The 2026 American Music Awards are underway Monday, May 26 at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, with Queen Latifah hosting and Taylor Swift leading nominations. Backstage, stars are getting their glam on, while performances and fan-voted awards draw major a
Monday, May 26 is already humming in Las Vegas, and the 2026 American Music Awards are in full motion—stars stepping into their moments on the red carpet, preparing to win fan-voted awards, and gearing up to take the stage for performances.
The event is held at the MGM Grand Garden Arena. and the morning glow doesn’t just show up on camera—it starts backstage. Us Weekly’s Amanda Williams kicked off her day by prepping her skin for glam with her skincare routine. She applied eye patches before her makeup arrived. then once her makeup was done. she touched up her hair herself to refresh her blowout. When her final look was set, she showed it off to the camera, featuring bling from Samantha Michael jewelry.
The nominations bring their own kind of gravity. This year’s awards—fan-voted—are being hosted by Queen Latifah. Taylor Swift leads the nominations with eight for her album The Life of a Showgirl. She’s up for Artist of the Year, Best Female Pop Artist, Album of the Year and Best Pop Album. Swift. 36. is also nominated for Song of the Year. Best Music Video and Best Pop Song for “The Fate of Ophelia. ” along with Song of the Summer for “Elizabeth Taylor.”.
Swift previously attended the awards show in 2022, when she wore a gold jumpsuit featuring a plunging halter neckline, crystal embellishments and a snatched waist.
And she won’t be the only one stirring up the room. SOMBR, set to perform, is also going head-to-head with Dean for New Artist of the Year, Song of the Year and Breakthrough Album of the Year.
More artists taking the stage to bring their biggest hits include Karol G, KATSEYE, Keith Urban, Twenty One Pilots and Teyana Taylor.
There’s an element that makes the night feel different from many other award shows: fans are allowed to attend. Tickets are on sale through AXS, and doors open at 3:30 p.m. local time, with guests expected to take their seats by 4:45 p.m.
The stage is set, the looks are being finalized, and the voting fans have already spoken—now it’s just a matter of who turns nominations into trophies under the MGM lights.
American Music Awards 2026 MGM Grand Garden Arena Las Vegas Queen Latifah Taylor Swift The Life of a Showgirl nominations fan-voted awards Amanda Williams Samantha Michael jewelry SOMBR Dean Karol G KATSEYE Keith Urban Twenty One Pilots Teyana Taylor AXS tickets
Queen Latifah is hosting so I’m already assuming Taylor’s gonna win everything. Like that’s just how these things go.
Wait are fans actually allowed in or is it just “fan-voted” from the internet? I saw AXS tickets mentioned but wasn’t sure if that meant regular people can just go lol. Las Vegas already feels like it’s always happening anyway.
Taylor Swift having 8 nominations sounds fake like she definitely has a team that votes for her. And “Elizabeth Taylor”?? That sounds like an award for the actress not a song. I’m probably misunderstanding but yeah, seems kinda rigged.
The article is kinda all over the place but the glam part is cracking me up. Like eye patches before the makeup gets there?? Also Samantha Michael jewelry?? Never heard of it. Hope Karol G and Twenty One Pilots actually get their moment, because otherwise it’ll just be Swift all night.