Nicki Minaj & Rihanna Top 2012 American Music Awards Nominations
Nominees for the 40th American Music Awards were announced by Christina Aguilera this morning (October 9), with Rihanna and Nicki Minaj leading the pack with four nominations each. Both are up for Favorite Female Artist (Pop/Rock), but only RiRi is up for Artist of the Year. She’ll face off against Katy Perry, Justin Bieber, Drake and Maroon 5. The latter three in that category, as well as One Direction and Usher, each tallied three nominations.
1D is up for New Artist of the Year, along with Carly Rae Jepsen, Gotye, fun. and J. Cole. Noticeably absent from that category is The Wanted. The awards show airs live from Los Angeles at 8 p.m. ET on November 18, and Aguilera will be performing during the broadcast. Check out the full list of nominees below.
ARTIST OF THE YEAR
Justin Bieber
Drake
Maroon 5
Katy Perry
Rihanna
NEW ARTIST OF THE YEAR
J. Cole
fun.
Gotye
Carly Rae Jepsen
One Direction
FAVORITE MALE ARTIST – POP/ROCK
Justin Bieber
Flo Rida
Pitbull
Usher
FAVORITE FEMALE ARTIST – POP/ROCK
Kelly Clarkson
Nicki Minaj
Katy Perry
Rihanna
FAVORITE BAND, DUO OR GROUP – POP/ROCK
fun.
Maroon 5
One Direction
The Wanted
FAVORITE ALBUM – POP/ROCK
Justin Bieber, Believe
Maroon 5, Overexposed
Nicki Minaj, Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded
One Direction, Up All Night
FAVORITE MALE ARTIST – COUNTRY
Jason Aldean
Luke Bryan
Eric Church
FAVORITE FEMALE ARTIST – COUNTRY
Miranda Lambert
Taylor Swift
Carrie Underwood
FAVORITE BAND, DUO OR GROUP — COUNTRY
Zac Brown Band
Lady Antebellum
Rascal Flatts
FAVORITE ALBUM — COUNTRY
Luke Bryan, Tailgates & Tanlines
Lionel Richie, Tuskegee
Carrie Underwood, Blown Away
FAVORITE ARTIST – RAP/HIP-HOP
Drake
Nicki Minaj
Tyga
FAVORITE ALBUM – RAP/HIP-HOP
J. Cole, Cole World: The Sideline Story
Drake, Take Care
Nicki Minaj, Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded
FAVORITE MALE ARTIST – SOUL/R&B
Chris Brown
Trey Songz
Usher
FAVORITE FEMALE ARTIST – SOUL/R&B
Beyoncé
Mary J. Blige
Rihanna
FAVORITE ALBUM – SOUL/R&B
Chris Brown, Fortune
Rihanna, Talk That Talk
Usher, Looking 4 Myself
FAVORITE ARTIST — ALTERNATIVE ROCK
The Black Keys
Gotye
Linkin Park
FAVORITE ARTIST — ADULT CONTEMPORARY
Adele
Kelly Clarkson
Train
FAVORITE ARTIST — LATIN
Don Omar
Pitbull
Shakira
FAVORITE ARTIST — CONTEMPORARY INSPIRATIONAL
Jeremy Camp
Newsboys
tobyMac
FAVORITE ARTIST — ELECTRONIC DANCE MUSIC (EDM)
David Guetta
Calvin Harris
Skrillex
Voting for the AMAs begins today. Who will you be casting your vote for? Tell us in the comments or on Facebook and Twitter,