Lionel Richie gets American Music Award nomination

It's the 40th anniversary of the American Music Awards, a show started by Dick Clark as an alternative to the Grammys in 1973.

The difference between the two awards is that the Grammys are voted on by industry members whereas the AMA's are voted by the people.

As always, the AMA's salute the biggest selling artists in a variety of genres and, usually, the fans pick the flavor of the moment at the time of voting. That's why it is very rare for a veteran artist to make the cut.

This year, Lionel Richie actually made the cut, in the country category, for his smash album Tuskeegee.

Overall, Nicki Minaj and Rihanna lead the nominations with four each while Drake, Justin Bieber, Maroon 5, One Direction and Usher have three each and Carrie Underwood, Chris Brown, fun., Gotye, J.Cole, Katy Perry, Kelly Clarkson, Luke Bryan and Pitbull each have two.

The awards will be given out on November 18 at the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles and broadcast on ABC.

The 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

Believe - Justin Bieber
Overexposed - Maroon 5
Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded - Nicki Minaj
Up All Night - One Direction

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

Tailgates & Tanlines - Luke Bryan
Tuskegee - Lionel Richie
Blown Away - Carrie Underwood

FAVORITE ARTIST – RAP/HIP-HOP

Drake
Nicki Minaj
Tyga

FAVORITE ALBUM – RAP/HIP-HOP

Cole World: The Sideline Story - J. Cole
Take Care - Drake
Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded - Nicki Minaj

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

Fortune - Chris Brown
Talk That Talk - Rihanna
Looking 4 Myself - Usher

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