American Music Awards
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American Music Awards 50th Anniversary Special, a two-hour retrospective special, will air on Sunday, Oct. 6, in the time slot that the 2024 AMAs was going to fill. That show has been bumped to May 2025. It will be the first yearly AMAs show since the one that aired on Nov. 20, 2022 with Wayne Brady hosting.
CBS and Dick Clark Productions announced on April 26 that the 2024 AMAs would run in the Oct. 6 timeslot. It was to have been the show’s debut on CBS after nearly 50 years on ABC. Instead, the AMAs franchise will debut on CBS with an anniversary special which promises to be more ambitious than a standard “clip show.”
American Music Awards 50th Anniversary Special will feature new performances, artist interviews, special guests, and exclusive never-before-seen footage from DCP’s extensive archives.
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The program will feature themed highlights from AMAs’ expansive show archives, each culminating with an original performance or artist interview. Segments will look back on the evolution of specific artists and genres at the AMAs, as well as award and performance milestones. The performances, created just for American Music Awards 50th Anniversary Special, will include collaborations, debuts from today’s top stars and appearances from AMAs legends. Performers will be announced in the coming weeks.
The special will air concurrently on both coasts, from 8:00-10:00 p.m. ET/5:00-7:00 p.m. PT on CBS and streaming on Paramount+ American Music Awards 50th Anniversary Special is produced by Dick Clark Productions.
ABC aired a 20th anniversary American Music Awards special in 1993. Kenny Rogers hosted the two-hour program.
Nominees on the AMAs are based on key fan interactions as reflected on the Billboard charts – including streaming, album sales, song sales and radio airplay.
The AMAs were created in 1973 as a fan-based alternative to the Grammys. The first two Grammy live telecasts in March 1971 and March 1972 aired on ABC. When the Grammys shifted to CBS for the March 1973 telecast, ABC looked for a show to fill that void and went with Dick Clark’s fan-based show.
In December 1973, Clark was working on the first AMAs, which would launch on Feb. 19, 1974. The veteran producer knew a little publicity couldn’t hurt, so he found time for an interview with Billboard’s Bob Kirsch which ran on page one of the Dec. 15, 1973 issue under the headline “ABC-TV Slates Favorite Acts’ Awards Feb. 19.”
At the end of the piece, Clark attempted to take the long view of his fledgling show and said “If this is done properly, we may have a show that will last 20 years and will finally get the general public involved in popular music awards.”
Clark underestimated the longevity of his own creation. Next year’s AMAs will be the 51st. (There were two shows in 2003 and none at all in 2023 or 2024.)
That first show in 1974 ran just 90 minutes. It has been allotted three hours for many years, though the length of the 2025 show has not been announced. The show in the first five years had a tight focus on three broad genres – pop/rock, soul/R&B and country. It now recognizes far more genres, including hip-hop, Latin, inspirational, gospel, Afrobeats and K-pop.
But, for the most part, the vision that Clark outlined to Kirsch in 1973 still guides the show.
“This is probably the first time a major effort has been made to sample the U.S. public music taste through popular vote. … To date, we have received extremely favorable response from those in the music industry we have talked to about the show. They seem delighted at the opportunity to be honored by the music-buying public.”
Helen Reddy, Smokey Robinson and Roger Miller co-hosted that first show – each representing one of the three main genres. Reddy, who was red-hot at the time, was also the inaugural winner of favorite pop/rock female artist.
Clark, a master showman, was a legend in both music and television. He received a trustees award from the Recording Academy in 1990 and was inducted into the Television Academy Hall of Fame in 1992. He died in 2012 at age 82.
DCP is owned by Penske Media Eldridge, a Penske Media Corporation (PMC) subsidiary and joint venture between PMC and Eldrige. PMC is the parent company of Billboard.
Watch Latin American Music Awards
The American Music Awards, a fixture on ABC from 1974 to 2022, is moving to CBS. The first show on its new network is set for Sunday, Oct. 6, live on both coasts at 8:00 p.m. ET and 5:00 p.m. PT and streaming on Paramount+.
The official announcement was made on Friday (April 26) by CBS and Dick Clark Productions (DCP), which is producing the 2024 AMAs. Nominees are based on key fan interactions as reflected on the Billboard charts – including streaming, album sales, song sales and radio airplay.
