AMA’s 50th Anniversary Special Artists: Mariah, Stray Kids, more

Brad Paisley, Chaka Khan, Gladys Knight, Green Day, Jennifer Hudson, Kane Brown, Mariah Carey, RAYE and Stray Kids will perform at the Special for the 50th anniversary of the American Music Awards. The two-hour broadcast airs Sunday, October 6, simultaneously on both coasts from 8:00 PM to 10:00 PM ET/5:00 PM to 7:00 PM PT on CBS and streaming on Paramount+.

The special will also feature performances by 17-time AMA winner Carrie Underwood and former AMA hosts and performers Gloria Estefan and Jennifer Lopez. Jimmy Kimmel, who hosted the AMAs five times between 2003 and 2008, will also make a special appearance. Additional artists and guest appearances to be announced.

The AMAs revealed details about what the performers will do during the show:

Ten-time AMA winner Mariah Carey will perform a medley of hits from her 2005 multi-platinum album The emancipation of Mimi. The performance kicks off the album’s 20th anniversary celebrations.
K-pop stars Stray Kids will make a special performance celebrating the legacy of boy bands at the AMAs.
EGOT recipient Jennifer Hudson will honor 22-time AMA winner Whitney Houston, one of the greatest AMA winners of all time, with an achievement tribute. Hudson also paid tribute to Houston during the 2012 Grammy telecast by performing “I Will Always Love You” – just one day after Houston’s shocking death at the age of 48.
Two-time AMA winner Brad Paisley honors the late Charley Pride, who won two awards at the first AMA show in February 1974 – Favorite Male Country Artist and Favorite Country Album for A sunny day with Charley Pride. Paisley will also perform his new single.
Gladys Knight, a seven-time AMA winner who performed with the Pips on the first show in 1974, returns to the AMA stage for an encore of the group’s historic 1973 hit, “Midnight Train to Georgia.”
Chaka Khan celebrates 50 years of female artists’ achievements at the AMAs with a performance of her 1978 hit “I’m Every Woman.”
Singer-songwriter RAYE will perform the 1966 James Brown classic “It’s A Man’s Man’s Man’s World” following a retrospective on the American Music Award of Merit, given to legends such as Brown, Bing Crosby, Billy Joel, Prince and Whitney Houston .
Three-time AMA winner Green Day will perform their recent hit “Dilemma,” featured on their album Saviorswhich debuted in February and peaked at No. 4 on the Billboard 200.
Five-time AMA winner Kane Brown celebrates country music’s legacy at the AMAs with a performance of classic and current hits.

CBS and Dick Clark Productions (DCP) announced on April 26 that the 2024 AMAs would take place in the October 6 timeslot. It would have been the show’s debut on CBS after nearly 50 years on ABC. Instead, the AMAs franchise debuts on CBS with this anniversary special.

The regular annual AMAs show has been rescheduled for May 2025. It will be the first annual AMAs show since it aired on November 20, 2022, with Wayne Brady as host.

Special for the 50th anniversary of the American Music Awards will feature new performances, artist interviews, special guests and never-before-seen footage from DCP’s extensive archives. The program features thematic highlights from the AMAs show archives, each culminating with an original performance or artist interview. Segments will look back at the evolution of specific artists and genres during the AMAs, as well as awards and performance milestones.

Special for the 50th anniversary of the American Music Awards is produced by Dick Clark Productions. Michael Dempsey is executive producer.

ABC aired an AMA special in honor of the 20th anniversary in 1993. Kenny Rogers presented the two-hour program.

The American Music Awards is the world’s largest fan-voted awards show. Nominees are based on key fan interactions as shown on the Billboard charts – including streaming, album sales, song sales and radio airplay.

The AMAs were created in 1973 by legendary producer Dick Clark as a fan-based alternative to the Grammys.

In December 1973, Clark was working on the first AMAs, which would start on February 19, 1974. The veteran producer knew a little publicity couldn’t hurt, so he found time for an interview with Billboard‘s Bob Kirsch which ran on page one of the December 15, 1973 issue under the headline “ABC-TV Slates Favorite Acts’ Awards February 19.”

At the end of the piece, Clark tried to take the long view of his fledgling show, saying, “If this is done right, we might have a show that will last twenty years and finally involve the general public in popular music awards.” ”

Clark underestimated the lifespan of his own creation. Next year’s AMAs will be the 51st. (There were two shows in 2003 and none at all in 2023 or 2024.)

That first show in 1974 lasted only 90 minutes. It has been allotted three hours for years, although the length of the 2025 show has not been announced. For its first five years, the show had a tight focus on three broad genres: pop/rock, soul/R&B and country. It now recognizes many more genres, including hip hop, Latin, inspirational, gospel, Afrobeats and K-pop.

But for the most part, the vision Clark outlined to Kirsch in 1973 still defines the show.

“This is probably the first time that there has been a major effort to sample American public music taste through popular vote. … So far we have received extremely positive responses from those in the music industry we have spoken to about the show. They seem excited about the opportunity to be honored by the music-buying public.”

DCP is owned by Penske Media Eldridge, a subsidiary of Penske Media Corporation (PMC) and a joint venture between PMC and Eldrige. PMC is the parent company of Billboard.