Kendrick Lamar Leads American Music Awards Noms, Followed by Post Malone

by oqtey
j.lo jennifer lopez american music awards

Kendrick Lamar is the leading contender for the 2025 American Music Awards, with 10 nominations in results announced Wednesday. The nearest runner-up is Post Malone, who has something else to celebrate besides his just-wrapped Coachella headlining stint, with eight noms.

Billie Eilish, Chappell Roan and Shaboozey are tied for third in the nominations count with seven apiece.

Close behind them is Taylor Swift, described as “the winningest artist in AMAs history,” who has six opportunities this year to add to her historic total of 40. Swift is far from the only one with six nominations; sharing that number are Bruno Mars, Lady Gaga, Morgan Wallen, Sabrina Carpenter and SZA. Landing five noms apiece are Benson Boone, Hozier and Zach Bryan. (Scroll down for a complete list of nominees.)

Nominations are based on a combination of sales, streaming, airplay and touring data points from Billboard and Luminate, but the final awards are fan-voted. Voting is already open via VoteAMAs.com and the show’s Instagram page, closing at the end of the day on May 15.

The show, produced by Dick Clark Productions and broadcast from Las Vegas, airs live coast-to-coast on May 26, Memorial Day, at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT on CBS and Paramount+. Jennifer Lopez is hosting.

Lamar only has three AMAs to his name so far, and he has a shot at nearly quadrupling that amount by the time the night is up, with 10 nods in eight categories. He’s up for Artist of the Year, Album of the Year (“GNX”), Song of the Year (“Not Like Us”), Collaboration of the Year (“Luther” with SZA), Favorite Music Video (“Not Like Us”), Favorite Male Hip-Hop Artist, Favorite Hip-Hop Album (“GNX”), and Favorite Hip-Hop Song (where he scored three nominations, for “Like That” with Future and Metro Boomin, “Not Like Us” and “Luther” with SZA). Producers point out that if he should go the distance and win in all eight categories he’s up for, he would tie Michael Jackson and Whitney Houston for most awards in a single year.

The top prize, Artist of the Year, will have 10 contenders vying: Ariana Grande, Billie Eilish, Chappell Roan, Kendrick Lamar, Morgan Wallen, Post Malone, Sabrina Carpenter, SZA, Taylor Swift and Zach Bryan.

New Artist of the Year will be picked from a field of a mere six, with Roan up against Benson Boone, Gracie Abrams, Shaboozey, Teddy Swims and Tommy Richman.

The American Music Awards were last held in November 2022, not counting a 50th anniversary special that aired last fall.

The AMAs have added several new categories for the 51st annual edition, including a couple of divisions that are staples of most other music awards shows: all-genre Album of the Year and Song of the Year awards, on top of the album and song trophies given out in individual genres. (The show briefly had a Single of the Year category in the mid-2010s but discontinued it.) Also added for 2025 is another all-genre category, but in a less traditional vein: Social Song of the Year.

Since the last AMAs show, categories for Favorite Inspirational Artist and Favorite Gospel Artist have been dropped, as the awards do without any specific recognition for religious genres for the first time since an inspirational award was added in 2003.

The complete list of 2025 nominations:

ARTIST OF THE YEAR
Ariana Grande
Billie Eilish
Chappell Roan
Kendrick Lamar
Morgan Wallen
Post Malone
Sabrina Carpenter
SZA
Taylor Swift
Zach Bryan

NEW ARTIST OF THE YEAR
Benson Boone
Chappell Roan
Gracie Abrams
Shaboozey
Teddy Swims
Tommy Richman

ALBUM OF THE YEAR
Beyoncé “Cowboy Carter”
Billie Eilish “Hit Me Hard and Soft”
Chappell Roan “The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess”
Charli xcx “BRAT”
Gracie Abrams “The Secret of Us”
Future & Metro Boomin “We Don’t Trust You”
Kendrick Lamar “GNX”
Post Malone “F-1 Trillion”
Sabrina Carpenter “Short n’ Sweet”
Taylor Swift “The Tortured Poets Department”

