Kendrick Lamar is the frontrunner for the 2025 American Music Awards, securing an impressive 10 nominations. Following closely is Post Malone with eight nominations. Several artists including Billie Eilish, Chappell Roan, and Shaboozey each garnered seven nominations. Taylor Swift, recognized as the most awarded artist in AMAs history with 40 wins, received six nominations this year. Bruno Mars, Lady Gaga, Morgan Wallen, Sabrina Carpenter, and SZA also each earned six nominations, while Benson Boone, Hozier, and Zach Bryan each secured five nominations.

The nominations are determined by a combination of sales, streaming, airplay, and touring data from Billboard and Luminate, but the ultimate winners are decided by fan votes. Voting is currently underway via VoteAMAs.com and the show’s Instagram page, concluding on May 15. The awards show, produced by Dick Clark Productions, will be broadcast live from Las Vegas on May 26, which is Memorial Day, at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT on CBS and Paramount+. Jennifer Lopez will be the host.

Kendrick Lamar, who has won three AMAs, has the potential to significantly increase his total with nominations in eight categories. These include Artist of the Year, Album of the Year (“GNX”), Song of the Year (“Not Like Us”), Collaboration of the Year (“Luther” with SZA), Favorite Music Video (“Not Like Us”), Favorite Male Hip-Hop Artist, Favorite Hip-Hop Album (“GNX”), and three nominations for Favorite Hip-Hop Song: “Like That” with Future and Metro Boomin, “Not Like Us,” and “Luther” with SZA. If Lamar wins in all eight categories, he will tie Michael Jackson and Whitney Houston for the most awards won in a single year.

The Artist of the Year category features ten contenders: Ariana Grande, Billie Eilish, Chappell Roan, Kendrick Lamar, Morgan Wallen, Post Malone, Sabrina Carpenter, SZA, Taylor Swift, and Zach Bryan. The New Artist of the Year award will be chosen from six nominees: Roan, Benson Boone, Gracie Abrams, Shaboozey, Teddy Swims, and Tommy Richman.

The 51st annual AMAs introduce new categories, including all-genre Album of the Year and Song of the Year awards, supplementing the existing genre-specific awards. Additionally, a new all-genre category, Social Song of the Year, has been added. However, the categories for Favorite Inspirational Artist and Favorite Gospel Artist have been discontinued.

The last AMAs show took place in November 2022, with a 50th-anniversary special airing in the fall of 2024. The upcoming broadcast marks several firsts: it is the first to be held in Las Vegas, the first to air on CBS (previously on ABC from 1974 to 2022), and the first to be broadcast on Memorial Day. The Memorial Day broadcast aims to honor U.S. troops and veterans alongside recognizing top music artists.

Chappell Roan stands out as the only artist nominated in all three new categories: Album of the Year, Song of the Year, and Social Song of the Year. Furthermore, women artists are well-represented, with seven nominees for Album of the Year and six for Artist of the Year being women.

Post Malone, with eight nominations, could potentially win awards in three distinct genres, having previously won in rap/hip-hop and pop/rock. He has three nominations in country categories and two for Collaboration of the Year with “I Had Some Help” and “Fortnight” featuring Taylor Swift.

Several artists who have dominated their categories in the past have the opportunity to extend their lead. Taylor Swift, with seven wins for Artist of the Year, seven for Favorite Female Pop Artist, and five for Favorite Pop Album, could further solidify her position. Other potential lead extenders include Eminem for Favorite Male Hip-Hop Artist, Bad Bunny for Favorite Latin Album, Linkin Park for Favorite Rock Artist, and Marshmello for Favorite Dance/Electronic Artist.

The nominees are determined by fan interactions tracked by Billboard and Luminate, including streaming, album and song sales, radio airplay, and tour grosses, covering March 22, 2024, through March 20, 2025. Dick Clark created the show, which is recognized as the world’s largest fan-voted award show. The 2025 American Music Awards will be broadcast globally across linear and digital platforms, with Paramount+ offering live streaming for SHOWTIME subscribers and on-demand access for Essential subscribers.

The American Music Awards 50th Anniversary Special was highly successful, reaching over 13 million viewers and averaging 6.1 million viewers, a 53% increase from the 2022 show. Fan voting is open until May 15, with collaboration and social song categories remaining open for a limited time during the broadcast.