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.
At the BTS concert in Tokyo on Friday (April 17), j-hope opened up to ARMY with heartbreaking news. His grandmother, who played a major role in raising him and had always been proud of his journey with the group, has passed away.
Speaking to the packed crowd at the Tokyo Dome, the K-pop star chose to be open with fans about what he was going through. “Honestly, this might be a bit of a heavy thing to share, but I really wanted to express how I’m feeling today,” he said, translated from Korean into English. “Right after we arrived in Japan, I got the news that my maternal grandmother, the one who raised me from when I was little, had passed away.”
“I felt completely stunned and did not really know how to process it at first, but being around the members, sitting down together for meals, and focusing on rehearsals helped me more than I thought it would,” j-hope went on. “My grandmother was always incredibly proud, not just of me but of all the members. She truly believed in what we do. So I feel like if she was watching from above today, she would have loved every second of it.”
He closed by thanking the audience for making his first performance after the loss feel meaningful and full of support.
BTS are currently touring in support of their new album ARIRANG, which has just earned a third week at No. 1 on the Billboard 200. Following three opening shows in Goyang, South Korea, the group is set to perform twice at the Tokyo Dome before heading abroad for the North American leg. Before the tour wraps in March next year, they will also visit Latin America, Europe, Australia, and several other regions across Asia.
On the same day as the first Tokyo concert, j-hope’s solo interview with Rolling Stone was released. During the conversation, he spoke about stepping into a leadership presence within the group. “I think that’s my role on the team,” he shared. “It just comes naturally. It feels strange to even call it a role, but I just try to handle things as they come and support the other members in any way I can.”
Additional reporting from Billboard Korea.
