts
- Tailgates & Tanlines – Luke Bryan
- Tuskegee – Lionel Richie
- Blown Away – Carrie Underwood
- Drake
- Nicki Minaj
- Tyga
- Cole World: The Sideline Story – J. Cole
- Take Care – Drake
- Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded – Nicki Minaj
- Chris Brown
- Trey Songz
- Usher
- Beyoncé
- Mary J. Blige
- Rihanna
- Fortune – Chris Brown
- Talk That Talk – Rihanna
- Looking 4 Myself – Usher
- The Black Keys
- Gotye
- Linkin Park
- Adele
- Kelly Clarkson
- Train
- Don Omar
- Pitbull
- Shakira
- Jeremy Camp
- Newsboys
- tobyMac
- David Guetta
- Calvin Harris
- Skrillex
