Cardi B will host the 2021 American Music Awards, which are set to air live from the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles on Sunday, Nov. 21.
A five-time AMA winner, Cardi has three nominations at this year’s show – favorite female hip-hop artist and two nods for “Up” as favorite music video and favorite hip-hop song.
Cardi joins a long line of hip-hop stars to host or co-host the AMAs. Others include M.C. Hammer (1992), Will Smith (1994), Queen Latifah (1995), LL Cool J (2001), Sean Combs (2002) and Pitbull (2013-14).
This is the fifth consecutive year that a Black female star will front the AMAs. Cardi B follows actress Tracee Ellis Ross (2017-18), R&B star Ciara (2019) and actress Taraji P. Henson (2020).
Cardi, 29, performed “I Like It” at the 2018 AMAs with J Balvin and Bad Bunny. The smash went on to receive a Grammy nomination for record of the year. Last year, Cardi became the first female rapper to win favorite hip-hop song twice. (The category was introduced in 2016.) She had won in that category in 2018 with her breakthrough smash “Bodak Yellow” and won again last year with “WAP” (featuring Megan Thee Stallion).
“When I received the invite to host the AMAs, I was so excited,“ Cardi B said in a statement. “I’m ready to bring my personality to the AMAs stage! Thank you to Jesse Collins, ABC and MRC for making this happen.”
“We are immensely excited to have the dynamic Cardi B bring her infectious energy to the American Music Awards as a first-time host,” said AMAs executive producer Collins. “She will excite the viewers, push the limits and deliver a show that will be remembered forever!”
Nominees are based on key fan interactions – as reflected on the Billboard charts – including streaming, album sales, song sales and radio airplay. These measurements are tracked by Billboard and its data partner MRC Data, and cover the time period Sept. 25, 2020, through Sept. 23, 2021.
The 2021 American Music Awards is produced by MRC Live & Alternative and Jesse Collins Entertainment.
As the world’s largest fan-voted awards show, the AMAs will air globally across a footprint of linear and digital platforms in over 120 countries and territories.
The show will air live from the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles on Nov. 21, at 8:00 p.m. EST/PST on ABC and will stream the next day on Hulu.
Voting is now open and this year. For the first time ever, fans can vote for all AMA categories, once per category per day, globally on TikTok by searching for “AMAs” in-app. They can also access the voting hub by clicking here.
Tickets are now on sale now at www.axs.com.
