Cardi B attends the 2018 American Music Awards at Microsoft Theater on Oct. 9, 2018 in Los Angeles.
Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images For dcpCardi 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.
NEWS
Mustard has seemingly hit back at comments from Drake‘s producer Gordo, with a little help from JAY-Z.
Gordo, who worked on several Drizzy albums including $ome $exy $ongs 4 U, For All the Dogs and Honestly, Nevermind, called out the “Not Like Us” hitmaker this week after noticing that he was no longer following him on social media.
“omg just noticed mustard unfollowed me on ig…. Sad day,” he wrote sarcastically on X. “headlining chella must of got to his head.”
Despite unfollowing Gordo, Mustard appeared to catch wind of his post and issued a snarky yet subliminal response on Instagram.
Alongside a caption which read: “We not the same,” the producer posted a video of JAY-Z in an interview saying: “Are you kidding me? Who are you guys talking to? What have you done to even have an opinion on what I been doing? You done nothing to even have an opinion.”
Swipe below to see the clip.
Mustard hasn’t exactly been quiet about his disdain for Drake throughout the 6 God’s beef with Kendrick Lamar which erupted last year.
The multi-platinum producer and DJ graced the stage at Tyler, The Creator‘s Camp Flog Gnaw last November, where he surprised the crowd by appearing to cue up Drizzy’s Take Care hit “Crew Love” with The Weeknd.
Before the song could kick into gear, however, Mustard jumped on the mic and yelled, “Sike!” before quickly pivoting to Kendrick, Future and Metro Boomin‘s “Like That,” the blistering collaboration that ignited the heated feud between the Hip Hop titans.
In an interview with the Los Angeles Times months earlier, the 10 Summers hitmaker took a shot at Drake’s character while ruling out a reunion with his “Who Do You Love?” collaborator.
“I don’t think I want to make a song with that dude. He’s a strange guy,” he said matter-of-factly.
Mustard would also offer Drake some advice on how to bounce back from the beef, saying to Big Boy: “I’m not speaking at Drake or for him, but a lot of shit that’s going on — the tactics, the things that you do just to get attention. You don’t need to do that. Just make music, man. Make good music and you’ll be fine.”
Mustard also made a surprise appearance during Kendrick Lamar’s historic Super Bowl halftime show performance, joining the Compton superstar for his climactic rendition of “TV Off” which he also produced.