The AMAs are the third major awards show that CBS has picked up in the past few years, following the CMT Music Awards (in 2022) and the Golden Globes (earlier this year, having previously broadcast the show in 1981-82). CBS has also been the long-time home of the Grammy Awards (since 1973), the Tony Awards (since 1978) and the Kennedy Center Honors (also since 1978).
With the AMAs leaving ABC, the Oscars are ABC’s longest-running awards show. The Oscars moved from NBC to ABC in 1976.
The AMAs were created as a fan-based alternative to the Grammys. The first two Grammy live telecasts in March 1971 and March 1972 aired on ABC. When the Grammys shifted to CBS for the March 1973 telecast, ABC looked for a show to fill that void and went with Dick Clark’s fan-based show.
In December 1973, Clark was working on the first AMAs, which would launch on Feb. 19, 1974. The veteran producer knew a little publicity couldn’t hurt, so he found time for an interview with Billboard’s Bob Kirsch which ran on page one of the Dec. 15, 1973 issue under the headline “ABC-TV Slates Favorite Acts’ Awards Feb. 19.”
At the end of the piece, Clark attempted to take the long view of his fledgling show and said “If this is done properly, we may have a show that will last 20 years and will finally get the general public involved in popular music awards.”
Clark underestimated the longevity of his own creation. This year’s AMAs will be the 51st (there were two shows in 2003).
That first show ran just 90 minutes. It has been allotted three hours for many years, though this year’s show length has not been announced. The show in the first five years had a tight focus on three broad genres – pop/rock, soul/R&B and country. It now recognizes far more genres, including hip-hop, Latin, inspirational, gospel, Afrobeats and K-pop.
But, for the most part, the vision that Clark outlined to Kirsch 50 years ago still guides the show.
“This is probably the first time a major effort has been made to sample the U.S. public music taste through popular vote. … To date, we have received extremely favorable response from those in the music industry we have talked to about the show. They seem delighted at the opportunity to be honored by the music-buying public.”
Helen Reddy, Smokey Robinson and Roger Miller co-hosted that first show – each representing one of the three main genres. Reddy, who was red-hot at the time, was also the inaugural winner of favorite pop/rock female artist. Clark was executive producer of that first show. Bill Lee was producer. John Moffitt directed.
Clark, a master showman, was a legend in both music and television. He received a trustees award from the Recording Academy in 1990 and was inducted into the Television Academy Hall of Fame in 1992. He died in 2012 at age 82.
DCP is owned by Penske Media Eldridge, a Penske Media Corporation (PMC) subsidiary and joint venture between PMC and Eldrige. PMC is the parent company of Billboard.
Machine Gun Kelly loves The Office just as much as you do — so much so that the “Papercuts” singer showed up to the 2022 AMAs red carpet on Sunday with Michael Scott’s “World’s Best Boss” mug (content unknown) and gushed about his love of the program while chatting with Billboard‘s correspondent kenzie.
After noticing MGK’s mug, kenzie asked the rock star who his favorite character on the show was, and he has such an appreciation of the show that he was unable to pick just one person. “I like Oscar, I like Kevin, I like Kelly, I like Erin, I like Andy, I like Dwight — I love Dwight — love Michael Scott, love Pam, love Jim. Pretty much who walked into that office, I love,” he said.
The conversation then pivoted to the recent release of Machine Gun Kelly’s latest movie, Taurus. In the semi-autobiographical film — which was released last week on Nov. 18 — Kelly plays the role of Cole, who according to the movie’s official synopsis is “a rising but troubled musician [who] searches for the inspiration to record his next song, pushing himself deep into the void.”
When asked what it was like filming the movie, which also stars his fiancée Megan Fox as Mae, his ex-wife in the film, MGK said it was quite “depressing.” Why? “You should watch the movie.”
See Machine Gun Kelly’s red carpet interview with Billboard at the 2022 American Music Awards in the video above.
Sabrina Carpenter attended the 2022 American Music Awards on Sunday and dished to Billboard all about her new album Emails I Can’t Send.
“My favorite song on the album changes every single day,” the pop star admitted to Billboard’s special red carpet correspondent kenzie on the red carpet. “I’d say today it’s probably a song called ‘Tornado Warnings.’ But the most fun to write was my now single ‘Nonsense,’ which I just put out a video for.
“It’s just the silliest song,” she continued of the track, “and when we were writing it, I was like, ‘It’s never gonna be put out.’ … At first I was like, ‘It doesn’t make sense with the album,’ and then I kind of realized that there’s a lot of dual feelings to heartbreak and grieving and moving on, and it can happy and sad and confident and insecure. So yeah, that’s one of my favorites too.”
