The American Music Awards ceremony returns after a short break – the 51st edition of the award gala will be held in Las Vegas.
It will be the first AMAs since 2022 and the first to be broadcast by CBS. A scheduling dispute was the reason why the event didn’t take place in 2023 and 2024, but with a new broadcast partner and a host of stars lined up, the AMAs are back with a bang.
Janet Jackson to receive the ICON award
Hosting the ceremony for the second time in 10 years is AMA veteran Jennifer Lopez. JLo will also be performing one of her songs on the night – as will one of her contemporaries and star attraction at this year’s gala, Janet Jackson.
It will be Jackson’s first television appearance in seven years – her most recent performance in front of the cameras was at the 2018 Billboard Music Awards. Since December, Janet has been busy with her exclusive residency at Resorts World Theatre in Las Vegas.
At this month’s AMAs, Jackson will be presented with a special accolade in recognition of her career achievements – the ICON award. She will become just the third artist to receive it, following Rihanna (2013) and Lionel Richie (2022).
For obvious reasons, details of Jackson’s performance and what song she will perform are being guarded under strict secrecy. The same applies to the other 15 artists who will be taking to the stage at at the Fontainebleau Las Vegas.
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Janet Janet, JLo, Gwen Stefani – AMA veterans
Several of the performers in this year’s lineup have appeared at previous editions of the AMAs – this will be JLo’s tenth time; Janet Jackson‘s first appearance was in 1990 – she was invited back in 1998 and most recently at the 37th AMAs in 2009 when she even-song medley. Gwen Stefani performed at three editions in a row, the last being in 2006.
The Weeknd (2016 and 2020 and Post Malone (2019) are the other artists from this year’s lineup who have performed at the AMAs in the past.
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Full list of performers at the 2025 American Music Awards
- Jennifer Lopez
- Janet Jackson
- Benson Boone
- Lainey Wilson and Jelly Roll
- Blake Shelton and Post Malone
- Gwen Stefani
- Gloria Estefan
- Reneé Rapp
- Jon Bellion
- Forrest Frank
- Jon Batiste
- The Weeknd
- Playboi Carti and Mike Dean
What we do know about the musical entertainment programmed is that Lainey Wilson will perform a duet with Jelly Roll while Playboi Carti and Mike Dean have prerecorded their performance which will be shown on a video screen.
Kendrick Lamar leads the nominations with 10, including Artist of the Year, Album of the Year for GNX, and Song of the Year for Not Like Us.
Post Malone is just behind with eight nominations – he’s up for Artist of the Year, Album of the Year (F-1 Trillion) and Song of the Year (I Had Some Help). Taylor Swift, Billie Eilish, SZA and Sabrina Carpenter also have multiple nominations. And props to Janet Jackson who will become the third artist to receive the coveted ICON award.
How to watch the 2025 American Music Awards
The 51st American Music Awards will be held at the Fontainebleau Las Vegas on Monday May 26, 2025, starting at 7 p.m. ET. / 5 p.m. PT. The ceremony will be broadcast live on CBS, and available to stream on Paramount+ with SHOWTIME.
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