The 46th Annual
American Music Awards
The American Music Awards (AMAs) is an annual American music awards show, generally held in the fall, created by Dick Clark in 1973 for ABC when the network's contract to air the Grammy Awards expired, and currently produced by Dick Clark Produc ...
were held on October 9, 2018, at the
Microsoft Theater
The Microsoft Theater (formerly Nokia Theatre L.A. Live) is a music and theater venue in downtown Los Angeles, California, at L.A. Live. The theater auditorium seats 7,100 and holds one of the largest indoor stages in the United States.
History ...
in
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
, California. It aired live on
ABC
ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet.
ABC or abc may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting
* American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster
** Disney–ABC Television ...
and was hosted by
Tracee Ellis Ross
Tracee Joy Silberstein (born October 29, 1972), known professionally as Tracee Ellis Ross, is an American actress. She is known for her lead roles in the television series ''Girlfriends (2000 TV series), Girlfriends'' (2000–2008) and ''Black- ...
.
Cardi B
Belcalis Marlenis Almánzar Cephus (, ; born October 11, 1992), known professionally as Cardi B, is an American rapper and songwriter. She first gained popularity as an influencer on Vine and Instagram. From 2015 to early 2017, she appeared as ...
and
Drake
Drake may refer to:
Animals
* A male duck
People and fictional characters
* Drake (surname), a list of people and fictional characters with the family name
* Drake (given name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name
* ...
led the list of nominations with eight mentions each.
Taylor Swift
Taylor Alison Swift (born December 13, 1989) is an American singer-songwriter. Her discography spans multiple genres, and her vivid songwriting—often inspired by her personal life—has received critical praise and wide media coverage. Bor ...
and
Camila Cabello
Karla Camila Cabello Estrabao (; ; born March 3, 1997) is a Cuban-born American singer and songwriter. She rose to prominence as a member of the girl group Fifth Harmony, which became one of the best-selling girl groups of all time. While in ...
were the big winners, with four awards each. The late rapper and singer
XXXTentacion
Jahseh Dwayne Ricardo Onfroy (January 23, 1998 – June 18, 2018), known professionally as XXXTentacion, was an American rapper and singer-songwriter. Though a controversial figure due to his widely publicized legal troubles, XXXTentacion ga ...
won
Favorite Soul/R&B album nearly four months after his death. His mother, Cleopatra Bernard, accepted the award.
XXXTentacion ''17'' Wins Favorite Soul/R&B Album at 2018 AMAs - XXL
/ref>
Performances
Notes
* Broadcast live from Sydney
Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...
, Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
.
* With musical director Ricky Minor.
Presenters
*Bebe Rexha
Bleta Rexha (; born August 30, 1989), known professionally as Bebe Rexha ( ), is an American pop singer and songwriter. After signing with Warner Records in 2013, Rexha received songwriting credits on Eminem's single " The Monster" (which later ...
and Florida Georgia Line
Florida Georgia Line is an American country music duo founded in 2010 by Tyler Hubbard of Georgia and Brian Kelley of Florida, both of whom are vocalists and songwriters. Their 2012 debut single " Cruise" broke two major sales records: it was ...
- presented Favorite Rap/Hip-Hop Artist
*Amber Heard
Amber Laura Heard (born April 22, 1986) is an American actress. She had her first leading role in the horror film ''All the Boys Love Mandy Lane'' (2006), and went on to star in films such as '' The Ward'' (2010) and ''Drive Angry'' (2011). Sh ...
- introduced Twenty One Pilots
Twenty One Pilots (stylized in Letter case, all lowercase or as twenty øne piløts) are an American musical duo from Columbus, Ohio. Initially a band, the group was formed in 2009 by lead vocalist Tyler Joseph along with Nick Thomas and Chris ...
*Macaulay Culkin
Macaulay Macaulay Culkin Culkin (born Macaulay Carson Culkin; ) is an American actor. Often regarded as one of the most successful child actors of the 1990s, he was placed 2nd on VH1's list of the "100 Greatest Kid-Stars". Culkin rose to prom ...
