The Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards (also known as the KCAs or Kids' Choice) is an annual American children's
awards ceremony show that is produced by
Nickelodeon
Nickelodeon (often shortened to Nick) is an American pay television channel which launched on April 1, 1979, as the first cable channel for children. It is run by Paramount Global through its networks division's Kids and Family Group. It ...
. Usually held on a Saturday night in late March or early April, the show honors the year's biggest in television, film, music, and sports as voted by viewers worldwide of Nickelodeon networks. Winners receive a hollow orange
blimp figurine, a logo outline for much of the network's 1984–2009 era, which also functions as a
kaleidoscope.
The show features numerous
celebrity
Celebrity is a condition of fame and broad public recognition of a person or group as a result of the attention given to them by mass media. An individual may attain a celebrity status from having great wealth, their participation in spor ...
guests and musical acts. Since 2002,
slime stunts have been incorporated into the show. The KCAs also host live entertainment. It has also been known to cover people with the network's trademark
green slime. The animated series ''
SpongeBob SquarePants
''SpongeBob SquarePants'' (or simply ''SpongeBob'') is an American Animated series, animated Television comedy, comedy Television show, television series created by marine science educator and animator Stephen Hillenburg for Nickelodeon. It ...
'' has won the most KCA awards, with nineteen overall through the series' run. Individually,
Selena Gomez and
Will Smith
Willard Carroll Smith II (born September 25, 1968), also known by his stage name The Fresh Prince, is an American actor and rapper. He began his acting career starring as a fictionalized version of himself on the NBC sitcom '' The Fresh ...
have won the most trophies with eleven, followed by
Adam Sandler
Adam Richard Sandler (born September 9, 1966) is an American comedian, actor, screenwriter, producer and singer. He was a cast member on ''Saturday Night Live'' from 1990 to 1995, before going on to star in numerous Hollywood films, those of wh ...
(10) as well as
Justin Bieber
Justin Drew Bieber ( ; born March 1, 1994) is a Canadian singer. Bieber is recognized for his genre-melding musicianship and has played an influential role in modern-day popular music. He was discovered by American record executive Scooter ...
and
Ariana Grande
Ariana Grande-Butera ( ; born June 26, 1993) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Her four-octave vocal range has received critical acclaim, and her personal life has been the subject of widespread media attention. She has received ...
(both with 9).
Whoopi Goldberg is the only person to have won a Kids' Choice Award, alongside the prevailing "
EGOT" combination of an
Emmy
The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...
,
Grammy,
Oscar, and
Tony.
Rosie O'Donnell has hosted the show eight times, followed by
Jack Black
Thomas Jacob Black (born August 28, 1969) is an American actor, comedian, and musician. He is known for his acting roles in the films '' High Fidelity'' (2000), '' Shallow Hal'' (2001), '' Orange County'' (2002), '' School of Rock'' (2003), ' ...
who hosted three times, and
Whitney Houston
Whitney Elizabeth Houston (August 9, 1963 – February 11, 2012) was an American singer and actress. Nicknamed "Honorific nicknames in popular music, The Voice", she is Whitney Houston albums discography, one of the bestselling music artists ...
and
John Cena who both hosted twice.
History
Alan Goodman,
Albie Hecht, and
Fred Seibert created the awards show after Nickelodeon produced a segment called
The Big Ballot for the movie review show ''
Rated K: For Kids by Kids'' in 1987, named for the ballots kids voted with. To vote, the viewers would send in ballots and then before the show, the ballots would be counted and the winners would tape a "thank you" video that would be shown during the program. Goodman, Hecht, and Seibert felt that the network needed a bigger, more exciting platform.
Hecht selected the awards logo from a series of network designs created by original logo designers Tom Corey and Scott Nash (Corey McPherson Nash, Boston), overseen by Goodman and Seibert (Fred/Alan, Inc., New York). The award was configured into the current blimp shape/kaleidoscope in 1990. The only change to the award since then has been a change to the embossed logotype on the side of the trophy for 2010 to fit the network's new logo typeface.
As the
Internet
The Internet (or internet) is the global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a '' network of networks'' that consists of private, p ...
came into widespread use, the voting finally moved from a combination of
900 number telephone voting and filling paper ballots that were either mailed or completed at
Pizza Hut
Pizza Hut is an American multinational restaurant chain and international franchise founded in 1958 in Wichita, Kansas by Dan and Frank Carney. They serve their signature pan pizza and other dishes including pasta, breadsticks and desse ...
locations, to being conducted exclusively on the
network's website, and included
text messaging by 2007. During the early years of Internet voting, there were several issues, including the digital equivalent of
ballot stuffing and adult voting. As a result, a new system was put into place where one vote per Nick.com account is allowed (although it is probable adults still cast votes via the texting option, which is connected to a phone number only instead of a screen name, by creating an account with a false age, or by having their children vote for a chosen subject instead). In 2010, an
iPhone application
Application may refer to:
Mathematics and computing
* Application software, computer software designed to help the user to perform specific tasks
** Application layer, an abstraction layer that specifies protocols and interface methods used in a c ...
and mobile browser voting were also added.
