Bad Bunny

Bad Bunny leads the nominations for the 2022 American Music Awards with eight nods, including his first for artist of the year. If the Puerto Rican superstar wins in all eight categories, he would tie Michael Jackson and Whitney Houston for the most AMAs in a single year.
Beyoncé, Drake and Taylor Swift are close behind with six nods each. That makes Bey and Swift the year’s top female nominees. The two powerhouses are facing off in three categories — artist of the year, favorite female pop artist and favorite pop album.

Adele, Harry Styles, The Weeknd and Future each received five nods. Imagine Dragons and Måneskin are tied as the group with the most nods – four. Jack Harlow and Tems also received four nods.

The American Music Awards are set to air live from Microsoft Theater at L.A. Live in Los Angeles on Sunday, Nov. 20, at 8 p.m. ET, and via tape delay at 8 p.m. PT, on ABC. A host has not yet been announced. Cardi B hosted last year’s show.

There are seven nominees for artist of the year, up from five nominees in each of the last five years. Swift received her record-extending ninth nomination in the category; Drake, his sixth; The Weeknd, his fifth. Adele, Beyoncé and Styles each received their third – counting Styles’ two previous nods with One Direction. As noted, this was Bad Bunny’s first nod in the category.

Swift holds the record for the most wins in the artist of the year category (six). She also holds the record for most AMA wins overall (34).

The AMAs added or revived six categories this year – favorite K-pop artist, favorite Afrobeats artist, favorite rock song, favorite rock album, favorite touring artist and favorite soundtrack. This is a breakthrough for K-pop and Afrobeats, which have not previously had AMAs categories dedicated to them. Favorite touring artist was dropped the last two years because of the pandemic, when relatively few people went to concerts. Favorite soundtrack was dropped last year when moviegoing was down for the same reason.

The AMAs dropped one category this year – favorite trending song, won last year by Megan Thee Stallion’s “Body.”

With two nods (collaboration of the year and favorite touring artist), Elton John makes history as the longest-recognized artist in AMA history. He was nominated for favorite pop/rock male artist in 1974 at the inaugural American Music Awards. He lost to singer/songwriter Jim Croce, whose death in a September 1973 plane crash triggered a tremendous sales surge.

More than 40 artists received their first-ever nominations this year, including the aforementioned Harlow and Tems (four nods each), Latto (three), Blackpink (one), Anitta (one), and Swedish House Mafia (one).

The nominations announcement kicked off ABC’s Good Morning America with a reveal of the 2022 new artist of the year nominees — Dove Cameron, Gayle, Latto, Måneskin and Steve Lacy. The segment featured a video of two-time AMA winner Becky G surprising this year’s nominees with the news. Additional nominees were announced via the AMAs’ Twitter account.

The AMAs bill themselves as “the world’s largest fan-voted awards show.” They further tout that last year’s show was the most social telecast of 2021 with 46.5 million interactions.

Nominees are based on key fan interactions – as reflected on the Billboard charts – including streaming, album and song sales, radio airplay, and tour grosses. These measurements are tracked by Billboard and its data partner Luminate, and cover the eligibility period of Sept. 24, 2021, through Sept. 22, 2022 (representing Billboard chart dates of Oct. 9, 2021, through Oct. 1, 2022).

The 2022 American Music Awards are produced by dick clark productions and Jesse Collins Entertainment. Collins, founder and CEO of the company that bears his name, returns as showrunner and executive producer. Dionne Harmon and Jeannae Rouzan-Clay, two of the top executives in Collins’ company, and Larry Klein, a longtime member of the AMAs production inner circle, are also executive producers.

This is the 50th edition of the show, which was created by TV music/variety OG Dick Clark in 1973. The show has aired on ABC continuously since 1974, marking one of the longest continuous network relationships for any awards show.

Tickets are now on sale now at www.axs.com

Here’s a complete list of 2022 American Music Awards nominees:

Artist of the yearAdeleBad BunnyBeyoncéDrakeHarry StylesTaylor SwiftThe Weeknd

New artist of the yearDove CameronGayleLattoMåneskinSteve Lacy

Collaboration of the yearCarolina Gaitán, Mauro Castillo, Adassa, Rhenzy Feliz, Diane Guerrero, Stephanie Beatriz & Encanto Cast, “We Don’t Talk About Bruno”Elton John & Dua Lipa, “Cold Heart – PNAU Remix”Future ft. Drake & Tems, “Wait For U”Lil Nas X ft. Jack Harlow, “Industry Baby”The Kid LAROI & Justin Bieber, “Stay”

Favorite touring artistBad BunnyColdplayEd SheeranElton JohnThe Rolling Stones

Favorite music videoAdele, “Easy on Me”Bad Bunny ft. Chencho Corleone, “Me Porto Bonito”Harry Styles, “As It Was”Lil Nas X ft. Jack Harlow, “Industry Baby”Taylor Swift, “All Too Well (Taylor’s Version)”

