Queen Latifah to host 2026 AMAs

Queen Latifah is set to host the 52nd American Music Awards on Monday, May 25, returning to a ceremony she previously co-hosted in 1995 and taking the solo emcee role this time. Billboard and The Hollywood Reporter published interviews and reports on May 20 and May 21 confirming her role ahead of the Las Vegas telecast. The show will air live from the MGM Grand Garden Arena on CBS and Paramount+, according to the AMAs’ official site. The booking puts Latifah at the center of one of the show’s main pre-broadcast announcements as producers continue to roll out performers and special guests. ### How unusual is this hosting assignment for Queen Latifah? Billboard reported that Latifah will become the first person to have solo-hosted both the Grammys and the American Music Awards when she takes the stage on May 25. The publication said she previously hosted the Grammys in 2005 and co-hosted the AMAs in 1995 with Tom Jones and Lorrie Morgan. (billboard.com) The Hollywood Reporter said the new assignment comes more than 30 years after Latifah’s first AMA hosting appearance. That outlet described the 2026 show as her chance to “go it alone” after the earlier co-hosting stint. ### What has Latifah said she wants the show to feel like? The Hollywood Reporter quoted Latifah saying an awards show should be a place where viewers and artists “should be able to have fun.” The same interview said she wanted the telecast to stay centered on the music rather than drift too far from the reason people tune in. (billboard.com) (hollywoodreporter.com) Billboard framed that approach with a separate line from Latifah: “All roads lead back to music for me.” That emphasis matched the AMAs’ positioning of the event as a multi-genre live show built around performances, fan voting and major artist appearances. ### Where and when is the 2026 ceremony happening? The American Music Awards said the 52nd edition will air live on Memorial Day, Monday, May 25, 2026, from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas at 8 p.m. (hollywoodreporter.com) ET and 5 p.m. PT. CBS and Dick Clark Productions announced the date and venue in March, and the AMAs site later repeated those details in ticketing and artist-announcement posts. (billboard.com) Billboard and The Hollywood Reporter both tied Latifah’s hosting role to that Las Vegas broadcast. Billboard also said the MGM Grand Garden Arena is the largest venue in the show’s history. ### Who else is already attached to the broadcast? The AMAs announced on May 20 that BTS will make a “special appearance” at the show, which the organization described as the group’s first award-show appearance in four years. (theamas.com) That announcement named Latifah as host and repeated the May 25 live-broadcast details. The AMAs lineup page, published May 21, lists performers including Billy Idol, Busta Rhymes, Hootie & the Blowfish, KAROL G, KATSEYE, Keith Urban, Maluma, New Kids on the Block, Riley Green, SOMBR, Teddy Swims, Teyana Taylor, the Pussycat Dolls and Twenty One Pilots, alongside BTS as a special appearance. (billboard.com) An earlier AMAs release on May 7 had already named several of those performers. ### What had already been set before the host interviews landed? (theamas.com) The AMAs said nominations were announced on April 14, with fan voting opening the same day and closing on May 8. Ticket sales were announced in March through AXS, with presale and general on-sale dates released before the latest host and lineup interviews. Monday, May 25, is the next milestone. (theamas.com) The 52nd American Music Awards will air live from Las Vegas on CBS and Paramount+, with Queen Latifah hosting and BTS scheduled for a special appearance. (theamas.com 1) (theamas.com 2)