Nicki Minaj and Rihanna tops America Music Awards Nominations

Rihanna and Nicki Minaj

Nicki Minaj and Rihanna secured four American Music Awards nominations each Tuesday as voting booths were opened to the public for the 40th anniversary of the awards show. Christina Aguilera, the first announced performer on the show, joined producers to announce the nominations Tuesday at the J.W. Marriott Los Angeles in the L.A. Live complex, adjacent to the Nokia Theater where the event will be held on Nov. 18. Among the artists securing multiple nominations were Drake, Justin Bieber, Maroon 5, One Direction and Usher with three each, and Carrie Underwood, Chris Brown, Fun, Gotye, J. Cole, Katy Perry, Kelly Clarkson, Luke Bryan and Pitbull with two apiece. Awards will be handed out in 20 categories including a new one, Electronic Dance Music, where the nominees are David Guetta, Calvin Harris and Skrillex.

Rihanna, Bieber, Drake, Maroon 5 and Billboard's Woman of the Year, Katy Perry, are up for the top AMA prize, Artist of the Year. Cole, fun., Gotye, Carly Rae Jepsen and One Direction are the New Artist of the Year contenders. Besides being the AMAs' 40th anniversary, it will be the first show since the death of the show's creator Dick Clark. Producer Larry Klein, who had worked with Clark since the first edition, says the show will be filled with clips from throughout its history in addition to presenting about 17 live performances.

"Terrific performances, outrageous acceptance speeches -- those moments when you feel strong emotion," Klein said, noting that the entire three-hour show would be a tribute to Clark. Having spent time in the Dick Clark Productions archives, Klein rattled off a few highlights: A Paul McCartney interview filmed in Jamaica in 1982 as part of a Stevie Wonder tribute; Whitney Houston in 1994; Eddie Murphy and Michael Jackson.

Winners will be determined by online voting at the Coca-Cola AMA voting website, amavote.com, as well as AMA.abc.com. Leading up to the awards, Lance Bass, Kimberly Cole, and Megan Turney will be the hosts of a weekly web series, "AMAs On Demand," that will be posted on YouTube and ABC.com.

List of 2012 American Music Awards Nominees:

ARTIST OF THE YEAR
Justin Bieber 
Drake 
Maroon 5 
Katy Perry 
Rihanna

NEW ARTIST OF THE YEAR
J. Cole 
fun. 
Gotye 
Carly Rae Jepsen 
One Direction

FAVORITE MALE ARTIST - POP/ROCK
Justin Bieber 
Flo Rida 
Pitbull 
Usher

FAVORITE FEMALE ARTIST - POP/ROCK
Kelly Clarkson 
Nicki Minaj 
Katy Perry 
Rihanna

FAVORITE BAND, DUO OR GROUP - POP/ROCK
fun. 
Maroon 5 
One Direction 
The Wanted

FAVORITE ALBUM - POP/ROCK
Justin Bieber, "Believe" 
Maroon 5, "Overexposed" 
Nicki Minaj, "Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded" 
One Direction, "Up All Night"

FAVORITE MALE ARTIST - COUNTRY
Jason Aldean 
Luke Bryan 
Eric Church

FAVORITE FEMALE ARTIST - COUNTRY
Miranda Lambert 
Taylor Swift 
Carrie Underwood

FAVORITE BAND, DUO or GROUP - COUNTRY 
Zac Brown Band 
Lady Antebellum 
Rascal Flatts

FAVORITE ALBUM - COUNTRY
Luke Bryan, "Tailgates & Tanlines" 
Lionel Richie, "Tuskegee" 
Carrie Underwood, "Blown Away"

FAVORITE ARTIST - RAP/HIP-HOP
Drake 
Nicki Minaj 
Tyga

FAVORITE ALBUM - RAP/HIP-HOP
J. Cole, "Cole World: The Sideline Story" 
Drake, "Take Care" 
Nicki Minaj, "Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded"

FAVORITE MALE ARTIST - SOUL/R&B
Chris Brown 
Trey Songz 
Usher

FAVORITE FEMALE ARTIST - SOUL/R&B
Beyoncé 
Mary J. Blige 
Rihanna

FAVORITE ALBUM - SOUL/R&B
Chris Brown, "Fortune" 
Rihanna, "Talk That Talk" 
Usher, "Looking 4 Myself"

FAVORITE ARTIST - ALTERNATIVE ROCK
The Black Keys 
Gotye 
Linkin Park

FAVORITE ARTIST - ADULT CONTEMPORARY
Adele 
Kelly Clarkson 
Train

FAVORITE ARTIST - LATIN
Don Omar 
Pitbull 
Shakira

FAVORITE ARTIST - CONTEMPORARY INSPIRATIONAL
Jeremy Camp 
Newsboys 
tobyMac

FAVORITE ARTIST - ELECTRONIC DANCE MUSIC (EDM)
David Guetta 
Calvin Harris 
Skrillex