Live from Las Vegas comes one of music's biggest nights: The American Music Awards are back this evening for its 51st annual edition, with multihyphenate talent Jennifer Lopez returning as host, 10 years after she first made her AMAs hosting debut.
Celebrating the year’s most iconic music, the American Music Awards is the world’s largest fan-voted awards show honoring today’s most influential artists and their passionate fanbases. However, this year's ceremony is an extra-special occasion—since the 2025 proceedings are airing on Memorial Day, the show will pay special tribute to our U.S. troops and veterans through authentic performances and unforgettable moments.
Here's everything you need to know about where you can watch the AMAs tonight, who is nominated this year and more.
Where can you watch the AMAs tonight?
The American Music Awards 2025 ceremony are airing live coast-to-coast on Monday, May 26 at 8pm Eastern Time (5pm Pacific Time) on CBS and Paramount+.
That means, if you want to watch the awards show on traditional TV, you're going to need access to CBS. CBS is one of the four main broadcast networks in the US (along with ABC, Fox and NBC), and as such it is conveniently accessible through a number of options. First, the channel is considered a "must carry" and included in all traditional pay-TV plans. It is also easily accessible if you opt for a TV antenna, with the devices able to pick up local station signals. If you prefer going with a more "new school" approach, live TV streaming services like Fubo, Hulu with Live TV and YouTube TV carry CBS as part of their channel lineups.
As mentioned, the show will also be available to stream Paramount Plus. You can watch it live and on-demand if you're a Paramount+ with SHOWTIME subscribers, or on-demand for Paramount+ Essential subscribers the day after the special airs.
Who is performing at the AMAs tonight?
The lineup of musical performers taking the stage at the American Music Awards tonight includes Blake Shelton, Gloria Estefan, Gwen Stefani, Reneé Rapp, and AMA nominees Benson Boone and Lainey Wilson.
Music fans will also get to see the iconic Janet Jackson perform live on TV for the first time since 2018, as the superstar and 11-time American Music Award winner receives this year's prestigious ICON Award.
Similarly, Rod Stewart will be honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award, in recognition of his contributions to music for nearly six decades. He will also deliver a performance of one of his timeless classics, marking his first time on the AMAs stage since 2004.
Who is nominated at the AMAs tonight?
Kendrick Lamar, who already has three American Music Awards to his name, leads this year’s nominations with a total of 10, including in high-profile categories like Artist of the Year, Album of the Year (GNX) and Song of the Year (“Not Like Us”).
Fellow multi-nominees include Post Malone with eight nominations; Billie Eilish, Chappell Roan and Shaboozey with seven nods each; Taylor Swift with six nominations; Hozier with five; and both Charli XCX and Beyoncé up for three apiece, for Brat and Cowboy Carter, respectively.
This year sees an exciting crop of first-time nominees—along with Chappell Roan and Shaboozey, AMAs newcomers Benson Boone, Doechii, Gracie Abrams, Jelly Roll, Lola Young, The Marias, ROSÉ, Teddy Swims, Tommy Richman, Tyla, as well as Artist of the Year nominees Sabrina Carpenter and Zach Bryan.
You can check out the full list of 2025 American Music Awards nominee here.
