The American Music Awards have been relegated to the redheaded stepchild of music award shows over the past couple of years. While The Grammy Awards are and will always be the trophies with the most cache, the MTV VMAs and even the BET Awards have become more appointment viewing than the show Dick Clark created over 40 years ago.
Of course, the difference between the AMAs and the Grammys have always been that the latter ceremony’s winners are decided by record industry dollars a blue chip panel of artists, producers and other musical creative types, while the AMAs are voted on by the fans. This is why New Kids On The Block, Justin Bieber, *NSYNC and other artists who don’t have the most musical credibility have a handful of these pointy statuettes.
Actually, YOU can vote for who you feel should win right here.
This year, the major nominees are rap duo Macklemore & Ryan Lewis and pop/R&B superstars Justin Timberlake and Robin Thicke. Bruno Mars, Rihanna, Taylor Swift and Florida Georgia Line also show up multiple times in the list of nominees. It’s certainly feasible that many of these artists (particularly Timberlake) will reign supreme when Grammy nominees are announced in December, but we’ll have to wait and see whether public opinion and industry consensus walk hand in hand this year.
The AMAs jump from their long time home on ABC to CBS this year, and they will be broadcast on November 24th.
Artist of the Year
Macklemore & Ryan Lewis
Bruno Mars
Rihanna
Taylor Swift
Justin Timberlake
New Artist of the Year
Florida Georgia Line
Ariana Grande
Imagine Dragons
Macklemore & Ryan Lewis
Phillip Phillips
Single of the Year
“Cruise,” Florida Georgia Line featuring Nelly
“Thrift Shop,” Macklemore & Ryan Lewis featuring Wanz
“Blurred Lines,” Robin Thicke featuring Pharrell & T.I.
POP/ROCK
Favorite Male Artist
Bruno Mars
Robin Thicke
Justin Timberlake
Favorite Female Artist
Pink
Rihanna
Taylor Swift
Favorite Band, Duo or Group
Imagine Dragons
Macklemore & Ryan Lewis
One Direction
Favorite Album
“Take Me Home,” One Direction
“Red,” Taylor Swift
“The 20/20 Experience,” Justin Timberlake
COUNTRY
Favorite Male Artist
Luke Bryan
Hunter Hayes
Blake Shelton
Favorite Female Artist
Miranda Lambert
Taylor Swift
Carrie Underwood
Favorite Band, Duo or Group
The Band Perry
Florida Georgia Line
Lady Antebellum
Favorite Album
“Crash My Party,” Luke Bryan
“Here’s To The Good Times,” Florida Georgia Line
“Red,” Taylor Swift
RAP/HIP-HOP
Favorite Artist
Jay-Z
Lil Wayne
Macklemore & Ryan Lewis
Favorite Album
“Magna Carta…Holy Grail,” Jay-Z
“Good Kid, M.A.A.D. City,” Kendrick Lamar
“The Heist,” Macklemore & Ryan Lewis
SOUL/R&B
Favorite Male Artist
Miguel
Robin Thicke
Justin Timberlake
Favorite Female Artist
Ciara
Alicia Keys
Rihanna
Favorite Album
“Unapologetic,” Rihanna
“Blurred Lines,” Robin Thicke
“The 20/20 Experience,” Justin Timberlake
Favorite Artist – Alternative Rock
Imagine Dragons
The Lumineers
Mumford & Sons
Favorite Artist – Adult Contemporary
Maroon 5
Bruno Mars
Pink
Favorite Artist – Latin
Marc Anthony
Price Roye
Romeo Santos
Favorite Artist – Contemporary Inspiration
TobyMac
Chris Tomlin
Matthew West
Favorite Artist – Electronic Dance Music (EDM)
Avicii
Daft Punk
Calvin Harris
Zedd
Top Soundtrack
“The Great Gatsby: Music From Baz Luhrmann’s Film”
“Les Miserables”
“Pitch Perfect”