We'd begin this article with some sarcastic preamble about how nobody cares about the AMAs, but whatever—they're an award show, we'll probably watch them just because. The nominees for this year's ceremonies were announced earlier today, courtesy of the lovely and exuberant Nicki Minaj and the, uh, bald Pitbull, with most of the big names from this year in pop music among the big recipients (Adele, Lady Gaga, Rihanna, Lil Wayne, Taylor Swift and Chris Brown) receiving multiple nominations.
The only real surprise comes with Rihanna's Loud album being nominated in the Best Album categories for both Pop and R&B—which, considering that there are only three nominees per category to begin with and considering that Rihanna hasn't really been considerable as R&B for some time now—doesn't seem quite right to us. Also, someone considers Katy Perry adult contemporary? Weird adults.
Here's the complete list of nominees, with the awards to come live from the NOKIA Theatre on Sunday, November 20th. You can vote for your favorites on the ABC web site.
Best Pop / Rock Female:
Adele
Katy Perry
Lady GaGa
Pop / Rock Male:
Justin Bieber
Bruno Mars
Pitbull
Pop / Rock Duo or Group:
LMFAO
Maroon 5
OneRepublic
Pop / Rock Album:
Adele - 21
Rihanna - Loud
Lady Gaga - Born This Way
Country Female:
Sara Evans
Miranda Lambert
Taylor Swift
Country Male:
Jason Aldean
Brad Paisley
Blake Shelton
Country Duo or Group:
The Band Perry
Zac Brown Band
Lady Antebellum
Country Album:
Jason Aldean - My Kinda Party
The Band Perry - The Band Perry
Taylor Swift - Speak Now
Rap / Hip-Hop Artist:
Lil Wayne
Nicki Minaj
Kanye West
Rap / Hip-Hop Album:
Lil Wayne - The Carter IV
The Throne - Watch The Throne
Nicki Minaj - Pink Friday
Soul / R&B Male:
Chris Brown
Trey Songz
Usher
Soul / R&B Female:
Rihanna
Beyoncé
Kelly Rowland
Soul / R&B Album:
Chris Brown - F.A.M.E
Rihanna - Loud
Beyoncé - 4
Alternative Rock Artist:
Black Keys
Foo Fighters
Mumford & Sons
Adult Contemporary Artist:
Adele
Bruno Mars
Katy Perry
Latin Artist:
Enrique Iglesias
Jennifer Lopez
Pitbull
Contemporary Inspirational Artist:
Casting Crowns
Tobymac
Third Day
Artist of The Year:
Adele
Lady Gaga
Katy Perry
Lil Wayne
Taylor Swift