The 2009 Kids' Choice Awards featured a new award called "The Big Green Help Award" which goes to the celebrity who goes above and beyond to help the Earth. The inaugural award was presented to
Leonardo DiCaprio. For the 2010 awards, "The Big Green Help" award was renamed "The Big Help" award, with
First Lady
First lady is an unofficial title usually used for the wife, and occasionally used for the daughter or other female relative, of a non- monarchical head of state or chief executive. The term is also used to describe a woman seen to be at the ...
Michelle Obama winning the first award under the rename.
Unlike traditional awards shows, the Kids' Choice Awards uses other items to announce an award winner instead of a traditional
envelope
An envelope is a common packaging item, usually made of thin, flat material. It is designed to contain a flat object, such as a letter or card.
Traditional envelopes are made from sheets of paper cut to one of three shapes: a rhombus, a ...
. The show sometimes uses balloons, T-shirts, models, giant letters, stickers, and even a foot.
Voting became available for Canadian people in time for the 2010 ceremony, owing to the inauguration of Nickelodeon's
Canadian service in November 2009.
The 2020 ceremony was the first ceremony to be held in a virtual format, a change that was necessary in the wake of the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...
.
International history
In June 2010,
Nickelodeon Latin America announced a
Kids' Choice Awards for Mexico. Other countries with their own Kids' Choice Awards include Brazil, United Kingdom, Australia, and Indonesia, which are either fully original local productions, or inserted as
continuity during their broadcast of the U.S. ceremony. The Australian Kids' Choice Awards had its final local ceremony in 2012.
In August 2011, Nickelodeon Latin America announced a
Kids' Choice Awards event for Argentina.
In June 2014, Nickelodeon Latin America announced a
Kids' Choice Awards event for Colombia.
Awards
This table shows the awards from the past. An asterisk next to a category indicates an award has been presented in that particular category every year since the inception of the Kids' Choice Awards in 1988.
Locations
The Kids' Choice Awards are typically held in and around
Southern California
Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most populous urban ...
. Past ceremonies have been held at the
Barker Hangar
Santa Monica Airport (Santa Monica Municipal Airport) is a general aviation airport largely in Santa Monica, California, United States. The airport is about from the Pacific Ocean (Santa Monica Bay) and north of Los Angeles International Airp ...
in
Santa Monica, California
Santa Monica (; Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 U.S. Census population was 93,076. Santa Monica is a popular resort town, owing to ...
, the
Hollywood Bowl
The Hollywood Bowl is an amphitheatre in the Hollywood Hills neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. It was named one of the 10 best live music venues in America by ''Rolling Stone'' magazine in 2018.
The Hollywood Bowl is known for its distin ...
, the
Grand Olympic Auditorium in Los Angeles, and
Universal Studios Hollywood in
Universal City, but mostly at
Pauley Pavilion on the
UCLA
The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California ...
campus. After renovations to Pauley beginning in 2011, the show was moved to the
Galen Center at
USC
USC most often refers to:
* University of South Carolina, a public research university
** University of South Carolina System, the main university and its satellite campuses
** South Carolina Gamecocks, the school athletic program
* University of ...
; it was expected to be a temporary home, but the network retained Galen for the 2012–14 ceremonies due to the construction of the Meyer and Renee Luskin Conference and Guest Center, making it difficult to have the "Orange Carpet"; the smaller
Kids' Choice Sports had its first ceremony in 2014 at Pauley. For the 2015 and 2016 shows, the ceremony occurred at the remodeled
Forum in
Inglewood, California
Inglewood is a city in southwestern Los Angeles County, California, in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. As of the 2020 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 107,762. It was incorporated on February 14, 1908. The city is in the South Bay ...
. Between the 2017 and 2019 shows, the venue alternated between the Galen Center and The Forum.
The 2020 awards, previously scheduled for March 22, were postponed due to the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...
; a spokesperson said that Nickelodeon "will have further information about a new date in the future."
The ceremony was later moved to May 2 to be held virtually.
The 2020 show was originally planned to serve as a tie-in with Nickelodeon's ''
Slimefest'' event.
