American Music Awards
| American Music Awards | |
|---|---|
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Current: American Music Awards of 2026 November 22, 2026 | |
.svg) Logo as of 2026 | |
| Description | Outstanding achievements for American artists |
| Country | United States |
| First award | November 28, 2009 |
| Television/radio coverage | |
| Network |
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| Produced by | Dick Clark Productions |
The American Music Awards (AMAs) is an annual American music awards show produced by Dick Clark Productions. Until the 2015 edition, both the winners and the nominations were selected by members of a widespread panel of American music historians. Since the 2020 edition, nominations have been determined by key fan interactions with music, including album and digital song sales, streaming, radio airplay, touring and social engagement, tracked by Billboard and its data partners, including Nielsen Music and Next Big Sound. The award statuette is manufactured by New York firm Society Awards.
History and overview
Conception
In September 2009, ABC announced its decision to pick up the American Music Awards for premiere on November 26, 2009, at the Orpheum Theatre in Los Angeles, California. However, in early November, ABC announced its decision to drop the show from its fall line-up due, to financial changes and creative differences. NBC then announced its decision to pick the ceremony back up, continuing with the originally planned launch of the show.
In November 2012, it was announced that ABC had once again picked up the event and would be returning it after a three year absence, keeping the event held in Los Angeles and in the same month. However, the show relocated to the Shrine Auditorium to accommodate for more space.
In October 2014, following another absence, NBCUniversal announced they had re-acquired the rights to the ceremony for three years and would resurrect the ceremony in December 2014 on NBC. In September 2017, NBC announced that the fifth annual ceremony would not take place in 2017; plans were announced for the event to take place during the first-half of 2018, citing a "busy second-half of the calendar year" for the move. NBC also announced that producers were considering re-locating the ceremony back to the west coast for the first time since 2014.
In October 2020, it was announced the event would return after a four-year hiatus. Jeff Shell, CEO and President of NBCUniversal, revealed creative differences with Dick Clark Productions, which produces the show, led to a standstill that would not be resolved until February 2020. Following the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, production plans were halted even further. In 2021, it was revealed Dick Clark Productions and NBCUniversal came to an agreement to extend NBC's deal to broadcast the event through 2023.
Hosts
For the first three ceremonies, the AMAs were hosted by talk show hosts. Conan O'Brien hosted the first annual show, followed by Jimmy Kimmel and Seth Meyers in 2012 and 2014, respectively. However, since 2015, there has been no host.
Sponsor
In September 2020, Dick Clark Productions announced a sponsorship and content partnership with Billboard.
Ceremonies
| Num. | Date | Venue | Host | Network |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | November 28, 2009 | Orpheum Theatre | Conan O'Brien | NBC |
| 2 | November 25, 2012 | Shrine Auditorium | Jimmy Kimmel | ABC |
| 3 | December 18, 2014 | MGM Grand Garden Arena | Seth Meyers | NBC |
| 4 | December 1, 2015 | United Center | N/A | |
| 5 | November 22, 2020 | Microsoft Theater | ||
| 6 | November 28, 2021 | |||
| 7 | November 24, 2022 | |||
| 8 | November 26, 2023 | |||
| 9 | November 24, 2024 | Peacock Theater | CBS | |
| 10 | November 23, 2025 | |||
| 11 | November 22, 2026 | TBA |
Categories
Current award categories
The nominees are based on key fan interactions with music, including album and digital song sales, streaming, radio airplay, touring and social engagement, tracked by Billboard and its data partners, including Nielsen Music and Next Big Sound.
These categories are represented based on the last official ceremony, held in 2026:
- Artist of the Year
- New Artist of the Year
- Album of the Year
- Song of the Year
- Collaboration of the Year
- Best Music Video
- Tour of the Year
- Song of the Summer
- Best Male Mainstream Artist
- Best Female Mainstream Artist
- Best Mainstream Album
- Best Mainstream Song
- Best Male Urban Artist
- Best Female Urban Artist
- Best Urban Album
- Best Urban Song
Past award categories
- Favorite Pop/Rock Female Artist
- Favorite Pop/Rock Male Artist
- Favorite R&B/Hip Hop Female Artist
- Favorite R&B/Hip Hop Male Artist
- Favorite Pop/Rock Duo or Group
Most wins
The record for most American Music Awards won is held by DeJonay, who has amassed seven awards. The record for most American Music Awards won by a male artist belongs to Brody Chandler, who has collected four awards. The record for most American Music Awards won by a group belongs to Suite 44, who have collected three awards.
| Artist | Number of awards |
|---|---|
| DeJonay | 7 |
| Krystal Hayes | 5 |
| Brody Chandler | 4 |
| Mia Grace | 3 |
| Jude Harrison | |
| Suite 44 |
Most wins in a single ceremony
The record for the most American Music Awards won in a single year is held by DeJonay (in 2020), with four awards to her credit.
Special awards
Award of Merit
The American Music Award of Merit, which honors an artist's outstanding contributions to the musical entertainment of the American public, is a non-annual award. It has only been awarded once, to Krystal Hayes in 2012.
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| 2009 | 2012 | 2014–2015 | 2020–2022 | 2023–2025 | since 2026 |