SONG OF THE YEAR
Benson Boone “Beautiful Things”
Billie Eilish “Birds of a Feather”
Chappell Roan “Good Luck, Babe!”
Hozier “Too Sweet”
Kendrick Lamar “Not Like Us”
Lady Gaga & Bruno Mars “Die With A Smile”
Post Malone Featuring Morgan Wallen “I Had Some Help”
Sabrina Carpenter “Espresso”
Shaboozey “A Bar Song (Tipsy)”
Teddy Swims “Lose Control”

COLLABORATION OF THE YEAR
Kendrick Lamar & SZA “Luther”
Lady Gaga & Bruno Mars “Die With A Smile”
Marshmello & Kane Brown “Miles on It”
Post Malone Featuring Morgan Wallen “I Had Some Help”
ROSÉ & Bruno Mars “APT.”
Taylor Swift Featuring Post Malone “Fortnight”

SOCIAL SONG OF THE YEAR
Chappell Roan “Hot to Go!”
Djo “End of Beginning”
Doechii “Anxiety”
Lola Young “Messy”
Shaboozey “A Bar Song (Tipsy)”
Tommy Richman “Million Dollar Baby”

FAVORITE TOURING ARTIST
Billie Eilish
Luke Combs
Morgan Wallen
Taylor Swift
Zach Bryan

FAVORITE MUSIC VIDEO
Benson Boone “Beautiful Things”
KAROL G “Si Antes Te Hubiera Conocido”
Kendrick Lamar “Not Like Us”
Lady Gaga & Bruno Mars “Die With A Smile”
Shaboozey “A Bar Song (Tipsy)”

FAVORITE MALE POP ARTIST
Benson Boone
Bruno Mars
Hozier
Teddy Swims
The Weeknd

FAVORITE FEMALE POP ARTIST
Billie Eilish
Chappell Roan
Lady Gaga
Sabrina Carpenter
Taylor Swift

FAVORITE POP ALBUM
Billie Eilish “Hit Me Hard and Soft”
Chappell Roan “The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess”
Charli xcx “Brat”
Sabrina Carpenter “Short n’ Sweet”
Taylor Swift “The Tortured Poets Department”

FAVORITE POP SONG
Benson Boone “Beautiful Things”
Billie Eilish “Birds of a Feather”
Lady Gaga & Bruno Mars “Die With A Smile”
Sabrina Carpenter “Espresso”
Teddy Swims “Lose Control”

FAVORITE MALE COUNTRY ARTIST
Jelly Roll
Luke Combs
Morgan Wallen
Post Malone
Shaboozey

FAVORITE FEMALE COUNTRY ARTIST
Beyoncé
Ella Langley
Kacey Musgraves
Lainey Wilson
Megan Moroney

FAVORITE COUNTRY DUO or GROUP
Dan + Shay
Old Dominion
Parmalee
The Red Clay Strays
Zac Brown Band

FAVORITE COUNTRY ALBUM
Beyoncé “Cowboy Carter”
Jelly Roll “Beautifully Broken”
Megan Moroney “Am I Okay?”
Post Malone “F-1 Trillion”
Shaboozey “Where I’ve Been, Isn’t Where I’m Going”

FAVORITE COUNTRY SONG
Jelly Roll “I Am Not Okay”
Koe Wetzel & Jessie Murph “High Road”
Luke Combs “Ain’t No Love in Oklahoma”
Post Malone Featuring Morgan Wallen “I Had Some Help”
Shaboozey “A Bar Song (Tipsy)”

FAVORITE MALE HIP-HOP ARTIST
Drake
Eminem
Future
Kendrick Lamar
Tyler, The Creator

FAVORITE FEMALE HIP-HOP ARTIST
Doechii
GloRilla
Latto
Megan Thee Stallion
Sexyy Red

