Taylor Swift leads American Music Awards nominations
Taylor Swift performed during the "1989" world tour at Staples Center in Los Angeles on Aug. 22. (Photo by Matt Sayles/Invision/AP
NEW YORK » Taylor Swift earned six American Music Awards nominations today, and if she wins everything she’s up for, the singer will become the most-honored female artist in the show’s history.
Ed Sheeran and the Weeknd had five nominations each, trying to win their first awards. Sam Hunt, Nicki Minaj, Sam Smith, Meghan Trainor and Walk the Moon had three nominations each.
Swift was one of 10 nominees for artist of the year, and her "Blank Space" was nominated for song of the year. She was also nominated for collaboration of the year for her work on "Bad Blood" with Kendrick Lamar, and her blockbuster "1989" is competing for album of the year.
She’s won 16 American Music Awards. Whitney Houston’s 22 awards are the most ever among female artists in the show, which was launched in 1974. Michael Jackson’s 24 awards are the most of any artist.
Nominations, announced today, are based on a metric that includes sales, airplay and social activity tracked by Billboard magazine and its partners. Winners are determined by fan votes on the show’s website or through Facebook and Twitter.
Swift, Sheeran, the Weeknd, Minaj, Trainor, Smith, Luke Bryan, Ariana Grande, Maroon 5 and One Direction are artist of the year nominees. The nomination list will be narrowed to five by Nov. 11 through fan votes.
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Jennifer Lopez will host the show, which will air live Nov. 22 from the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles on ABC.
Besides "Blank Space," song of the year nominees are "See You Again" by Wiz Khalifa featuring Charlie Puth; "Uptown Funk!" by Mark Ronson featuring Bruno Mars; "Thinking out Loud" by Sheeran; and "Can’t Feel My Face" by the Weeknd.
Sheeran’s "x” and Smith’s "In the Lonely Hour" join "1989" in the competition for best album. New artist nominees are Hunt, Fetty Wap, Tove Lo, Walk the Moon and the Weeknd.
Enrique Iglesias has the chance to win his seventh favorite artist award in the Latin category, while both Beyonce and Rihanna have the chance to become the record holder in the favorite female soul artist. They’ve both won the category four times, along with Aretha Franklin and Mariah Carey.
