2008 American Music Award Nominees

The recent announcement of the nominees for the 2008 American Music Awards has raised more than a few eyebrows. The nominees were announced by Jesse McCartney and Jimmy Kimmel at the Beverly Hills Hotel on October 14. Music fans are complaining that a lot of the nominations are out of touch with reality since it seems that a number of the more popular artists have been overlooked.

The top five contenders for the 36th annual American Music Awards were: Alicia Keys (5 nominations), Coldplay (4 nominations), The Eagles (4 nominations), Lil Wayne (3 nominations) and Chris Brown (3 nominations). That may not seem so strange in itself, but when you consider that the names that have been topping the charts and the nominees lists for other awards are virtually nowhere in sight, you have to wonder. Britney Spears, Beyonce, the Pussycat Dolls and Katy Perry didn’t make the list at all. Rihanna has two nominations, as does Mariah Carey. Normally these are the names that are topping the lists and beating all the others. This time round, however, it seems they have been overlooked. Nevertheless, some of them have been asked to perform in the ceremony and most of them have accepted. The three-hour ceremony will feature performances by Pink, New Kids on the Block, the Jonas Brothers, The Pussycat Dolls, Rihanna, Ne-Yo and Taylor Swift, among others.

The award categories for the show are: favorite pop/rock male artist; favorite pop/rock female artist; favorite pop/rock band, duo or group; favorite pop/rock album; favorite country music male artist; favorite country music female artist; favorite country band, duo or group; favorite country music album; favorite rap/hip-hop male artist; favorite rap/hip-hop band, duo or group; favorite rap/hip-hop album; favorite soul/R&B male artist; favorite soul/R&B female artist; favorite soul/R&B album; favorite soundtrack album; favorite alternative artist; favorite adult contemporary artist; favorite Latin artist; favorite contemporary inspirational artist; T-Mobile breakthrough artist; artist of the year. The 2008 awards ceremony will be held at the Nokia Theater which is located in downtown Los Angeles and will take place on November 23. Kimmel will be hosting the event for his fifth straight year and the entire show will be broadcast live on ABC as a prime-time special. Make sure you tune in to get in on all the action.