The ceremony will take place on November 14th at Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles. With a nod towards originality for the award program, Jimmy Kimmel will host the ceremony for the second year in a row as it is broadcast live on ABC. 

Usher was an easy favorite as his latest album “Confessions” has sold 5.5 million copies in the US since release. He walked away with nominations for favorite male artist as well as favorite album in the Soul/R&B category and Pop/Rock category. 

The multiple category madness continues with OutKast who were nominated for “favorite group” in the Pop/Rock and Rap/Hip-hop categories. (why bother having separate categories if anyone can fit into them according to the AMA standards? Although OutKast is the rare exception that does fit into both).  They also got a nod in the favorite Rap/Hip-Hop album category. 

The American Music Awards is a popularity contest in the truest sense. Nominations are determined by sales and radio airplay and the winners are selected by a poll of 20,000 people across the U.S. 

With the award show overkill, everyone seems to have an award ceremony these days; last year’s AMA sank to their lowest ratings in history with an audience of 12.8 million viewers.  With a list of nominations as predictable as the singles charts, this year it doesn’t look much better for the AMAs. 

Nominations: 

Favorite Male Artist — Pop or Rock 
Josh Groban 
Lenny Kravitz
Michael McDonald
Usher 

Favorite Female Artist — Pop or Rock
Sheryl Crow 
Avril Lavigne
Jessica Simpson 

Favorite Band, Duo or Group — Pop or Rock
Evanescence 
Nickelback
OutKast 

Favorite Album — Pop or Rock
"Feels Like Home" (Norah Jones)
"In This Skin" (Jessica Simpson)
"Confessions" (Usher)

Favorite Male Artist — Soul / Rhythm & Blues Music
R. Kelly 
Prince
Ruben Studdard 
Usher 

Favorite Female Artist — Soul / Rhythm & Blues Music
Beyonce' 
Janet Jackson
Alicia Keys 

Favorite Album — Soul / Rhythm & Blues Music
"The Diary of Alicia Keys" (Alicia Keys)
"Musicology" (Prince)
"Confessions" (Usher)

Favorite Male Artist — Country Music
Kenny Chesney
Alan Jackson 
Toby Keith 
Tim McGraw 

Favorite Female Artist — Country Music
Martina McBride
Reba McEntire
Gretchen Wilson 

Favorite Band, Duo or Group — Country Music
Brooks & Dunn
Lonestar
Rascal Flatts 

Favorite Album — Country Music
"When The Sun Goes Down" (Kenny Chesney)
"Shock'n Y'All" (Toby Keith)
"Martina" (Martina McBride)

Favorite Male Artist — Rap / Hip-Hop
Jay-Z
Juvenile
Lil' Flip
Kanye West 

Favorite Band, Duo or Group — Rap / Hip-Hop
G-Unit
OutKast
Ying Yang Twins 

Favorite Album — Rap / Hip-Hop
"The Black Album" (Jay-Z)
"Speakerboxxx/The Love Below" (OutKast)
"The College Dropout" (Kanye West)

Favorite Artist — Alternative Music
Incubus
Jet
Linkin Park 

Favorite Artist — Adult Contemporary Music
Harry Connick, Jr.
Sheryl Crow
Norah Jones 

Favorite Artist — Latin Music
Marc Anthony
Intocable
Paulina Rubio

Favorite Artist — Contemporary Inspirational Music
Steven Curtis Chapman 
MercyMe 
Third Day 

Breakthrough
Favorite New Artist (All Genres)
Maroon 5
Kanye West
Gretchen Wilson
 
 

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