American Music Awards of 2020 explained

The 48th Annual American Music Awards were held on November 22, 2020, at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles, recognizing the most popular artists and albums of 2020. Nominees were officially announced live on October 26, 2020, on Good Morning America by Dua Lipa. Taylor Swift, the Weeknd, Dan + Shay and Justin Bieber were the most awarded artists with three awards each. Roddy Ricch and the Weeknd were the most nominated artists with eight nominations each, followed by Megan Thee Stallion with five. Taraji P. Henson hosted the ceremony.

Background

On July 17, 2020, ABC and Dick Clark Productions issued a joint statement announcing the ceremony as well as the date of the ceremony, November 22 of the same year.^[1] The ceremony took place at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles.^[2] Taraji P. Henson was announced as the host of the ceremony on November 2, 2020.^[3]

Performances

List of musical performances

Artist(s)	Song(s)[4]
Justin Bieber	"Lonely" "Holy" "Monster"
Katy Perry Darius Rucker	"As The Deer" "Only Love"
The Weeknd	"In Your Eyes" "Save Your Tears"
Megan Thee Stallion	"Body"
Lewis Capaldi	"Before You Go"
Billie Eilish Finneas	"Therefore I Am"
Nelly City Spud	"Country Grammar (Hot Shit)" "E.I." "Ride wit Me"
Jennifer Lopez Maluma	"Pa' Ti + Lonely"
Dua Lipa	"Levitating"
Bell Biv DeVoe	"Poison" "Do Me!"
Dan + Shay	"I Should Probably Go to Bed"
24kGoldn Iann Dior	"Mood"
Shawn Mendes	"Wonder"
Lil Baby	"Emotionally Scarred"
Bebe Rexha Doja Cat	"Baby, I'm Jealous"
Machine Gun Kelly Travis Barker	"Bloody Valentine" "My Ex's Best Friend"
BTS	"Dynamite" "Life Goes On"

Notes

• Live from 4th Street Bridge, in downtown Los Angeles.
• Broadcast live from the Royal Albert Hall, in London, England.
• Pre-recorded at Seoul Olympic Stadium, in Seoul, South Korea.

Presenters

Presenters were announced on November 19, 2020.^[5]

• Taraji P. Henson – main show host
• Ciara – presented Favorite Album – Soul/R&B
• Cara Delevingne – presented Favorite Song – Pop/Rock
• Derek Hough – presented Favorite Song – Country
• Tayshia Adams – presented Favorite Female Artist – Soul/R&B
• Bad Bunny – presented Favorite Female Artist – Latin
• Laverne Cox – presented Favorite Song – Rap/Hip-Hop
• Becky G – presented Favorite Song – Soul/R&B
• Paris Hilton – presented New Artist of the Year
• Anthony Anderson – presented Pop/Rock Duo/Group
• Christian Serratos - presented Latin Album
• Kristin Cavallari - presented Favorite Male Artist – Soul/R&B
• Megan Fox – introduced Machine Gun Kelly and Travis Barker
• G-Eazy - presented Collaboration of the Year
• David Dobrik - advertised T-Mobile

Winners and nominees

Nominees were jointly announced by singer Dua Lipa and Good Morning America on October 26, 2020.^[6] Roddy Ricch and the Weeknd were the most nominated artists, with eight nominations each. Megan Thee Stallion received five nominations, while Bad Bunny, DaBaby, Doja Cat, Justin Bieber, Lady Gaga and Taylor Swift all tied with four.^[7]

Winners are listed first and highlighted in bold.^[8]

