American Music Awards of 2026
2026 music awards ceremony
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The 52nd Annual American Music Awards were held on May 25, 2026, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.[1] The ceremony was broadcast on CBS and streamed on Paramount+. Queen Latifah hosted the ceremony, 31 years after she first co-hosted the ceremony in 1995.[2]
| American Music Awards of 2026 | |
|---|---|
| |
| Date | May 25, 2026 |
| Venue | MGM Grand Garden Arena Paradise, Nevada |
| Country | United States |
| Hosted by | Queen Latifah |
| Most wins | Bruno Mars, BTS, Cardi B, Huntrix, Katseye, Sombr, and Sabrina Carpenter (3) |
| Most nominations | Taylor Swift (8) |
| Website | theamas |
| Television/radio coverage | |
| Network | CBS Paramount+ |
| Produced by | Dick Clark Productions |
Nominations were announced on April 14, 2026; Taylor Swift led with eight. Twelve new categories were introduced: Breakout Tour, Breakthrough Album of the Year, Best Throwback Song, Best Vocal Performance, Song of the Summer, Breakthrough Pop Artist, Breakthrough Country Artist, Breakthrough Hip-Hop Artist, Breakthrough R&B Artist, Breakthrough Latin Artist, Breakthrough Rock/Alternative Artist, and Best Americana/Folk Artist.
Bruno Mars, BTS, Cardi B, Huntrix, Katseye, Sombr, and Sabrina Carpenter were the most awarded artists, winning three awards each. Karol G was honored with the International Artist Award of Excellence, Billy Idol with the Lifetime Achievement Award, and Darius Rucker with the Veterans Voice Award.
Performances
Katseye was announced as the first performer on April 21, 2026.[3] Twenty One Pilots and Teddy Swims were announced on May 4 and 5 respectively.[4][5] Five additional performers were announced on May 7.[6] Teyana Taylor was announced on May 12.[6] Karol G, Billy Idol, and New Kids on the Block were all added to the lineup on May 13, 14, and 15 respectively.[7][8][9] The Pussycat Dolls and Busta Rhymes were announced on May 18.[10]
| Performer(s) | Song(s) |
|---|---|
| BTS | "Hooligan" (pre recorded from Allegiant Stadium) |
| Hootie & the Blowfish | "Hold My Hand" "Only Wanna Be With You" |
| Sombr | "Homewrecker" |
| The Pussycat Dolls Busta Rhymes |
"Buttons" "When I Grow Up" "Club Song" "Don't Cha" |
| Karol G | "Ivonny Bonita" |
| Riley Green | "Worst Way" |
| Twenty One Pilots | "Drag Path" |
| Katseye | "Pinky Up" |
| Keith Urban | "Summer Breeze" |
| New Kids on the Block | "You Got It (The Right Stuff)" |
| Teyana Taylor Missy Elliott |
"All Of Your Heart" "Open Invite" |
| Teddy Swims | "Mr. Know It All" |
| Maluma | "Tu Recuerdo"[11] |
| Billy Idol Steve Stevens |
"White Wedding" "Eyes Without a Face" "Dancing With Myself" |
Presenters
Presenters were announced on May 21, 2026.[12]
- Nikki Glaser – presented Best Rock/Alternative Song
- Paula Abdul and Jason Derulo – presented Song of the Year
- Linda Perry – introduced Sombr
- Alysa Liu – presented Best Rock/Alternative Artist
- Anthony Ramos and Gabriel Iglesias – presented Breakthrough R&B Artist
- John Legend – presented the International Artist Award and Best Latin Album to Karol G
- Hannah Berner and Lisa Rinna – presented Best Throwback Song
- Melanie Martinez – introduced Twenty One Pilots
- BTS – presented Best Female R&B Artist
- Russell Dickerson and Jake Wood – presented the Veterans Voice Award to Darius Rucker
- Megan Stalter and Paul W. Downs – presented Best Rock/Alternative Album
- Ejae and Rei Ami – introduced Katseye
- Riley Green – introduced Keith Urban
- GloRilla and Ludacris – presented Song of the Summer
- Matt Rife – presented Breakthrough Country Artist
- Hilary Duff – presented New Artist of the Year
- Mariah the Scientist – introduced Teddy Swims
- Busta Rhymes – presented Artist of the Year
- Leon Thomas – presented the Lifetime Achievement Award to Billy Idol
Winners and nominees
The nominees were announced on April 14, 2026.[13] Taylor Swift received the most nominations with eight, followed by Morgan Wallen, Olivia Dean, Sabrina Carpenter, and Sombr with seven nominations each, and Alex Warren and Lady Gaga with six nominations each.[14] Bruno Mars, BTS, Cardi B, Huntrix, Katseye, Sombr, and Carpenter were the most awarded artists, with three wins each, while Bad Bunny, Ella Langley, Karol G, Shakira, Tyla, and Zara Larsson followed with two wins each.[15][16]
Winners are listed first and highlighted in bold.[17]
Special awards
On May 13, 2026, it was announced Karol G would be honored with the International Artist Award of Excellence.[7] Billy Idol was announced as the recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award on May 14.[8] Darius Rucker was announced as the recipient of the Veterans Voice Award on May 19.[18]
| International Artist Award | Lifetime Achievement Award |
|---|---|
| Veterans Voice Award | |