Alicia Keys leads American Music Award nominees
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - R&B singer Alicia Keys picked up five nominations for the American Music Awards, while rock bands Coldplay and the Eagles scored four each, organizers said on Tuesday.
All three will compete for artist of the year, alongside rapper Lil Wayne and R&B star Chris Brown, who have three nominations each.
The 36th annual American Music Awards will be held at the Nokia Theater in Los Angeles on November 23, with comedian Jimmy Kimmel returning as host. ABC will broadcast in the United States. Scheduled performers include teen idols the Jonas Brothers, pop singer Pink and reunited boy band New Kids on the Block.
For the second year, winners will be determined by online voting. They used to be decided by a poll of 20,000 music buyers, but producers decided to make the event more inclusive in the wake of slumping ratings. The move seemed to work, with last year's show attracting 11.8 million viewers, up from 10.9 million the year before.
Keys was recognized for her album, "As I Am," which opened at No. 1 on the U.S. pop chart last November. It was cited for favorite album in the pop/rock and soul/R&B categories, and she was nominated for favorite artist in both those categories.
Coldplay and the Eagles will also go head-to-head for both favorite artist and favorite album in the pop/rock category. Additionally, Coldplay was cited for favorite alternative artist, and the Eagles for favorite adult contemporary artist.
Coldplay ruled the charts for two weeks during the summer with their fifth album, "Viva La Vida Or Death And All His Friends," and the Eagles went to the top last November with their first album in 27 years, "Long Road Out of Eden."
(Reporting by Dean Goodman; Editing by Jill Serjeant)
