Taylor Swift Leads 2026 American Music Awards Nominations as Fan Voting Opens

Taylor Swift, who holds the record for the most American Music Awards with 40 wins, leads the nominations for the 2026 AMAs with eight nods. Morgan Wallen, Olivia Dean, Sabrina Carpenter and Sombr follow with seven nominations each. Alex Warren and Lady Gaga each received six nominations.

With eight nominations, Swift is poised to extend her lead for the most AMA wins. Michael Jackson is currently second with 24 awards, followed by Alabama with 23 and Whitney Houston with 21.

Justin Bieber, who has four nominations this year, could also move up the all-time AMA leaderboard. Bieber has 18 awards; a single win this year would tie him with Kenny Rogers for the second-most wins among male artists. Jackson leads among male artists.

Dean and Sombr are nominated in three categories: new artist of the year, song of the year, and breakthrough album of the year. The two artists previously competed for best new artist at this year's Grammy Awards, with Dean taking home the prize. Other first-time AMA nominees include Warren, BigXthaPlug, KATSEYE, Leon Thomas, PinkPantheress, Raye, Role Model, Sienna Spiro and Tate McRae.

Teyana Taylor is a first-time AMA nominee for best female R&B artist. Taylor has received recognition across the industry this year, including an Oscar nomination and Golden Globe win for best supporting actress for "One Battle After Another," a Grammy nomination for best R&B album for "Escape Room," and will be honored with the Visionary Award at Billboard Women in Music 2026.

The singing voices of HUNTR/X - EJAE, Audrey Nuna and Rei Ami - are nominated in three categories: song of the year, best vocal performance and best pop song for their hit "Golden" from "KPop Demon Hunters." The trio will also be honored as Women of the Year at Billboard Women in Music.

The 52nd American Music Awards will take place Monday, May 25, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, the largest venue in the show's history. Queen Latifah will host the event, which will air live on CBS and stream on Paramount+.

Fan voting is now open at VoteAMAs.com and on the @AMAs Instagram account for all categories. Voting closes Friday, May 8, at 11:59 a.m. Pacific, except for social song of the year and tour of the year, which will remain open through the first 30 minutes of the broadcast.

Nominees are determined based on key fan interactions such as streaming, album and song sales, radio airplay and tour grosses, tracked by Billboard and Luminate during the eligibility period from March 21, 2025, through March 26, 2026.

The American Music Awards, created by producer Dick Clark, launched in 1974 and is recognized as the world's largest fan-voted award show. Tickets are available at AXS.com.