After a three-year break, the American Music Awards are finally making their return on Monday, May 26, 2025. Leading the nominations is Kendrick Lamar, who scored an impressive 10 nominations, including top honors like Artist of the Year, Album of the Year for GNX, and Song of the Year. Close behind is Post Malone with eight nominations. Billie Eilish, Chappell Roan, and Shaboozey follow with seven nominations each, while Taylor Swift, Bruno Mars, SZA, and Sabrina Carpenter also earned multiple nods.
With Jennifer Lopez set to host, the 51st American Music Awards will air live from Las Vegas, exclusively on CBS and Paramount+. As the only major U.S. music awards show determined entirely by fan votes, the AMAs promise a night driven by the public’s voice. Here are our predictions for the biggest categories of the night:
Related
Artist of the Year
Predicted Winner: Taylor Swift
Taylor Swift has a long winning history at the AMAs. She is the most decorated artist (with 40 wins) in the ceremony’s history, and she will enter the night with seven nods, including Artist of the Year. 2024 was an exceptional year for her—she released The Tortured Poets Department and wrapped up The Eras Tour—and Swifties, her dedicated fan base, are determined to help her take home the coveted award.
Strong contenders: Ariana Grande, Billie Eilish, Kendrick Lamar
⸻
⸻
New Artist of the Year
Predicted Winner: Chappell Roan
In 2024, Chappell Roan had her breakthrough. “Good Luck, Babe!” gained significant popularity, propelling many fans to discover her debut studio album, The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess, as well as songs like “Pink Pony Club” and “Hot To Go!” Chappell has already won the Grammy for Best New Artist, so she’s clearly the frontrunner in this category.
Strong contenders: Gracie Abrams, Benson Boone
⸻
⸻
Album of the Year
Predicted Winner: The Tortured Poets Department – Taylor Swift
Again, Taylor Swift’s fan base is immense, so she is the first name that comes to mind when there’s a fan-voted award. Her eleventh album was a global success, closing out 2024 as the best-selling LP worldwide.
Strong contenders: Hit Me Hard and Soft – Billie Eilish, Cowboy Carter – Beyoncé, GNX – Kendrick Lamar, Short n’ Sweet – Sabrina Carpenter
⸻
⸻
Song of the Year
Predicted Winner: “Birds of a Feather” – Billie Eilish
This is probably the tightest category. It will likely come down to Billie Eilish or Sabrina Carpenter. We put Billie slightly ahead, as “Birds of a Feather” was the most successful single of 2024 and is still a staple on global charts.
Strong contenders: “Espresso” – Sabrina Carpenter, “Not Like Us” – Kendrick Lamar, “Die with a Smile” – Lady Gaga & Bruno Mars
⸻
⸻
Collaboration of the Year
Predicted Winner: “Die with a Smile” – Lady Gaga & Bruno Mars
Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars had the biggest collaboration of 2024, so it’s safe to say they have a strong chance of winning the AMA in this category. The song was a massive success and recently ended its record-breaking 200-day run at No. 1 on the Daily Spotify chart.
Strong contenders: “Fortnight” – Taylor Swift & Post Malone, “APT.” – ROSÉ & Bruno Mars, “Luther” – Kendrick Lamar & SZA
Leave a Reply