Favorite male pop artistBad BunnyDrakeEd SheeranHarry StylesThe Weeknd

Favorite female pop artistAdeleBeyoncéDoja CatLizzoTaylor Swift

Favorite pop duo or groupBTSColdplayImagine DragonsMåneskinOneRepublic

Favorite pop albumAdele, 30Bad Bunny, Un Verano Sin TiBeyoncé, RenaissanceHarry Styles, Harry’s HouseTaylor Swift, Red (Taylor’s Version)The Weeknd, Dawn FM

Favorite pop songAdele, “Easy on Me”Carolina Gaitán, Mauro Castillo, Adassa, Rhenzy Feliz, Diane Guerrero, Stephanie Beatriz & Encanto Cast, “We Don’t Talk About Bruno”Harry Styles, “As It Was”Lizzo, “About Damn Time”The Kid LAROI & Justin Bieber, “Stay”

Favorite male country artistChris StapletonCody JohnsonLuke CombsMorgan WallenWalker Hayes

Favorite female country artistCarrie UnderwoodLainey WilsonMaren MorrisMiranda LambertTaylor Swift

Favorite country duo or groupDan + ShayLady AOld DominionParmaleeZac Brown Band

Favorite country albumCarrie Underwood, Denim & RhinestonesLuke Combs, Growin’ UpCody Johnson, Human: The Double AlbumTaylor Swift, Red (Taylor’s Version)Walker Hayes, Country Stuff: The Album

Favorite country songChris Stapleton, “You Should Probably Leave”Cody Johnson, “’Til You Can’t”Dustin Lynch ft. MacKenzie Porter, “Thinking ‘Bout You”Jordan Davis ft. Luke Bryan, “Buy Dirt”Morgan Wallen, “Wasted on You”

Favorite male hip-hop artistDrakeFutureKendrick LamarLil BabyLil Durk

Favorite female hip-hop artistCardi BGloRillaLattoMegan Thee StallionNicki Minaj

Favorite hip-hop albumFuture, I Never Liked YouGunna, DS4EVERKendrick Lamar, Mr. Morale & The Big SteppersLil Durk, 7220Polo G, Hall of Fame 2.0

Favorite hip-hop songFuture ft. Drake & Tems, “Wait For U”Jack Harlow, “First Class”Kodak Black, “Super Gremlin”Latto, “Big Energy”Lil Nas X ft. Jack Harlow, “Industry Baby”

Favorite male R&B artistBrent FaiyazChris BrownGivēonLucky DayeThe Weeknd

Favorite female R&B artistBeyoncéDoja CatMuni LongSummer WalkerSZA

Favorite R&B albumBeyoncé, RenaissanceDrake, Honestly, NevermindSilk Sonic (Bruno Mars & Anderson .Paak), An Evening with Silk SonicSummer Walker, Still Over ItThe Weeknd, Dawn FM

Favorite R&B songBeyoncé, “Break My Soul”Muni Long, “Hrs And Hrs”Silk Sonic (Bruno Mars & Anderson .Paak), “Smokin Out The Window”SZA, “I Hate U”Wizkid ft. Tems, “Essence”

Favorite male Latin artistBad BunnyFarrukoJ BalvinJhaycoRauw Alejandro

Favorite female Latin artistAnittaBecky GKali UchisKarol GRosalía

Favorite Latin duo or groupBanda MS de Sergio LizárragaCalibre 50Eslabon ArmadoGrupo FirmeYahritza Y Su Esencia

Favorite Latin albumBad Bunny, Un Verano Sin TiFarruko, La 167J Balvin, JoseRauw Alejandro, Vice VersaRosalía, Motomami

Favorite Latin songBad Bunny ft. Chencho Corleone, “Me Porto Bonito”Becky G x Karol G, “MAMIII”Karol G, “Provenza”Rauw Alejandro, “Todo de Ti”Sebastián Yatra, “Dos Oruguitas”

Favorite rock artistImagine DragonsMachine Gun KellyMåneskinRed Hot Chili PeppersThe Lumineers

Favorite rock songFoo Fighters, “Love Dies Young”Imagine Dragons x JID, “Enemy”Kate Bush, “Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God)”Måneskin, “Beggin’”Red Hot Chili Peppers, “Black Summer”

Favorite rock albumColdplay, Music of the SpheresGhost, ImperaImagine Dragons, Mercury – Act 1Machine Gun Kelly, mainstream selloutRed Hot Chili Peppers, Unlimited Love

Favorite inspirational artistAnne Wilsonfor King & CountryKaty NicholeMatthew WestPhil Wickham

Favorite gospel artistCeCe WinansDOEE. Dewey SmithMaverick City MusicTamela Mann

Favorite dance/electronic artistDiploMarshmelloSwedish House MafiaThe ChainsmokersTiësto

Favorite soundtrackELVISEncantoSing 2Stranger Things: Soundtrack from the Netflix Series, Season 4Top Gun: Maverick

Favorite Afrobeats artistBurna BoyCKayFireboy DMLTemsWizkid

Favorite K-pop artistBlackpinkBTSSeventeenTomorrow X TogetherTwice

Dick Clark Productions is owned by Eldridge, which is an investor in Billboard’s parent company Penske Media Corporation.