DRAKE, CARDI B LEAD AMA WITH 8 NOMS EACH
Rap has dominated the pop charts and on streaming services in the past few years, and that reflects at the 2018 American Music Awards (AMA) nominations.
Drake and Cardi B are the leaders with eight nominations each — earning bids in both the pop/rock and rap/hip-hop categories.
Drake has the year’s topselling album with Scorpion and also scored three No 1 hits on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. He will compete for artist of the year alongside Taylor Swift, Ed Sheeran, Imagine Dragons and Post Malone.
In the rap/hip-hop and pop/ rock categories, Drake earned nominations for favourite male artist, favourite album and favorite song with God’s Plan.
Rapper-singer XXXTentacion, a streaming juggernaut before his death in June and even afterwards, earned nominations for new artist of the year and favourite soul/R&B album for his 2017 debut, 17.
While some of the nominees were expected, others turned heads and seemed outdated, though that’s because the nominees reflect albums and songs that were successful on radio, streaming services and the Billboard charts during the time period of mid-September 2017 through Aug 2018. Some of the head-turners include Ed Sheeran’s Divide and Khalid’s American Teen, both released in March 2017, or Cardi B’s Bodak Yellow (Money Moves) and SZA’s Ctrl, that released in June 2017. Kane Brown’s self-titled album, up for favourite country album, was originally released in December 2016 and re-released in 2017. Luke Combs’s 2017 album, This One’s for You, is also a country album nominee. It is also the genre’s most-streamed album of the year.
Rihanna, who has barely released music since Anti dropped in 2016, picked up a nomination for favourite soul/ R&B female artist alongside SZA and Boo’d Up newcomer Ella Mai. Cardi B’s collaboration with Bruno Mars, the remix of Finesse, earned two nominations and the rapper also earned nods for favorite social artist and favorite music video.
WHILE SOME OF THE NOMINEES WERE EXPECTED, OTHERS SEEMED OUTDATED; THE NOMINEES REFLECT THE MUSIC THAT WAS A HIT DURING THE PERIOD BETWEEN MIDSEPTEMBER 2017 AND AUGUST 9, 2018