Artist of the Year	New Artist of the Year
Taylor Swift Justin Bieber Post Malone Roddy Ricch The Weeknd	Doja Cat DaBaby Lil Baby Lewis Capaldi Roddy Ricch Megan Thee Stallion
Favorite Music Video	Collaboration of the Year
Taylor Swift – "Cardigan" Doja Cat – "Say So" Future featuring Drake – "Life Is Good" Lady Gaga and Ariana Grande – "Rain on Me" The Weeknd – "Blinding Lights"	Dan + Shay and Justin Bieber – "10,000 Hours" Cardi B featuring Megan Thee Stallion – "WAP" DaBaby featuring Roddy Ricch – "Rockstar" Lady Gaga and Ariana Grande – "Rain On Me" Megan Thee Stallion featuring Beyoncé – "Savage (Remix)"
Favorite Male Artist – Pop/Rock	Favorite Female Artist – Pop/Rock
Justin Bieber Post Malone The Weeknd	Taylor Swift Dua Lipa Lady Gaga
Favorite Male Artist – Rap/Hip-Hop	Favorite Female Artist – Rap/Hip-Hop
Juice Wrld DaBaby Roddy Ricch	Nicki Minaj Cardi B Megan Thee Stallion
Favorite Male Artist – Country	Favorite Female Artist – Country
Kane Brown Luke Combs Morgan Wallen	Maren Morris Gabby Barrett Miranda Lambert
Favorite Male Artist – Soul/R&B	Favorite Female Artist – Soul/R&B
The Weeknd Chris Brown John Legend	Doja Cat Jhené Aiko Summer Walker
Favorite Male Artist – Latin	Favorite Female Artist – Latin
Bad Bunny J Balvin Ozuna	Becky G Karol G Rosalía
Favorite Artist – Alternative Rock	Favorite Artist – Adult Contemporary
Twenty One Pilots Billie Eilish Tame Impala	Jonas Brothers Lewis Capaldi Maroon 5
Favorite Artist – Electronic Dance Music	Favorite Artist – Contemporary Inspirational
Lady Gaga Kygo Marshmello	Lauren Daigle For King & Country Kanye West
Favorite Duo or Group – Pop/Rock	Favorite Duo or Group – Country
BTS Jonas Brothers Maroon 5	Dan + Shay Florida Georgia Line Old Dominion
Favorite Song – Pop/Rock	Favorite Album – Pop/Rock
Dua Lipa – "Don't Start Now" Lewis Capaldi – "Someone You Loved" Post Malone – "Circles" Roddy Ricch – "The Box" The Weeknd – "Blinding Lights"	Harry Styles – Fine Line Taylor Swift – Folklore The Weeknd – After Hours
Favorite Song – Rap/Hip-Hop	Favorite Album – Rap/Hip-Hop
Cardi B featuring Megan Thee Stallion – "WAP" DaBaby featuring Roddy Ricch – "Rockstar" Roddy Ricch – "The Box"	Roddy Ricch – Please Excuse Me For Being Antisocial Lil Baby – My Turn Lil Uzi Vert – Eternal Atake
Favorite Song – Country	Favorite Album – Country
Dan + Shay and Justin Bieber – "10,000 Hours" Maren Morris – "The Bones" Blake Shelton and Gwen Stefani – "Nobody but You"	Blake Shelton – Luke Combs – What You See Is What You Get Morgan Wallen – If I Know Me
Favorite Song – Soul/R&B	Favorite Album – Soul/R&B
The Weeknd – "Heartless" Chris Brown featuring Drake – "No Guidance" Summer Walker – "Playing Games"	The Weeknd – After Hours Doja Cat – Hot Pink Summer Walker – Over It
Favorite Song – Latin	Favorite Album – Latin
Karol G & Nicki Minaj - "Tusa" Bad Bunny - "Vete" Black Eyed Peas X J Balvin - "Ritmo"	Bad Bunny – YHLQMDLG Anuel AA – Emmanuel Bad Bunny – Las que no iban a salir
Favorite Soundtrack	Favorite Social Artist
Birds of Prey: The Album – Various Artists Frozen II – Various Artists Trolls: World Tour – Various Artists	BTS Billie Eilish Exo Ariana Grande NCT 127

