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The 2022 American Music Awards will take place on Nov. 20. This year, the field for Artist of the Year at the upcoming music award show is extremely competitive. Here are Showbiz Cheat Sheet’s predictions for Artist of the Year at the 2022 AMAs.

Taylor Swift smiles and holds an American Music Award trophy on stage
Taylor Swift | Kevin Mazur/AMA2019/Getty Images for dcp

A look at the nominees for Artist of the Year at the 2022 AMAs

The Artist of the Year award is the most prestigious category at the AMAs. The AMAs are fan-voted, meaning fans can have a say in selecting the winners. Voting for the 2022 AMAs closed on Nov. 14.

As a refresher, here are the nominees for Artist of the Year at the 2022 AMAs.

2022 Artist of the Year nominees:

  • Adele
  • Bad Bunny
  • Beyoncé
  • Drake
  • Harry Styles
  • Taylor Swift
  • the Weeknd

Taylor Swift is the front-runner for Artist of the Year

In AMAs history, Swift is the most-awarded nominee in the Artist of the Year category. The singer has won Artist of the Year six times, most recently in 2020.

Swift won Artist of the Year in 2009, 2011, 2013, 2018, 2019, and 2020. She has been nominated for the award nine times and received nominations in 2009, 2011, 2013, 2015, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, and 2022.

The singer set a record in the category by winning the award three years in a row and being nominated four years in a row.

Following the release of her re-recorded album Red (Taylor’s Version) and new studio album Midnights, Swift is more popular than ever.

According to Ticketmaster, Swift’s upcoming The Eras Tour received so much interest she could sell out “900 stadium shows.”

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Who else could win Artist of the Year at the 2022 AMAs?

If Swift doesn’t take home the top prize, the Artist of the Year category is so competitive that there are numerous artists who could win the award.

Beyoncé seems poised to be the artist who is the next most-likely winner of Artist of the Year. While Beyoncé has never won Artist of the Year, she has three nominations and was nominated for the award in 2006, 2014, and 2022.

On July 29, Beyoncé released her seventh studio album Renaissance. The album has received acclaim and topped music charts. Meanwhile, anticipation for Beyoncé’s 2023 tour is high.

Looking at the other nominees, Bad Bunny and Adele seem poised to pull an upset over Swift or Beyoncé.

While Adele is incredibly popular with the general public, her 2021 album 30 did not perform as well as some of her past albums.

Bad Bunny has only become more popular over the years, and his 2022 album Un Verano Sin Ti is the first Spanish-language album to receive a nomination for Album of the Year at the Grammy Awards. However, it is unclear if Bad Bunny’s rising popularity is enough to beat Swift who has previously dominated the Artist of the Year category.

The 2022 AMAs will premiere on ABC at 8 p.m. ET.

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