Olivia Rodrigo leads 2021 American Music Awards nominations

Music’s Hottest Night of the Year airs live on Sun, Nov 21st on ABC

MRC Live & Alternative and ABC have announced nominees for the 2021 American Music Awards (AMAs), the world’s largest fan-voted awards show. The nominations announcement kicked off with reveals on ABC’s Good Morning America and Spotify’s morning show The Get Up, with the remaining nominees announced via the AMAs Twitter account. Voting is now open and this year, for the first time ever, fans can vote for all AMA categories on TikTok by searching for “AMAs” in-app. Music’s hottest night of the year will feature marquee performances and signature breathtaking moments live from the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles on Sunday, November 21st at 8 pm EST/PST on ABC and stream next day on Hulu.

Pop powerhouse Olivia Rodrigo makes her AMAs debut scoring seven nominations, including Artist of the Year and New Artist of The Year, reaching the top-nominee spot. Five-time AMA winner The Weeknd earned six nominations. The superstar will go up against Rodrigo in the Artist of the Year category, as well as Favorite Music Video and Favorite Pop Song.

Close behind with five nominations each are Bad Bunny, Doja Cat and Giveon. The Reggaeton superstar dominates in the Latin categories, scoring a double nod for Favorite Latin Album, while Doja Cat, 2020’s New Artist of the Year, is recognized in the Favorite Female R&B Artist and Favorite R&B Album categories, among others. First-time nominee Giveon received multiple nominations in his AMA debut, including New Artist of the Year, Favorite Male R&B Artist, and Collaboration of the Year for his hit song with Justin Bieber, “Peaches.”

Multiple global superstars will battle it out for the night’s top honor, Artist of the Year. Nominees in this category include Ariana Grande, BTS, Drake, Olivia Rodrigo, Taylor Swift and The Weeknd. Swift is the current record-holder for most wins in this category with six wins, and holds the record for most AMA wins of all time, 32.

New categories this year are Favorite Trending Song, with nominees from TikTok on the year’s most viral songs, Favorite Gospel Artist, and Favorite Latin Duo or Group, which rounds out last year’s expansion of the Latin categories bringing the total to five in the genre.

Morgan Wallen is up for two awards, but is currently blacklisted from the event. “Morgan Wallen is a nominee this year based on charting. As his conduct does not align with our core values, we will not be including him on the show in any capacity (performing, presenting, accepting),” producers MRC Live & Alternative share.

“We plan to evaluate his progress in doing meaningful work as an ally to the black community and will consider his participation in future shows.”

As it approaches its semi-centennial anniversary next year, the AMAs represents the top achievements in music, as determined by the fans. A vibrant night of non-stop music, the AMAs features a powerful lineup featuring first-time collaborations and exclusive world premiere performances from music’s biggest names – from pop to rap to R&B to country to Latin to K-Pop – and more, as well as memorable moments that live on in pop culture.

As the world’s largest fan-voted awards show, the AMAs will air globally across a footprint of linear and digital platforms in over 120 countries and territories.

Nominees are based on key fan interactions – as reflected on the Billboard charts – including streaming, album sales, song sales and radio airplay. These measurements are tracked by Billboard and its data partner MRC Data, and cover the time period September 25, 2020, through September 23, 2021. The American Music Awards winners are voted entirely by fans.

The 2021 American Music Awards is sponsored by Xfinity. Tickets are now on sale now at axs.com.

ARTIST OF THE YEAR

  • Ariana Grande
  • BTS
  • Drake
  • Olivia Rodrigo
  • Taylor Swift
  • The Weeknd

NEW ARTIST OF THE YEAR

  • 24kGoldn
  • Giveon
  • Masked Wolf
  • Olivia Rodrigo
  • The Kid LAROI

COLLABORATION OF THE YEAR

  • 24kGoldn ft. iann dior “Mood”
  • Bad Bunny & Jhay Cortez “DÁKITI”
  • Chris Brown & Young Thug “Go Crazy”
  • Doja Cat ft. SZA “Kiss Me More”
  • Justin Bieber ft. Daniel Caesar & Giveon “Peaches”

FAVORITE TRENDING SONG

  • Erica Banks “Buss It”
  • Måneskin “Beggin’”
  • Megan Thee Stallion “Body”
  • Olivia Rodrigo “drivers license”
  • Popp Hunna “Adderall (Corvette Corvette)”

FAVORITE MUSIC VIDEO

  • Silk Sonic (Bruno Mars, Anderson .Paak) “Leave The Door Open”
  • Cardi B “Up”
  • Lil Nas X “MONTERO (Call Me By Your Name)”
  • Olivia Rodrigo “drivers license”
  • The Weeknd “Save Your Tears”

FAVORITE MALE POP ARTIST

  • Drake
  • Ed Sheeran
  • Justin Bieber
  • Lil Nas X
  • The Weeknd

FAVORITE FEMALE POP ARTIST

  • Ariana Grande
  • Doja Cat
  • Dua Lipa
  • Olivia Rodrigo
  • Taylor Swift

FAVORITE POP DUO OR GROUP

  • AJR
  • BTS
  • Glass Animals
  • Maroon 5
  • Silk Sonic (Bruno Mars, Anderson .Paak)

FAVORITE POP ALBUM

  • Ariana Grande “Positions”
  • Dua Lipa “Future Nostalgia”
  • Olivia Rodrigo “SOUR”
  • Taylor Swift “evermore”
  • The Kid LAROI “F*CK LOVE”