- presented Favorite Pop/Rock Male Artist
*Heidi Klum
Heidi Klum (; born 1 June 1973) is a German-American model, television host, producer, and businesswoman. She appeared on the cover of the ''Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue'' in 1998 and was the first German model to become a Victoria's Secre ...
- presented Tour of the Year
*Chloe x Halle
Chloe x Halle are an Contemporary R&B, R&B duo composed of sisters Chloe Bailey, Chloe and Halle Bailey. At a young age, the sisters performed in minor acting roles before moving from Mableton, Georgia, to Los Angeles in 2012. The two began post ...
- introduced Mariah Carey
Mariah Carey (; born March 27, 1969) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and record producer. Referred to as the " Songbird Supreme", she is noted for her five-octave vocal range, melismatic singing style and signature use of the whi ...
*John Stamos
John Phillip Stamos ( ; born August 19, 1963) is an American actor and musician. He first gained recognition for his contract role as Blackie Parrish on the ABC television soap opera ''General Hospital'', for which he was nominated for the Da ...
and Busy Philipps
Elizabeth Jean "Busy" Philipps (born June 25, 1979) is an American actress. She is best known for her roles on the television series ''Freaks and Geeks'' (1999–2000), ''Dawson's Creek'' (2001–2003), ''Love, Inc.'' (2005–2006) and '' ER'' ...
- presented Favorite Soul/R&B Male Artist
*Tracee Ellis Ross
Tracee Joy Silberstein (born October 29, 1972), known professionally as Tracee Ellis Ross, is an American actress. She is known for her lead roles in the television series ''Girlfriends (2000 TV series), Girlfriends'' (2000–2008) and ''Black- ...
- introduced Cardi B
Belcalis Marlenis Almánzar Cephus (, ; born October 11, 1992), known professionally as Cardi B, is an American rapper and songwriter. She first gained popularity as an influencer on Vine and Instagram. From 2015 to early 2017, she appeared as ...
, Bad Bunny
Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio (born March 10, 1994), known professionally as Bad Bunny, is a Puerto Rican rapper and singer. His musical style is defined as Latin trap and reggaeton. He rose to prominence in 2016 with his song "Diles", wh ...
& J Balvin
José Álvaro Osorio Balvín (born 7 May 1985), known professionally as J Balvin, is a Colombian singer and songwriter. He has been referred to as the " Prince of Reggaeton" (from Spanish: "Príncipe del Reggaetón"), and is one of the best-sell ...
*Ashlee Simpson
Ashley Nicolle Ross ( Simpson; born October 3, 1984), known professionally as Ashlee Simpson, is an American singer and actress. The younger sister of singer and actress Jessica Simpson, she began her career as a back-up dancer for her sister ...
and Evan Ross
Evan Olav Ross-Naess (born August 26, 1988), is an American actor and musician. He made his acting debut in the comedy-drama film '' ATL'' (2006), and has since starred in the films ''Pride'' (2007), ''According to Greta'' (2009), '' Mooz-lum'' ...
- presented Favorite Pop/Rock Song
*Sara Gilbert
Sara Gilbert (born Sara Rebecca Abeles; January 29, 1975) is an American actress best known for her role as Darlene Conner on the ABC sitcom ''Roseanne'' (1988–1997; 2018), for which she received two Primetime Emmy Award nominations, and its ...
and Thomas Rhett
Thomas may refer to:
People
* List of people with given name Thomas
* Thomas (name)
* Thomas (surname)
* Saint Thomas (disambiguation)
* Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church
* Thomas the Ap ...
- presented Favorite Country Female Artist
*Normani
Normani Kordei Hamilton ( ; born May 31, 1996) is an American singer and dancer. She auditioned as a solo act for the American television series ''The X Factor'' in 2012, after which she became a member of the girl group Fifth Harmony, which wen ...
and Liza Koshy
Elizabeth Shaila "Liza" Koshy (born March 31, 1996), is an American media personality and actress. Her main YouTube channel has amassed more than 17 million subscribers, and her two channels have a combined total of over 3 billion views. She ha ...
