MAIN Art & ... Pop Culture American Music Awards

It was an early Thanksgiving treat for pop music fans in 2011 as the fan-voted AMA Awards returned to air on ABC on Sunday, November 20 at 8 p.m. ET live from the Nokia Theatre in L.A.

2011 AMA Nominees

Adele led all nominations for the 39th annual American Music Awards, which were announced in October. The UK singing sensation with her newest album, "21," (topping the charts as the biggest-selling album of the year), was nominated for artist of the year, favorite female artist, favorite album, and favorite adult contemporary artist.

Taylor Swift, Lady Gaga, Lil Wayne, Katy Perry, Rihanna and the Band Perry scored three nominations apiece.

Receiving two nods each were Pitbull and Nicki Minaj, Beyonce, Bruno Mars, Chris Brown, LMFAO, Kanye West and Jason Aldean.

On awards night, live appearances by Justin Bieber, Katy Perry, Kelly Clarkson, Mary J. Blige, Christina Aguilera, Jennifer Lopez, Pitbull and Maroon 5, were joined by more onstage performances by LMFAO, Chris Brown and Marc Anthony.

All about the AMAs

Every year, the American Music Awards honors the current crop of pop music megastars ranging from country-western, Latin...to rock n' roll, rap, rhythm & blues.

The very first AMA crystal trophy went to singer Roberta Flack in 1973. Since then, stars from every spectrum of the music scene have been recognized in more than 20 award categories.

Today, the awards are usually decided by an interactive online poll — where fans get to pick the winner at ama.abc.com.

More about the AMAs around the Web:

Check out winners past and present - along with photos, trivia and more about the annual American Music Awards telecast ...

American Music Awards - The official ABC Television site with the complete schedule, online voting, plus lists of performers and presenters, photo galleries, and a look back at past awards.

American Music Awards - Wikipedia - The entire history of the AMAs from 1973, including a an overview of the politics and gossip surrounding the awards.

2011 American Music Award Nominees & Winners *

Artist of the Year
* Taylor Swift
Adele
Lady Gaga
Katy Perry
Lil Wayne

Pop or Rock Music: Favorite Female Artist
* Adele
Katy Perry
Lady Gaga

Pop or Rock Music: Favorite Male Artist
* Bruno Mars
Justin Bieber
Pitbull

Pop or Rock Music: Favorite Band, Duo or Group
* Maroon 5
LMFAO
OneRepublic

Pop or Rock Album
* Adele - 21
Rihanna - Loud
Lady Gaga - Born This Way

Rap/Hip-Hop Music: Favorite Artist
* Nicki Minaj
Lil Wayne
Kanye West

Rap/Hip-Hop Album
* Nicki Minaj - Pink Friday
Lil Wayne - Tha Carter IV
The Throne - Watch the Throne

Soul/R&B Music: Favorite Male Artist
* Usher
Chris Brown
Trey Songz

Soul/R&B Music: Favorite Female Artist
* Beyoncé
Rihanna
Kelly Rowland

Soul/R&B Album
* Rihanna - Loud
Chris Brown - F.A.M.E.
Beyoncé - 4

Alternative Rock Music: Favorite Artist
* Foo Fighters
Black Keys
Mumford & Sons

Adult Contemporary Music: Favorite Artist
* Adele
Bruno Mars
Katy Perry

Latin Music: Favorite Artist
* Jennifer Lopez
Pitbull
Enrique Iglesias

Country Music: Favorite Female Artist
* Taylor Swift
Sara Evans
Miranda Lambert

Country Music: Favorite Male Artist
* Blake Shelton
Jason Aldean
Brad Paisley

Country Music: Favorite Band, Duo or Group
* Lady Antebellum
Zac Brown Band
The Band Perry

Country Music: Favorite Album
* Taylor Swift - Speak Now
Jason Aldean - My Kinda Party
The Band Perry - The Band Perry

also see -> MTV Video Music Awards

2011 Oscar Buzz | People's Choice Awards