AMAs roll out performer list

The American Music Awards are doing the slow-drip thing again — and now the 2026 performer list has another name on it. Teddy Swims was added on Tuesday, May 5, joining a lineup that already includes KATSEYE, Benson Boone, Blake Shelton, Gloria Estefan, Gwen Stefani, Lainey Wilson, Reneé Rapp, and Twenty One Pilots. The show itself lands on Monday, May 25, live from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, with Queen Latifah hosting on CBS and Paramount+. (billboard.com) ### Who’s been announced so far? As of May 6, the confirmed performers are KATSEYE, Benson Boone, Blake Shelton, Gloria Estefan, Gwen Stefani, Lainey Wilson, Reneé Rapp, Twenty One Pilots, and Teddy Swims. That’s the actual list that matters right now — not a full lineup, just the names organizers have released so far. Billboard’s running list makes clear that more acts are still coming. (billboard.com) ### Why is Teddy Swims the new piece of news? Because he’s the latest addition. His name was announced May 5, which means the performer rollout is still actively moving, not a one-and-done press dump from weeks ago. Swims is also tied into the awards itself — he’s nominated for collaboration of the year for “Gone Gone Gone” with David Guetta and Tones and I — so his booking fits the usual awards-show logic of mixing current nominees with broader crowd appeal. (billboard.com) ### Why are the AMAs revealing names in stages? Basically, because it keeps the show in the conversation longer. One giant performer list gives you one splashy headline. A staggered release gives you a string of smaller headlines, each one nudging fans back toward the event. You can see that pattern already — KATSEYE was announced earlier, Twenty One Pilots followed on May 4, and Teddy Swims came next on May 5. (yahoo.com) ### When and where is the show? The 52nd American Music Awards will air live coast-to-coast on Memorial Day, Monday, May 25, 2026, at 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT. It’s coming from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, which is a venue shift from last year’s Fontainebleau Las Vegas show. That matters because the AMAs are clearly sticking with the Memorial Day positioning and with Las Vegas, but they’re still tweaking the production setup. (billboard.com) ### Who’s hosting this year? Queen Latifah. That part was announced earlier in April, and it gives the broadcast a host with real AMAs history — she previously co-hosted the show in 1995. So this isn’t a random celebrity plug-in. It’s more of a legacy move, but one that still feels broad enough for a mainstream network audience. (billboard.com)und the show? Taylor Swift leads the 2026 nominations with eight nods. Morgan Wallen, Olivia Dean, Sabrina Carpenter, and sombr follow with seven each. That doesn’t tell you who will perform, but it does tell you what kind of year the AMAs think they’re reflecting — a mix of giant legacy-pop visibility and newer breakout names. (b([billboard.com)ld you expect next? More performer announcements, almost certainly in waves. The current list is substantial enough to sell the idea of the show, but not complete enough to feel finished. That’s the point. The AMAs are using the lineup itself as a countdown mechanism. (billboard.com) Th(billboard.com) addition, and the real story is that the rollout is still underway. If you’re tracking the show, the list is not done yet.