- introduced Benny Blanco
Benjamin Joseph Levin (born March 8, 1988), known professionally as Benny Blanco (stylized in all lowercase), is an American record producer. He is the recipient of the 2013 Hal David Starlight Award from the Songwriters Hall of Fame. He is also ...
, Khalid
Khalid (variants include Khaled and Kalid; Arabic: خالد) is a popular Arabic male given name meaning "eternal, everlasting, immortal", and it also appears as a surname. and Halsey
*Billy Eichner
Billy Eichner (; born September 18, 1978) is an American comedian, actor, producer, and screenwriter. He is the star, executive producer, and creator of Funny Or Die's ''Billy on the Street'', a comedy game show that aired on truTV. The show ea ...
and Kathryn Hahn
Kathryn Marie Hahn (born July 23, 1973) is an American actress and comedian. She began her career on television, starring as grief counselor Lily Lebowski in the NBC crime drama series ''Crossing Jordan'' (2001–2007). Hahn gained prominence ap ...
- presented Favorite Adult Contemporary Artist
*Constance Wu
Constance Wu (born March 22, 1982) is an American actress. Wu was included on ''Time'' magazine's list of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2017. She has earned several accolades, including nominations for a Golden Globe Award, fo ...
and Rita Ora
Rita Sahatçiu Ora (born Rita Sahatçiu; 26 November 1990) is a British singer and songwriter. She rose to prominence in February 2012 when she featured on DJ Fresh's single, "Hot Right Now", which reached number one in the UK. Her debut studi ...
- presented Favorite Pop/Rock Duo or Group
*The Chainsmokers
The Chainsmokers are an American electronic DJ and production duo consisting of Alexander "Alex" Pall and Andrew "Drew" Taggart. They started out by releasing remixes of songs by indie artists. The EDM- pop duo achieved a breakthrough with the ...
and Kelsea Ballerini
Kelsea Nicole Ballerini (born September 12, 1993) is an American country pop singer. She began songwriting as a child and signed with Black River Entertainment in 2014, releasing her debut studio album the following year, '' The First Time''. ...
- introduced Post Malone
Austin Richard Post (born July 4, 1995), known professionally as Post Malone, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and record producer. Known for his variegated vocals, Malone has gained acclaim for blending genres and subgenres of hip ...
and Ty Dolla Sign
Tyrone William Griffin Jr. (born April 13, 1982), known professionally as Ty Dolla Sign (stylized as Ty Dolla $ign or Ty$), is an American singer, songwriter and record producer. He first gained major recognition in 2010 for his feature on Ameri ...
*Vanessa Hudgens
Vanessa Anne Hudgens (; born December 14, 1988) is an American actress and singer. After making her feature film debut in ''Thirteen'' (2003), Hudgens rose to fame portraying Gabriella Montez in the ''High School Musical'' film series (2006 ...
- introduced Jennifer Lopez
Jennifer Lynn Affleck (' Lopez; born July 24, 1969), also known as J.Lo, is an American singer, actress and dancer. In 1991, she began appearing as a Fly Girl dancer on the sketch comedy television series ''In Living Color'', where she rema ...
*Lauren Daigle
Lauren Ashley Daigle () (born September 9, 1991) is an American contemporary Christian music singer and songwriter. After being signed to the label Centricity Music, she released her debut album, '' How Can It Be,'' in 2015. It reached No. 1 on ...
and Kane Brown
Kane Allen Brown (born October 21, 1993) is an American singer. Brown first came to the attention of the public through social media. He released his first EP, titled '' Closer'', in June 2015, and followed it with a new single, " Used to Love ...
- presented Favorite Soul/R&B album
*Amandla Stenberg
Amandla Stenberg (born October 23, 1998) is an American actress. She was included in ''Time''s list of Most Influential Teens in both 2015 and 2016, and has received several accolades, including a Teen Choice Award, an NAACP Image Award, and no ...