During the awards show, Carpenter presented the trophy for favorite music video alongside Dustin Lynch to Taylor Swift for All Too Well: The Short Film from Swift’s 2021 re-recording Red (Taylor’s Version).
Last month, the pop singer wrapped up a 12-date U.S. tour in support of her fifth studio album, which also contains “Skinny Dipping,” “Fast Times,” “Vicious” and “Because I Liked a Boy.” The LP as a whole peaked at No. 23 on the Billboard 200 upon its release, giving Carpenter the highest chart entry of her career.
Watch Carpenter break down her favorite songs on Emails I Can’t Send below.
Kim Petras has Taylor Swift’s seal of approval. At Sunday’s (Nov. 20) AMAs, Swift had the chance to catch up with the pop singer backstage and express her love for Petras and one of her songs.
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Catching up near the bar at the event, Swift leaned into hug Petras, and exclaimed, “I love your song so much. I’ve done a lot of butt-popping to that” in a brief video that has circulated on social media.
The “Anti-Hero” singer sadly did not name the track that she hasn’t been able to stop playing, but there is one song that Petras is on that has been making the rounds in a major way. Petras features on Sam Smith’s “Unholy” — the track debuted at No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100, but later crowned the chart on Oct. 29. After 11 weeks on the chart, Smith and Petras’ collab scored a nod at the 2023 Grammy Awards in the best pop duo/group performance category and is up against tracks by ABBA, Camila Cabello ft. Ed Sheeran, Coldplay and BTS, and Post Malone and Doja Cat. The nomination marks Petras’ first at the Grammys.
Smith and Petras’ “Unholy” was not up for any awards at the 2022 AMAs last night, but Swift was another story. The “Anti-Hero” singer won six awards, bringing her career-win total to 40. Sunday’s winning streak continues Swift’s tradition of being the most awarded artist in the show’s 50-year history; she has more awards than Michael Jackson (26 wins), Whitney Houston (22) and Kenny Rogers (19).
Watch Swift and Petras’ cute catch-up below.
Adeptly hosted by Wayne Brady, the 2022 American Music Awards saw Taylor Swift win all six of her categories, extending her record as the most-awarded artist in the history of the AMAs (what else do you expect from an artist who is too damn popular for Ticketmaster to handle?). Swift now has 40 AMA wins in the show’s 50-year history, putting her ahead of three late icons: Michael Jackson (26 wins), Whitney Houston (22) and Kenny Rogers (19).
Despite the celebratory tone of the evening, the Sunday night (Nov. 20) broadcast from Los Angeles’ Microsoft Theater came less than 24 hours after a gunman opened fire at a gay nightclub in Colorado Springs, Colo., leaving five dead and at least 25 injured. Host Brady, performer/new artist of the year winner Dove Cameron and presenter (not to mention Hot 100 topper) Kim Petras all spoke about the attack on the LGBTQ community, touching on the senseless tragedy and resilience of the queer community. This meant that while musical performances (and awards, naturally) occupied the bulk of the evening, many of the more impactful moments came from artists candidly addressing the tragedy.
Of course, there was still joy to be found, whether through the energetic chemistry of surprise guest Cardi B joining Glo Rilla or Taylor Swift Stanning for her fans during three AMAs acceptance speeches. Plus, the long-running friendship between Smokey Robinson and AMA Icon Award honoree Lionel Richie provided a few laughs, even culminating in an all-star sing-along to an ‘80s smash hit with both Richie and Robinson on stage.
Check out the best moments from the 2022 AMAs below.
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The 2022 American Music Awards kicked off on Sunday (Nov. 20) at Microsoft Theatre in L.A., and the night was nothing short of victorious. From Taylor Swift winning in all six categories she was nominated in to Lionel Richie being honored with the Icon Award, this year’s AMAs continued to honor music’s best creators.
Billboard caught some of the action from the audience and backstage. Here are 17 moments you didn’t see on TV at the 2022 AMAs.
4:51 p.m. PT: As the announcer declares less than 10 minutes until showtime, Machine Gun Kelly hugs Dove Cameron on the way to his front-row seat. The two pose for a photo and Dove goes to put her arm around him only to remember he’s wearing sharp spiked suit — and quickly opts to leave her arms by her side.