FAVORITE POP SONG

  • BTS “Butter”
  • Doja Cat ft. SZA “Kiss Me More”
  • Dua Lipa “Levitating”
  • Olivia Rodrigo “drivers license”
  • The Weeknd & Ariana Grande “Save Your Tears (Remix)”

FAVORITE MALE COUNTRY ARTIST

  • Chris Stapleton
  • Jason Aldean
  • Luke Bryan
  • Luke Combs
  • Morgan Wallen

FAVORITE FEMALE COUNTRY ARTIST

  • Carrie Underwood
  • Gabby Barrett
  • Kacey Musgraves
  • Maren Morris
  • Miranda Lambert

FAVORITE COUNTRY DUO OR GROUP

  • Dan + Shay
  • Florida Georgia Line
  • Lady A
  • Old Dominion
  • Zac Brown Band

FAVORITE COUNTRY ALBUM

  • Chris Stapleton “Starting Over”
  • Gabby Barrett “Goldmine”
  • Lee Brice “Hey World”
  • Luke Bryan “Born Here Live Here Die Here”
  • Morgan Wallen “Dangerous: The Double Album”

FAVORITE COUNTRY SONG

  • Chris Stapleton “Starting Over”
  • Chris Young & Kane Brown “Famous Friends”
  • Gabby Barrett “The Good Ones”
  • Luke Combs “Forever After All”
  • Walker Hayes “Fancy Like”

FAVORITE MALE HIP-HOP ARTIST

  • Drake
  • Lil Baby
  • Moneybagg Yo
  • Polo G
  • Pop Smoke

FAVORITE FEMALE HIP-HOP ARTIST

  • Cardi B
  • Coi Leray
  • Erica Banks
  • Megan Thee Stallion
  • Saweetie

FAVORITE HIP-HOP ALBUM

  • Drake “Certified Lover Boy”
  • Juice WRLD “Legends Never Die”
  • Megan Thee Stallion “Good News”
  • Pop Smoke “Shoot For The Stars Aim For The Moon”
  • Rod Wave “SoulFly”

FAVORITE HIP-HOP SONG

  • Cardi B “Up”
  • Internet Money ft. Gunna, Don Toliver & NAV “Lemonade”
  • Lil Tjay ft. 6LACK “Calling My Phone”
  • Polo G “RAPSTAR”
  • Pop Smoke “What You Know Bout Love”

FAVORITE MALE R&B ARTIST

  • Chris Brown
  • Giveon
  • Tank
  • The Weeknd
  • Usher

FAVORITE FEMALE R&B ARTIST

  • Doja Cat
  • H.E.R.
  • Jazmine Sullivan
  • Jhené Aiko
  • SZA

FAVORITE R&B ALBUM

  • Doja Cat “Planet Her”
  • Giveon “When It’s All Said And Done… Take Time”
  • H.E.R. “Back of My Mind”
  • Jazmine Sullivan “Heaux Tales”
  • Queen Naija “missunderstood”

FAVORITE R&B SONG

  • Silk Sonic (Bruno Mars, Anderson .Paak) “Leave The Door Open”
  • Chris Brown & Young Thug “Go Crazy”
  • Giveon “Heartbreak Anniversary”
  • H.E.R. “Damage”
  • Jazmine Sullivan “Pick Up Your Feelings”

FAVORITE MALE LATIN ARTIST

  • Bad Bunny
  • J Balvin
  • Maluma
  • Ozuna
  • Rauw Alejandro

FAVORITE FEMALE LATIN ARTIST

  • Becky G
  • Kali Uchis
  • KAROL G
  • Natti Natasha
  • ROSALÍA

FAVORITE LATIN DUO OR GROUP

  • Banda MS de Sergio Lizárraga
  • Calibre 50
  • Eslabon Armado
  • La Arrolladora Banda El Limón De Rene Camacho
  • Los Dos Carnales

FAVORITE LATIN ALBUM

  • Bad Bunny “EL ÚLTIMO TOUR DEL MUNDO”
  • Kali Uchis “Sin Miedo (del Amor y Otros Demonios)”
  • KAROL G “KG0516”
  • Maluma “PAPI JUANCHO”
  • Rauw Alejandro “Afrodisíaco”

FAVORITE LATIN SONG

  • Bad Bunny & Jhay Cortez “DÁKITI”
  • Bad Bunny x ROSALÍA “LA NOCHE DE ANOCHE”
  • Farruko “Pepas”
  • Kali Uchis “telepatía”
  • Maluma & The Weeknd “Hawái (Remix)”

FAVORITE ROCK ARTIST

  • AJR
  • All Time Low
  • Foo Fighters
  • Glass Animals
  • Machine Gun Kelly

FAVORITE INSPIRATIONAL ARTIST

  • CAIN
  • Carrie Underwood
  • Elevation Worship
  • Lauren Daigle
  • Zach Williams

FAVORITE GOSPEL ARTIST

  • Kanye West
  • Kirk Franklin
  • Koryn Hawthorne
  • Maverick City Music
  • Tasha Cobbs Leonard

FAVORITE DANCE/ELECTRONIC ARTIST

  • David Guetta
  • ILLENIUM
  • Marshmello
  • Regard
  • Tiësto

Buddy Iahn
Buddy Iahn

Buddy Iahn founded The Music Universe when he decided to juxtapose his love of web design and music. As a lifelong drummer, he decided to take a hiatus from playing music to report it. The website began as a fun project in 2013 to one of the top independent news sites. Email: info@themusicuniverse.com