- presented Favorite Pop/Rock Album
*Taran Killam
Taran Hourie Killam (born April 1, 1982) is an American actor, comedian, and writer. He is known for his television work on ''The Amanda Show'', ''How I Met Your Mother'', ''MADtv'', ''New Girl'', ''Saturday Night Live'', and ''Single Parents''. ...
and Leighton Meester
Leighton Marissa Meester (; born April 9, 1986) is an American actress, singer, and model. She is best known for her starring role as the devious socialite Blair Waldorf on ''Gossip Girl'' on The CW (2007–2012). She has also appeared in films ...
- presented Favorite Country Male Artist
*Tracee Ellis Ross
Tracee Joy Silberstein (born October 29, 1972), known professionally as Tracee Ellis Ross, is an American actress. She is known for her lead roles in the television series ''Girlfriends (2000 TV series), Girlfriends'' (2000–2008) and ''Black- ...
- introduced Ciara
Ciara Princess Wilson ( ; Harris; born October 25, 1985) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, model and entrepreneur. She released her debut studio album, '' Goodies'' in 2004, which spawned four singles: " Goodies" (featuring Petey Pa ...
and Missy Elliott
Melissa Arnette Elliott (born July 1, 1971), better known as Missy Elliott or Missy “Misdemeanor” Elliot, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and record producer. She embarked on her music career with R&B girl group Sista in the earl ...
*Tyra Banks
Tyra Lynne Banks (born December 4, 1973), also known as BanX, is an American television personality, model, producer, writer, and actress. Born in Inglewood, California, she began her career as a model at the age of 15, and was the first Africa ...
- presented New Artist of the Year
*Tracee Ellis Ross
Tracee Joy Silberstein (born October 29, 1972), known professionally as Tracee Ellis Ross, is an American actress. She is known for her lead roles in the television series ''Girlfriends (2000 TV series), Girlfriends'' (2000–2008) and ''Black- ...
- introduced Carrie Underwood
Carrie Marie Underwood (born March 10, 1983) is an American singer. She rose to prominence after winning the fourth season of ''American Idol'' in 2005. Her single "Inside Your Heaven" made her the only country artist to debut atop the ''Bill ...
*Rami Malek
Rami Said Malek (; , ; born May 12, 1981) is an American actor. He is known for portraying computer hacker Elliot Alderson in the USA Network television series ''Mr. Robot'' (2015–2019), for which he received the Primetime Emmy Award for Outs ...
, Joseph Mazzello
Joseph Francis Mazzello III (born September 21, 1983) is an American actor. He is best known for his roles as Tim Murphy in '' Jurassic Park'', Eugene Sledge in the HBO miniseries '' The Pacific'', Dustin Moskovitz in ''The Social Network'', a ...
and Gwilym Lee
Gwilym Lee (born 24 November 1983) is a Welsh actor. He is best known for his roles in '' Jamestown'', ''Midsomer Murders'', ''Top End Wedding'', ''The Great'', and for playing guitarist Brian May in the Queen biopic ''Bohemian Rhapsody''.
Earl ...
- introduced Panic! at the Disco
Panic! at the Disco is the solo project of American musician Brendon Urie. It was originally a pop rock band from Las Vegas, Nevada, formed in 2004 by childhood friends Urie, Ryan Ross, Spencer Smith, and Brent Wilson. They recorded their firs ...
*Lenny Kravitz
Leonard Albert Kravitz (born May 26, 1964) is an American singer-songwriter. His style incorporates elements of rock, blues, soul, R&B, funk, jazz, reggae, hard rock, psychedelic, pop and folk.
Kravitz won the Grammy Award for Best Male Roc ...
- presented Artist of the Year
''Artist of the Year'' is a television competition shown on the Sky Arts channel (formerly known as Artsworld and Sky Arts 1) which aims to find the best portrait and landscape painter every year.
Overview
Through several rounds of regional comp ...
Winners and nominees
References
{{AMAyear
2018 awards in the United States
2018 in American music
2018 in Los Angeles
2018 music awards
2018
File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...
October 2018 events in the United States