5:11 p.m.: After having tossed his hat into the small pit of fans by the stage — and proceeding to deliver an epic opening number about hosting the AMAs — Wayne Brady reached out into the crowd to then take his hat back. Unfortunate for the fan who thought they were going home with a rare memento, but it did complete Brady’s look.
5:14 p.m.: Cameron’s team cheered for her backstage as she accepted the award for new artist of the year. Someone also shouted for a handler to help her onstage, but she ultimately walked up alone.
5:20 p.m.: During a commercial break, MGK and two members of his team head backstage. As it turned out, the next award happened to be for favorite rock artist. After being announced as the winner, he comes from backstage to accept the award — making note that it’s hard to go to the bathroom in his purple porcupine-inspired ‘fit.
5:25 p.m.: Meghan Trainor‘s mic gets cut and she seems confused to have missed her mark announcing favorite rock artist; she shrugs and lets the tape of nominees run.
5:29 p.m.: GloRilla‘s dancers get a two-minute warning. The Memphis rapper made her AMA debut fresh off the release of her new EP Anyways, Life’s Great, with a surprise Cardi B cameo.
5:43 p.m.: While announcing and ultimately accepting the honor for favorite male R&B artist of the year, awarded to Chris Brown, who was unable to attend at the last minute, Kelly Rowland told the audience members who chose to boo Brown to take it easy. “Excuse me, chill out,” she said. As the negativity simmered, she continued to praise Brown and his music, telling him she’d bring him his deserved trophy.
5:45 p.m.: Carrie Underwood climbs into a metal sphere ahead of her performance, patiently waiting through a commercial break, the award for favorite male R&B artist, and a beautiful intro by Jimmie Allen.
5:55 p.m.: Just ahead of favorite pop album, Taylor Swift walks in (in a look seemingly inspired by her Fearless era), and fans naturally go crazy. The screams seem to follow her to her front-row seat, where she’s greeted and hugged by GAYLE and Sabrina Carpenter. Moments later, she’s announced as the winner in the category for Red (Taylor’s Version).
6:12 p.m.: GloRilla’s backup dancers file into the talent glam tent outside the arena. The girls are screaming and laughing as they celebrate the rapper’s debut AMA performance. Outside the tent, Glo and Cardi are at their trailers catching up, taking pictures with their team and family.
6:37 p.m.: As Måneskin is announced as the winner of favorite rock song for “Beggin,’” half of the audience stands for the Italian rock act.
6:43-6:45 p.m.: Dancers and instrumentalists eagerly leave the glam tent to head into the arena for Dove Cameron’s set. “The wait is over!,” one dancer says.
6:49 p.m.: J.I.D. chats with friends outside the snack trailer backstage after his performing “Enemy” with Imagine Dragons. The rapper was nominated for favorite rock song along with the band who had three other nominations.
6:55 p.m.: Swift re-enters the room, and this time pauses on the way to her seat to chat and take a photo with Smokey Robinson. As she nears center stage, she stops and chats at length with Jimmie Allen. Sure enough, she wins the award for favorite music video for the “All Too Well (10 Minute Version) (Taylor’s Version)” short film and the entire front row remains standing for her speech.
7:12 p.m.: Ari Lennox emerges from her trailer in a long orange gown and makes her way to the theater. Minutes after, Charlie Puth does the same, dressed in a glittery black suit jacket. The two, along with Stevie Wonder, later share the stage for their tribute to Lionel Richie, who received the Icon Award.
7:21 p.m.: Lionel Richie walks over to say his hellos to Swift and for the two snap a photo. Moments later, Swift wins for artist of the year, followed by Richie being honored with the Icon Award.
7:55 p.m.: Swift walks out with GAYLE and Sabrina Carpenter in her entourage — signaling that her winning streak and the night had both come to a close.
Taylor Swift won a night-topping six awards at the 2022 American Music Awards, which brings her career total to an even 40. This extends her already considerable lead as the most-awarded artist in the show’s 50-year history. Swift is followed on the AMA leaderboard by three superstar artists who have died: Michael Jackson (26 wins), Whitney Houston (22) and Kenny Rogers (19).
The 2022 AMAs, hosted by Wayne Brady, were held at Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles on Sunday (Nov. 20).
Swift extended her leads as the artist with the most wins for artist of the year (seven), and favorite pop/rock female artist (also seven).
In addition, Swift’s Red (Taylor’s Version) won favorite pop album. It’s her record-extending fifth win in the category. And “All Too Well” won favorite music video. It’s Swift’s third win in the category, which is also a record. She also won in two country categories.
