Say whatever you like about the American Music Awards, but there’s one thing you can not accuse them of. Downsizing. The program, created by Dick Clark Productions as a counter to the Grammys, will broadcast its 52nd edition on Monday, May 25th, and it is bigger than ever. Better? That’s a separate question.
The AMAs have always been a bit of a paradox. They have tended to lean more heavily on popular opinion than the Grammys, but they have struggled to carry the same cache both inside and outside the industry.
For instance, this year, the show has a network broadcast time slot and has performances scheduled from up-to-the-minute pop stars like KATSEYE, sombr, Teddy Swims, and Teyana Taylor.
They also have Billy Idol, Busta Rhymes, and Keith Urban, for those of us on the other side of 50. The New Kids on the Block will be there, more than 40 years after they were, in fact, new. The “special appearance” by BTS may be the most symbolic aspect of this year’s production.
American Music Awards add a lot of new categories for 2026
After their lengthy absence from public view, are they making a triumphant return, or are they yesterday’s boy band? Arirang certainly caused a stir when it dropped a few months ago, but have you heard much from it after that first week?
We’ll leave the BTS question aside for the time being. There’s more to discuss regarding this year’s AMAs. Namely, the explosion of new categories.
It isn’t yet approaching the Grammys, which, if I remember right, currently have 28,000 individual categories. (Sorry – I just got pinged. This morning, the Recording Academy dropped eleven and added fourteen more, so you do the math.)
But as a growth industry, the AMAs are thriving. 37 awards – not counting specials – last year. The number is 50 this year. Here’s a quick breakdown of how the awards are structured and what is new for 2026.
The AMAs have traditionally awarded a Big 4, just like the Grammys. They do Album, Song, and New Artist – just like the Grammys. They sub in Best Artist for the Grammy’s Best Record. Seems simple enough. Last year, Billie Eilish swept the three for which she was eligible – Album, Song, Artist – while Gracie Abrams claimed Best New Artist.
After that, the bulk of the remaining awards have come in genres. Pop, Country, Hip-Hop, R&B, Latin, Rock, Afrobeats, K-Pop, and D/E all get a series of honors. Last year, the final three genres named above received one award for Best Artist.
Rock got three (Artist, Album, and Song). Pop, Hip-Hop, and R&B split their Artist award into male and female, thus creating four genre awards. And Country and Latin get a fifth award for Duo/Group.
Why? I have no clue. I just know that since Pop artists dominate the Big 4, they get to double-dip, which is why Billie Eilish won seven total awards last year.
Then there are a series of others that do help the AMAs stand out from the Grammys, at least to some extent. Sure, they have awards for Soundtrack and Music Video like the Grammys, but they also have awards for tours and for other types of songs. And they give one for Best Collab, which is essentially part of the Big 4 – or, I suppose, Big 5.
But that was obviously not enough. So here is what they have added for this year.
The majority of the new awards have “break” in their name. The six biggest genre fields got an extra award this year called “Breakthrough (Genre Name) Artist.”
So, since I follow rock more closely than the other fields, Geese, sombr, and Gigi Perez are all nominated in the newly-created category “Breakthrough Rock/Alternative Artist.” I also think that “Alternative” designation is new this year, but don’t quote me on that. These things do tend to run together in my brain.
There is also a Breakthrough Album this year featuring Olivia Dean, sombr, and Zara Larsson. And Breakout Tour (apparently a tour cannot be “breakthrough”), which finds Benson Boone, Kali Uchis, The Marias, Megan Moroney, and Sleep Token in contention.
I suppose a Megan Moroney/Sleep Token tour would actually be pretty cool to witness.
OK, where were we?
Right – that’s about half the new stuff. The rest is divvied up like this.
They added a new genre. Best Americana/Folk Artist is new. Noah Kahan is my prediction for this honor (though he is also nominated for Rock/Alternative Song, so go figure.)
K-Pop gets its “Artist” award split between Male and Female, just like the big boy genres have. Despite the “special appearance” by BTS, K-Pop doesn’t get a Duo/Group award, but that’s only because they are all groups. All single-sex groups. What happens when the AMAs want to nominate KARD for something? That’s a question the whole world is asking.
Then we have Throwback Song, Song of the Summer, and Vocal Performance awards, all new this year. Of the three, I only really understand the first. It’s for old songs that found new life this year. 4 Non Blondes, Goo Goo Dolls, and Black-Eyed Peas are nominated. Once again, the AMAs are in the business of creating the strangest of bedfellows.
OK, that’s 13 new categories. As far as I’m concerned, there is only one that matters in terms of establishing whether the AMAs are genuinely attempting to be relevant, or merely selling advertising on network television. It is Breakthrough Rock/Alternative Artist.
I suppose Gigi Perez is a reasonable nominee here. Several cuts from At the Beach, In Every Life are quality alt-rock songs. But I think this is a battle between sombr and Geese. And to put it simply, Geese needs to win this if the awards are to have any merit. I say that as someone who does not really like Geese. But they are so much more important for the development of rock music than is sombr.
sombr is more popular, and he may go on to a wildly successful career. But his brand of rock is so informed by modern pop music that it shouldn’t really be competing against rock albums. We already have enough pop-flavored “rock.” Even if you like it, it is not a healthy direction for rock.
I care about this far more than I do about the other Rock/Alt awards, which feature the likes of Noah Kahan, Tame Impala, and last year’s big winner, 21 Pilots. I like some of those artists and don’t especially like others, but all of them bleed heavily into other genres, deemphasizing the “rock” part more and more.
Oh, and sombr is nominated in two of those other “rock” categories – for Song and Album, which, I suppose, makes him a heavy favorite over Geese for that Breakthrough award.
Oh well. At least Billy Idol will be on hand to pick up a Lifetime Achievement Award.
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