American Music Awards 2017 Date, Time & Channel

The 2017 American Music Awards air tonight on the ABC network, from 8 – 11 p.m. ET/7 – 10 p.m. CT. The show is hosted this year by Tracee Ellis Ross and broadcasts from the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles, California. Performers at tonight’s awards show include Macklemore, Skylar Grey, Kelly Clarkson, Pink, Christina Aguilera, Selena Gomez, Demi Lovato, Diana Ross, Niall Horan, Imagine Dragons, BTS, Khalid, Hailee Steinfeld, Alesso, Florida Georgia Line, Watt, Zedd, Alessia Cara, Portugal. The Man, Lady Gaga, Shawn Mendes and Nick Jonas. Some of the stars slated to take the stage as presenters tonight, on the other hand, include Billy Eichner, Viola Davis, Lea Michele, Ciara, Heidi Klum, Jared Leto and Jenna Dewan-Tatum.

Bruno Mars is the biggest nominee of the night, with eight nominations to his name. Unfortunately for Mars fans, he will not be in attendance because he is currently on tour. So, let’s get into some of the awards he’s nominated for, along with other big categories in the mix this year. Mars is up for Artist of the Year along with The Chainsmokers, who are also set to be presenters tonight. Drake, Kendrick Lamar and Ed Sheeran are also in this category. When it comes to New Artist of the Year, the nominees are Niall Horan, James Arther, Julia Michaels, Post Malone, and Rae Sremmurd. Horan is the only one of these nominees to also be a performer at the show. For biggest collaboration of the year, the nominees are “Closer” by The Chainsmokers featuring Halsey; “I’m the One” by DJ Khaled featuring Justin Bieber, Quavo, Chance the Rapper and Lil Wayne; “Despacito” by Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee featuring Justin Bieber; “Don’t Wanna Know” by Maroon 5 featuring Kendrick Lamar; and “Starboy” by The Weeknd featuring Daft Punk. Tour of the Year is a small category, featuring only Garth Brooks, Coldplay and U2. Video of the Year is another small category, made up of the songs “That’s What I Like” by Bruno Mars, “Despacito” by Luis Fonsi featuring Daddy Yankee, and “Shape of You” by Ed Sheeran.

The AMAs categories for Favorite Male Artist, Favorite Female Artist, Favorite Duo or Group, Favorite Album and Favorite Song are all separated into several genres, with only a few nominees for each. For example, awards for tonight include Favorite Male Artist for Pop/Rock, Favorite Male Artist for Country, Favorite Male Artist for Rap/Hip-Hop, and Favorite Male Artist for Soul/R&B. The way this was broken up, the same goes for Female Artist, Duo or Group, Album and Song. As for Favorite Artist in general, the categories include Rap/Hip-Hop, Alternative Rock, Adult Contemporary, Latin, Contemporary Inspirational and Electronic Dance Music. And lastly is the Top Soundtrack award. The three nominees up for this award are Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2: Awesome Mix Vol. 2, Moana and Trolls.

This year’s recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award is Diana Ross, the mother of tonight’s AMAs host Tracee Ellis Ross. In honor of the big event, the legendary Diana Ross is also reported to be performing. And, daughter Tracee Ellis Ross has said she will pay tribute to her mother’s fashion statements over the years in her outfit changes throughout the event. So, tune in tonight to check out all the nominees, performances and surprise moments.