MAIN Art & ... Pop Culture American Music Awards

There's an early Thanksgiving treat in store for pop music fans in 2009 as the fan-voted AMA Awards return to air live on Sunday, November 22 at 8 p.m. ET from the Nokia Theatre in L.A.

American Idol alums Paul Abdul and Adam Lambert were joined by Snoop Dogg to officially announce the AMA nominees on Tuesday, October 13, 2009.

This year, leading the pack were Taylor Swift with 6 nods, followed by Michael Jackson with five, and Eminem with four AMA nominations.

On the big night, live performances featured Janet Jackson, comeback artist of the year Whitney Houston, along with Rihanna, Green Day, Shakira, Mary J. Blige, Daughtry, Keith Urban, Lady Gaga, Eminem, Jay-Z, Alicia Keys, Jennifer Lopez, The Black Eyed Peas, Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood, and Adam Lambert.

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.

For the third year running, the awards were decided by an interactive online poll — where fans get to pick the winner. This year's online polls to vote for favorite American music artists were found at ama.abc.com.

Meanwhile, 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, a look back at the 2008 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.

2009 American Music Award Nominees & * Winners

POP or ROCK MUSIC

Favorite Male Artist
* Michael Jackson
Eminem
T.I.

Favorite Female Artist
* Taylor Swift
Beyonce
Lady Gaga

Favorite Band, Duo or Group
* Black Eyed Peas
Kings of Leon
Nickelback

Favorite Album
* Michael Jackson, Number Ones
Lady Gaga, Fame
Taylor Swift, Fearless

COUNTRY MUSIC

Favorite Male Artist
* Keith Urban
Jason Aldean
Darius Rucker

Favorite Female Artist
* Taylor Swift
Reba McEntire
Carrie Underwood

Favorite Band, Duo or Group
* Rascal Flatts
Sugarland
Zac Brown Band

Favorite Album
* Taylor Swift / Fearless
Rascal Flatts/ Unstoppable
Zac Brown Band / Foundation

RAP/HIP-HOP MUSIC

Favorite Male Artist
* Jay-Z
Eminem
T. I.

Favorite Album
* Jay-Z / Blueprint 3
Eminem / Relapse
T.I. / Paper Trail

SOUL/RHYTHM & BLUES MUSIC

Favorite Male Artist
* Michael Jackson
Jamie Foxx
Maxwell

Favorite Female Artist
* Beyonce
Keyshia Cole
Keri Hilson

Favorite Band, Duo or Group
* Black Eyed Peas
Day26
Mary Mary

SOUNDTRACKS

Favorite Album
* Twilight Soundtrack
Hannah Montana: The Movie
Hannah Montana 3

ALTERNATIVE ROCK MUSIC

Favorite Artist
* Green Day
Kings of Leon
Shinedown

ADULT CONTEMPORARY MUSIC
Favorite Artist
*Taylor Swift
Daughtry
Jason Mraz

LATIN MUSIC

Favorite Artist
* Aventura
Luis Fonsi
Wisin Y Yandel

CONTEMPORARY INSPIRATIONAL

Favorite Artist
* Mary Mary
Jeremy Camp
Brandon Heath

ARTIST OF THE YEAR

* Country - Taylor Swift
Alternative - Kings of Leon
Pop/Rock - Lady Gaga
Rap/Hip-Hop - Eminem
Soul/R&B - Michael Jackson

also see -> MTV Video Music Awards

2009 Oscar Buzz | People's Choice Awards