FAVORITE HIP-HOP ALBUM
Eminem “The Death Of Slim Shady (Coup De Grâce)”
Future & Metro Boomin “We Don’t Trust You”
Gunna “one of wun”
Kendrick Lamar “GNX”
Tyler, The Creator “CHROMAKOPIA”

FAVORITE HIP-HOP SONG
Future, Metro Boomin & Kendrick Lamar “Like That”
GloRilla “TGIF”
GloRilla & Sexyy Red “WHATCHU KNO ABOUT ME”
Kendrick Lamar “Not Like Us”
Kendrick Lamar & SZA “Luther”

FAVORITE MALE R&B ARTIST
Bryson Tiller
Chris Brown
PARTYNEXTDOOR
The Weeknd
Usher

FAVORITE FEMALE R&B ARTIST
Kehlani
Muni Long
Summer Walker
SZA
Tyla

FAVORITE R&B ALBUM
Bryson Tiller “Bryson Tiller”
PARTYNEXTDOOR “PARTYNEXTDOOR 4 (P4)”
PARTYNEXTDOOR & Drake “$ome $exy $ongs 4 U”
SZA “SOS Deluxe: Lana”
The Weeknd “Hurry Up Tomorrow”

FAVORITE R&B SONG
Chris Brown “Residuals”
Muni Long “Made For Me”
SZA “Saturn”
The Weeknd & Playboi Carti “Timeless”
Tommy Richman “Million Dollar Baby”

FAVORITE MALE LATIN ARTIST
Bad Bunny
Feid
Peso Pluma
Rauw Alejandro
Tito Double P

FAVORITE FEMALE LATIN ARTIST
Becky G
Karol G
Natti Natasha
Shakira
Young Miko

FAVORITE LATIN DUO or GROUP
Calibre 50
Fuerza Regida
Grupo Firme
Grupo Frontera
Julión Álvarez y su Norteño Banda

FAVORITE LATIN ALBUM
Bad Bunny “DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS”
Fuerza Regida “Dolido Pero No Arrepentido”
Peso Pluma “ÉXODO”
Rauw Alejandro “Cosa Nuestra”
Tito Double P “INCÓMODO”

FAVORITE LATIN SONG
Bad Bunny “DtMF”
FloyyMenor X Cris Mj “Gata Only”
Karol G “Si Antes Te Hubiera Conocido”
Oscar Maydon & Fuerza Regida “Tu Boda”
Shakira “Soltera”

FAVORITE ROCK ARTIST
Hozier
Linkin Park
Pearl Jam
Twenty One Pilots
Zach Bryan

FAVORITE ROCK ALBUM
Hozier “Unreal Unearth: Unending”
Koe Wetzel “9 lives”
The Marías “Submarine”
Twenty One Pilots “Clancy”
Zach Bryan “The Great American Bar Scene”

FAVORITE ROCK SONG
Green Day “Dilemma”
Hozier “Too Sweet”
Linkin Park “The Emptiness Machine”
Myles Smith “Stargazing”
Zach Bryan “Pink Skies”

FAVORITE DANCE/ELECTRONIC ARTIST
Charli XCX
David Guetta
John Summit
Lady Gaga
Marshmello

FAVORITE SOUNDTRACK
Arcane League of Legends: Season 2
Hazbin Hotel (Original Soundtrack)
Moana 2 (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) • Auliʻi Cravalho, Dwayne Johnson and Cast
Twisters: The Album
Wicked: The Soundtrack • Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande and Cast

FAVORITE AFROBEATS ARTIST
Asake
Rema
Tems
Tyla
Wizkid

FAVORITE K-POP ARTIST
Ateez
Jimin
RM
ROSÉ
Stray Kids

Variety parent company PMC owns Dick Clark Productions in a joint venture with Eldridge.

Related Posts

Leave a Comment