Notes
Ceremony hosts
Note
Multiple year hosts
The ceremony has been hosted multiple times by four individuals, with
Candace Cameron Bure
Candace Cameron Bure (; born Candace Helaine Cameron; April 6, 1976) is an American actress, producer, author and television personality. She is known for portraying D.J. Tanner on '' Full House'' and its sequel series '' Fuller House'', and a ...
hosting in 1990 and 1994,
Whitney Houston
Whitney Elizabeth Houston (August 9, 1963 – February 11, 2012) was an American singer and actress. Nicknamed "Honorific nicknames in popular music, The Voice", she is Whitney Houston albums discography, one of the bestselling music artists ...
consecutively in 1995 and 1996, then
Rosie O'Donnell (who co-hosted with Houston in 1996) alone from 1997 until 2003 (with four other hosts in 2000). This was followed by
Jack Black
Thomas Jacob Black (born August 28, 1969) is an American actor, comedian, and musician. He is known for his acting roles in the films '' High Fidelity'' (2000), '' Shallow Hal'' (2001), '' Orange County'' (2002), '' School of Rock'' (2003), ' ...
in 2006, 2008, and 2011, and then John Cena, who hosted consecutively for 2017 and 2018.
Special awards
Recipients of these special awards do not win orange blimps like for the regular awards.
The Hall of Fame Award
The Hall of Fame Award was a gold version of the blimp award from 1991–2000, and was presented to those whose accomplishments, fame and popularity set them above everyone else. Initially, the award was chosen by the kids from a slate of nominees. Actors, athletes and singers were all eligible for the award, with ballots containing nominees from multiple categories.
The Wannabe Award
The Wannabe Award was a silver version of the blimp award from 2001–2008, and was presented to the best celebrity
role model or inspiration (or the person whom the kids ''want to be'' like). The winner was determined prior to the awards without voter input. The only person to have won the Wannabe award and the Hall of Fame award is
Will Smith
Willard Carroll Smith II (born September 25, 1968), also known by his stage name The Fresh Prince, is an American actor and rapper. He began his acting career starring as a fictionalized version of himself on the NBC sitcom '' The Fresh ...
.
The Big Help Award
The Big Green Help Award (later titled as The Big Help Award) was an award presented to a person who goes above and beyond to help the environment. It is based on Nickelodeon's ''
The Big Help
''The Big Help'' is a community outreach program made famous in 1994 by Nickelodeon. It was a yearly event in which kids from around the country would call in to try to get one of their local parks refurbished by Nickelodeon, the ten with the mos ...
'' initiative. The award was originally green when first awarded in 2009, but later changed to silver along with a name change of the award the following years.
Lifetime Achievement Award
The Nickelodeon Lifetime Achievement Award was a golden version of the blimp award and was presented to a network employee on or off camera that has contributed heavily to the network's success and entertained children with their work. The only winner of this award was
Dan Schneider in the 2014 ceremony.
Generation Change Award
The Generation Change Award is presented to those who have worked to bring positive changes for the new generation of kids. The award was originally introduced in the
2019 Kids' Choice Sports ceremony, but has since carried over to the main ceremony.
Kids' Choice Sports
In July 2014, Nickelodeon presented the
first annual Kids' Choice Sports, honoring kids' favorite athletes, teams, and sports moments from the year.
Michael Strahan produced and hosted the inaugural ceremony.
Ceremonies
Slimed celebrities
During a ceremony, sometimes a celebrity presenter or award winner might not know when they are going to be slimed onstage or offstage, though as the years went on, getting slimed became more of an honor, and less of a comedic humiliation akin to the early Nickelodeon series ''
You Can't Do That on Television'', from whence the concept originated.
Hosts of the show have also been slimed, and occasionally celebrities not attending the awards have been slimed via video segment, such as when
Rosie O'Donnell tricked
Melissa Joan Hart
Melissa Joan Hart (born April 18, 1976) is an American actress, producer, and director. She had starring roles as the title characters in the sitcoms '' Clarissa Explains It All'' (1991–1994), ''Sabrina the Teenage Witch'' (1996–2003), and '' ...
into getting slimed on the set of
''Sabrina the Teenage Witch'' in
2001
The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a multi-national coalition in an invasion of Afghanist ...
, or when
Amanda Seyfried and
Josh Hutcherson were slimed at a KCA watch party in
2013
File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fa ...
. Celebrities sitting in the audience are also fair game for being slimed, as
Mandy Moore
Amanda Leigh Moore (born April 10, 1984) is an American singer, songwriter and actress. She rose to fame with her debut single, "Candy", which peaked at number 41 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Her debut studio album, '' So Real'' (1999), recei ...
first learned in
2007
File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple Inc., Apple's first iPhone (1st generation), iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakis ...
, and
Halle Berry
Halle Maria Berry (; born Maria Halle Berry; August 14, 1966) is an American actress. She began her career as a model and entered several beauty contests, finishing as the first runner-up in the Miss USA pageant and coming in sixth in the Mi ...
later found out in
2012.
Below is a list of all the celebrities that have been slimed over the past years at the Kids' Choice Awards.
Slime stunts
Beginning in 2002, the show began its annual ''World Record Slime Stunts''. Olympians, extreme sports stars and daredevils participated in special stunts performed live on national television—often landing into the trademark green slime.
References
{{Animation industry in the United States
1988 establishments in the United States
American annual television specials
American television awards
Awards established in 1988
Kids' Choice Awards