Notes and References

1. Web site: July 17, 2020. 2020 AMAs will Return Sunday, Nov 22. November 5, 2020. American Music Awards.
2. Taylor Swift, Justin Bieber, Cardi B & More Potential Record-Setters at the 2020 American Music Awards. . October 26, 2020. Billboard. live. https://archive.today/20201026162118/https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/awards/9472649/taylor-swift-justin-bieber-cardi-b-2020-american-music-awards-record-setters/. October 26, 2020. October 26, 2020.
3. Web site: Haring. Bruce. November 2, 2020. American Music Awards Sets Taraji P. Henson As Host For 2020 Show. November 2, 2020. Deadline.
4. 2020 AMAs performances:
   • Web site: 2020 American Music Awards: The Best Performances and Biggest Moments of the Night. Seemayer. Zach. November 22, 2020. ET Online. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20201123150726/https://www.etonline.com/2020-american-music-awards-the-best-performances-and-biggest-moments-of-the-night-156613. November 23, 2020. November 23, 2020.
   • Katy Perry Enlists Darius Rucker for 'Only Love' at the 2020 AMAs. Ehrlich. Brenna. Martoccio. Angie. November 22, 2020. Rolling Stone. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20201123152726/https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/kate-perry-darius-rucker-amas-2020-performance-1092107/. November 23, 2020. November 23, 2020.
   • Lewis Capaldi Slows It Down for 'Before You Go' at the 2020 AMAs. Daw. Stephen. November 23, 2020. Billboard. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20201123153547/https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/awards/9488122/lewis-capaldi-before-you-go-2020-amas. November 23, 2020. November 23, 2020.
   • Billie Eilish Pulled Off a Staircase Stunt During 'Therefore I Am' Performance at the 2020 AMAs. Ginsberg. Gab. November 22, 2020. Billboard. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20201123161623/https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/awards/9488186/billie-eilish-performs-therefore-i-am-2020-amas. November 23, 2020. November 23, 2020.
   • Web site: Watch Dua Lipa Perform "Levitating" (and Levitate) at AMAs 2020. Ruiz. Matthew Ismael. November 23, 2020. Pitchfork. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20201123162036/https://pitchfork.com/news/watch-dua-lipa-perform-levitating-and-levitate-at-amas-2020/. November 23, 2020. November 23, 2020.
   • Dan + Shay Serenade the AMAs With 'I Should Probably Go to Bed'. Shaffer. Claire. Martoccio. Angie. November 22, 2020. Rolling Stone. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20201123120745/https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/dan-shay-2020-american-music-awards-1092819/. November 23, 2020. November 23, 2020.
   • Web site: 24kGoldn and Iann Dior are a 'Mood' at AMAs 2020. Daly. Rhian. November 23, 2020. NME. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20201124000950/https://www.nme.com/en_asia/news/music/24kgoldn-iann-dior-perform-mood-amas-2020-2823039. November 24, 2020. November 23, 2020.
   • Web site: Lil Baby Gets Vulnerable In His 2020 AMA's Performance Of 'Emotionally Scarred'. White. Caitlin. November 22, 2020. UPROXX. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20201123033341/https://uproxx.com/music/lil-baby-amas-2020-performance-emotionally-scarred/. November 23, 2020. November 23, 2020.
5. Here Are All the 2020 American Music Awards Performers & Presenters. Billboard. November 19, 2020. November 21, 2020.
6. Web site: 2020 American Music Award Nominations Revealed: See Who Scored The Biggest Noms!. . October 26, 2020. Access Hollywood. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20201101073538/https://www.accessonline.com/articles/2020-american-music-award-nominations-revealed-see-who-scored-the-biggest-noms. November 1, 2020. November 23, 2020.
7. The Weeknd, Roddy Ricch Top 2020 AMAs Nominations. Warner. Denise. October 26, 2020. Billboard. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20201026141334/https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/awards/9472722/2020-amas-nominations. October 26, 2020. November 23, 2020.
8. Web site: American Music Awards 2020: The Full Winners List. Shafer. Ellise. November 22, 2020. Variety. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20201123143540/https://variety.com/2020/music/news/american-music-awards-2020-full-winners-list-1234837726/. November 23, 2020. November 23, 2020.