Drake earns a record 13 American Music Award nominations
Toronto-born rapper Drake earned a record-breaking 13 American Music Awards nominations on Monday, surpassing Michael Jackson’s 1984 mark of 11 in a single year.
Rihanna received seven nominations, and Adele and Justin Bieber tied with five each. Beyoncé and the Chainsmokers each received four nominations. Bryson Tiller, Twenty One Pilots, Carrie Underwood, Fetty Wap and The Weeknd earned three nominations each.
In the favourite male pop/rock artist category, three Canadians are in contention — Drake, Bieber of Stratford, Ont., and The Weeknd, who hails from Toronto.
Nominees for artist of the year are Adele, Beyoncé, Bieber, Drake, Selena Gomez, Ariana Grande, Rihanna, Twenty One Pilots, Carrie Underwood and The Weeknd.
Nominees for the title of new artist of the year are Alessia Cara, the Chainsmokers, DNCE, Shawn Mendes and Zayn. There is no overall song of the year category this year; instead, honours will be handed out for best song in the categories of pop/rock, country, rap/hip-hop and soul/R&B.
Nominations 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.
Drake, now based in Los Angeles, is riding high on his collaboration with Rihanna on Work, and on his One Dance, recorded with Wizkid & Kyla, which was named song of the summer by Billboard. One Dance, a single from the album Views, was a No. 1 hit in Canada and Britain, as well as several European countries.
He has been nominated 10 times before without winning. Jackson, who died in 2009, has the record for the biggest AMA winner, with 26 overall, once taking eight in a single year.
Last year, One Direction won artist of the year honours, Taylor Swift’s Blank Space was crowned song of the year and Sam Hunt was named best new artist.
The awards show, known for its occasionally raunchy or outrageous performances, will air live Nov. 20 on ABC from the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles.
Nominees in selected categories:
Artist of the year:
Adele.
Beyoncé.
Bieber.
Drake.
Selena Gomez.
Ariana Grande.
Rihanna.
Twenty One Pilots.
Carrie Underwood.
The Weeknd.
New artist of the year:
Alessia Cara.
The Chainsmokers.
DNCE.
Shawn Mendes.
Zayn.
Favourite male artist:
Justin Bieber,
Drake,
The Weeknd.
Favourite female artist:
Adele.
Selena Gomez.
Rihanna.
Favourite album:
Adele’s 25.
Bieber’s Purpose.
Drake’s Views.