Beyoncé, who was not present at the show, won three awards, making her the night’s runner-up for most wins. She won favorite soul/R&B female artist for the seventh time, which puts her in a tie with Rihanna for the most wins in the history of the category.
Two-time winners were Bad Bunny, BTS, Kendrick Lamar, Harry Styles and Morgan Wallen. These artists, likewise, did not appear on the show.
BTS won favorite pop duo or group for the fourth time, which makes them the most awarded group in the category, which has been presented every year since the show began. BTS were previously tied with Daryl Hall & John Oates, Aerosmith, Black Eyed Peas and One Direction with three wins each. BTS also won in the new favorite K-pop artist category.
Styles won favorite male pop artist for the first time. One Direction were three-time winners for favorite pop/rock group. The genial Brit is the third artist to win in both categories. Justin Timberlake has won the male pop award twice and the pop group award once with *NSYNC. Phil Collins has won the male pop award once and the pop group award once with Genesis.
Marshmello won favorite dance/electronic artist for the fourth time, extending his record as the most awarded artist in the category.
Nicki Minaj won favorite female hip-hop artist. It’s her fifth win a rap/hip hop artist category – which is more than any other artist. (The name of the category and whether it was gendered or not has changed over the years). Eminem is in second place, with four wins.
Dove Cameron, who was surprisingly passed over for a Grammy nomination for best new artist last week, won the AMA award for new artist of the year. She’s the first AMA new artist of the year winner who wasn’t even nominated for the Grammy for best new artist since 5 Seconds of Summer eight years ago. (That’s discounting three solo stars who emerged from successful groups – Zayn, Niall Horan and Camila Cabello, because they wouldn’t have been eligible for a Grammy nod.)
Dan + Shay took favorite country duo or group for the fourth year in a row. That’s the longest consecutive win streak in that category since Lady A won four straight from 2010-13. But it’s far from the record. Alabama won 14 years in a row from 1983 to 1996.
Elvis beat Encanto for favorite soundtrack, which likely reflects the fact that Elvis was more current at the time of voting. But a track from Encanto, Sebastián Yatra’s “Dos Orguiitas,” won favorite Latin song. Yatra performed the Oscar-nominated song on the Academy Awards in March.
Coldplay won favorite touring artist. It’s the band’s second win in that category, which was introduced in 2016. No other act has won more than once. The category was on hiatus the last two years when touring was hindered by the pandemic.
Elton John & Dua Lipa’s “Cold Heart – PNAU Remix” won collaboration of the year. Elton was nominated for favorite pop/rock male artist at the very first AMAs on Feb. 19, 1974. He lost to Jim Croce, whose tragic death in a plane crash the previous September triggered a huge sales boom.
Smokey Robinson, who co-hosted that first AMAs show with the late Roger Miller and Helen Reddy, presented the Icon Award to Lionel Richie.
The 2022 American Music Awards took over the Microsoft Theater at L.A. Live in Los Angeles on Sunday night (Nov. 20), where some of the year’s biggest stars took the stage to deliver fan-favorite hits and brand-new tracks.
From P!nk, Carrie Underwood and Anitta to Imagine Dragons, JID, Stevie Wonder, Dove Cameron and Yola, this year’s AMAs had something for every type of music fan, plus a number of buzzworthy surprise appearances and onstage collaborations.
Additionally, this year’s show unveiled a new award, song of soul, which spotlights an emerging, mission-driven artist who has inspired change and aims for social justice through their music. The first recipient is Yola’s “Break the Bough.” Yola performed the song at the ceremony, marking her first AMAs performance. Bebe Rexha was also among the stars to step on the AMAs stage for the first time this year, delivering her Billboard Hot 100 top 20 hit with David Guetta “I’m Good (Blue).”
The ceremony also featured an emotional tribute to the late Olivia Newton-John, who died in August at age 73. After opening the show with her new single, P!nk took the stage to perform John’s 1978 Grease classic “Hopelessly Devoted to You.”
After Lionel Richie was honored with the Icon Award, Stevie Wonder and Charlie Puth teamed up to honor his career with a mash-up of his hits including “Three Times a Lady,” “Easy,” “All Night Long (All Night)” and more.
Read on below to see how we at Billboard ranked the 11 performances of the night, counting down to our favorite performance of the 2022 American Music Awards.