dick clark productions and ABC announced today that Golden Globe Award-winning actress Tracee Ellis Ross will host the “2017 American Music Awards.” The star of hit ABC comedy series “black-ish” will take the stage to preside over an evening of non-stop musical magic, where Ross’ own mother, Diana Ross, will receive the “American Music Award for Lifetime Achievement.” The “2017 American Music Awards,” the world’s largest fan-voted awards show where music enthusiasts watch their favorite artists and pop culture icons come together to honor idols, newcomers and record-breakers in the contemporary music scene, will celebrate 45 years of music live from the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles on Sunday, Nov. 19, at 8:00 p.m. EST on ABC.
“I am thrilled to host this special night which honors some of the greatest musical talents in our industry,” said Tracee Ellis Ross. “And I’m especially thrilled to host this year when my mother is receiving the ‘American Music Award for Lifetime Achievement.’”
Tracee Ellis Ross is the star of the hit ABC comedy series “black-ish,” which airs Tuesday nights this fall. For her role, Ross won the 2017 Golden Globe Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series – Musical or Comedy. Most recently, Ross was nominated for a 2017 Emmy® Award for Outstanding Actress in a Comedy Series. This followed her 2016 Emmy nomination in the same category. She also received the 2015 and 2016 NAACP Image Award for Best Actress in a Comedy Series. In addition, Ross was honored and acknowledged at the 2016 ESSENCE Black Women in Hollywood luncheon receiving the Fierce and Fearless award. Ross is best known for her starring role on the hit sitcom “Girlfriends,” which ran for eight seasons on the UPN/CW network.
As previously announced, music legend, Diana Ross, will take the stage for a rare performance at the “2017 American Music Awards” and will be honored with the “American Music Award for Lifetime Achievement.” Christina Aguilera will pay tribute to Whitney Houston and music from “The Bodyguard” with a performance in honor of the film’s 25th anniversary, which falls on the same week as the awards ceremony. Other previously announced performers include BTS, Alessia Cara & Zedd, Kelly Clarkson, Selena Gomez, Niall Horan, Imagine Dragons & Khalid, Demi Lovato, P!NK, Portugal. The Man, and Hailee Steinfeld & Alesso ft. Florida Georgia Line & watt. Additionally, Bebe Rexha will combine with Florida Georgia Line to treat American Music Awards fans to an encore performance for Xfinity TV customers, which will be available following the show on Xfinity On Demand.
Nominations for the “2017 American Music Awards” were announced last month. Bruno Mars leads with eight nominations, including Artist of the Year, Video of the Year, and Favorite Male Artist – Pop/Rock. The Chainsmokers, Drake, Kendrick Lamar, Ed Sheeran and The Weeknd tied with five nominations each, while Justin Bieber, Daddy Yankee and Luis Fonsi received four nominations each. Additionally, Keith Urban earned three nominations, and Rihanna and Halsey earned two nominations each.
The American Music Awards winners are voted entirely by fans. Voting is now open in all categories. Fans are able to vote using the following methods:
- Via web at billboard.com/amas and theamas.com/vote
- Posting a tweet on Twitter that includes the nominee’s name or Twitter handle, the category name and #AMAs within the tweet
For New Artist of the Year presented by T-Mobile and Collaboration of the Year presented by Xfinity, fans can vote for each award 100 times per day, per voting platform in one or both of the ways above. Fans can vote for all other awards once per day, per voting platform.
The Artist of the Year nominees are Bruno Mars, The Chainsmokers, Drake, Kendrick Lamar and Ed Sheeran. Voting for Artist of the Year will close on Thursday, Nov. 16, at 8:59:59 p.m. PST. Voting for all other editorial categories closes on Monday, Nov. 13, at 8:59:59 a.m. PST. Voting for New Artist of the Year presented by T-Mobile and Collaboration of the Year presented by Xfinity will close on Sunday, Nov. 19, at 5:59:59 p.m. PST, one hour into the live broadcast.
American Music Awards nominees are based on key fan interactions as reflected in Billboard Magazine and on Billboard.com, including album and digital song sales, radio airplay, streaming, social activity and touring. These measurements are tracked by Billboard and its data partners, including Nielsen Music and Next Big Sound. The eligibility period for the “2017 American Music Awards” was September 9, 2016, to September 14, 2017.
Sponsors for the “2017 American Music Awards” include Comcast’s Xfinity, Security Benefit and T-Mobile. Media partners include Cumulus Media/Westwood One and Music Choice.
The “2017 American Music Awards” is produced by dick clark productions. Allen Shapiro and Mike Mahan are executive producers. Larry Klein, Barry Adelman and Mark Bracco are producers.
For the latest American Music Awards news, exclusive content and more, be sure to follow the AMAs on social and join the conversation by using the official hashtag for the show, #AMAs.
Facebook: Facebook.com/AMAs
Instagram: @AMAs
Snapchat: TheAMAs
Tumblr: amas.tumblr.com
Cheat Tweet: And the host of the 2017 @AMAs is @TraceeEllisRoss! Don’t miss it, LIVE this Sunday at 8/7c on ABC: amas.news/host #AMAs
Tickets are now on sale at www.axs.com.
