Taylor Swift, Ed Sheeran, the Weeknd Top AMA Nominations
Taylor Swift earned a pack-leading six nominations for this year’s American Music Awards, followed closely by Ed Sheeran and the Weeknd, each of whom garnered five and will compete against the 1989 star for both Artist of the Year and Song of the Year.
As always, the AMA’s Artist of the Year category boasts nominees from across the musical spectrum, as Luke Bryan, Ariana Grande, Maroon 5, Nicki Minaj, One Direction, Sam Smith and Meghan Trainor join Swift, Sheeran and the Weeknd.
As for Song of the Year, Swift’s “Blank Space,” Sheeran’s “Thinking Out Loud” and the Weeknd’s “Can’t Feel My Face” will go up against Wiz Khalifa and Charlie Puth’s “See You Again” and Mark Ronson and Bruno Mars’ ubiquitous “Uptown Funk.”
Swift also has a chance to take home Collaboration of the Year for her Kendrick Lamar-featuring remix of “Bad Blood.” “Uptown Funk” and “See You Again” will also vie for that award, as will Skrillex, Diplo and Justin Bieber’s Where Are Ü Now” and Rihanna, Kanye West and Paul McCartney’s “FourFiveSeconds.”
The Weeknd also earned nods for Favorite Male Artist — Soul/R&B and Favorite Album — Soul/R&B for his chart-topping new LP, Beauty Behind the Madness. The Toronto singer also has a chance to take home the New Artist of the Year Award, with Fetty Wap, Tove Lo, Walk The Moon and Sam Hunt also in the running for the award.
Nominations for the American Music Awards are based on album and digital sales, radio airplay, streaming, social activity and touring data as tracked by Billboard, Nielsen Entertainment and Next Big Sound. The winners, however, are decided by fans: Voting is open for all categories now — except New Artist and Collaboration of the Year, which begin November 1st — via the AMA website. Fans can also cast their ballots on Facebook and Twitter by mentioning the artist and hash-tagging the category name and the AMAs. A complete list of this year’s nominees is below.
Jennifer Lopez will host the American Music Awards, airing live on Sunday, November 22nd at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.
American Music Awards Nominees
Artist of the Year
Luke Bryan
Ariana Grande
Maroon 5
Nicki Minaj
One Direction
Ed Sheeran
Sam Smith
Taylor Swift
Meghan Trainor
The Weeknd
New Artist of the Year Presented by Kohl’s
Fetty Wap
Sam Hunt
Tove Lo
Walk The Moon
The Weeknd
Song of the Year
Wiz Khalifa Featuring Charlie Puth — “See You Again”
Mark Ronson Featuring Bruno Mars — “Uptown Funk”
Ed Sheeran — “Thinking Out Loud”
Taylor Swift — “Blank Space”
The Weeknd — “Can’t Feel My Face”
Collaboration of the Year Un-Leashed by T-Mobile
Wiz Khalifa Featuring Charlie Puth — “See You Again”
Rihanna & Kanye West Featuring Paul McCartney — “FourFiveSeconds”
Mark Ronson Featuring Bruno Mars — “Uptown Funk”
Skrillex & Diplo Featuring Justin Bieber — “Where Are Ü Now”
Taylor Swift Featuring Kendrick Lamar — “Bad Blood”
Favorite Male Artist — Pop/Rock
Nick Jonas
Ed Sheeran
Sam Smith
Favorite Female Artist — Pop/Rock
Ariana Grande
Taylor Swift
Meghan Trainor
Favorite Duo or Group — Pop/Rock
Maroon 5
One Direction
Walk The Moon
Favorite Album – Pop/Rock
Ed Sheeran — x
Sam Smith — In The Lonely Hour
Taylor Swift — 1989
Favorite Male Artist — Country
Jason Aldean
Luke Bryan
Sam Hunt
Favorite Female Artist — Country
Kelsea Ballerini
Miranda Lambert
Carrie Underwood
Favorite Duo or Group — Country
Zac Brown Band
Florida Georgia Line
Little Big Town
Favorite Album — Country
Jason Aldean — Old Boots, New Dirt
Florida Georgia Line — Anything Goes
Sam Hunt — Montevallo
Favorite Artist — Rap/Hip-Hop
Drake
Fetty Wap
Nicki Minaj
Favorite Album — Rap/Hip-Hop
J. Cole — 2014 Forest Hills Drive
Drake — If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late
Nicki Minaj — The Pinkprint
Favorite Male Artist — Soul/R&B
Chris Brown
Trey Songz
The Weeknd
Favorite female Artist — Soul/R&B
Beyoncé
Mary J. Blige
Rihanna
Favorite Album — Soul/R&B
Chris Brown — X
D’Angelo and The Vanguard — Black Messiah
The Weeknd — Beauty Behind the Madness
Favorite Artist — Alternative Rock
Fall Out Boy
Hozier
Walk The Moon
Favorite Artist — Adult Contemporary
Ed Sheeran
Taylor Swift
Meghan Trainor
Favorite Artist — Latin
Enrique Iglesias
Ricky Martin
Romeo Santos
Favorite Artist — Contemporary Inspirational
Casting Crowns
Hillsong United
MercyMe
Favorite Artist — EDM
Calvin Harris
David Guetta
Zedd
Top Soundtrack
Fifty Shades of Grey
Empire: Original Soundtrack from Season 1
Pitch Perfect 2