TAYLOR SWIFT TO RECEIVE FIRST EVER
DICK CLARK AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE
AT THE 2014 AMERICAN MUSIC AWARDS®
New Award Will be the AMA’s Highest Honor
Swift Will Open the Show with the World Television Premiere of “Blank Space”
The Show Will Broadcast Live SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 23rd
(8:00-11:00 p.m. ET/PT) on ABC
dick clark productions and ABC announced today that Taylor Swift will be presented with the inaugural “Dick Clark Award for Excellence” at the 2014 American Music Awards. Swift will be recognized for her historical album sales as the only artist in history to have three albums – “Speak Now, “Red” and “1989” — each debuting with more than 1 million sold in their first week. This year, in its first week, “1989” sold 1.287 million copies, making it the highest selling album released in 2014. Swift is the first recipient of the Dick Clark Award for Excellence, given to an artist who achieves a groundbreaking feat or creates a landmark work. It is to be bestowed upon someone whose spirit and excellence capture the visionary passion that Dick Clark himself incorporated into everything he did.
Clark, the creator of the 42-year-old American Music Awards, influenced popular music in America for six decades. He was known for maintaining a standard of excellence both in the shows he produced and in the talent that he showcased. Simultaneously “America’s Oldest Teenager” and the most trusted name in music, Clark was responsible for the first TV appearances of many superstars including Michael Jackson, Madonna and Prince. Taylor Swift, who also made her debut on a Dick Clark Production show, will be honored with this prestigious award with Clark’s wife, Kari, in the audience, along with a theatre full of stars who grew up on Clark’s programs. This promises to be one of the most significant moments in the rich history of the AMA’s.
“The first time Dick saw Taylor perform, he knew she was something special,” said Kari Clark, wife of the late Dick Clark. “He would be thrilled to know she is the first artist to receive the Dick Clark Award for Excellence.”
“The American Music Awards most closely reflects Dick Clark’s philosophy of popular music. It provides a platform for the biggest music artists of the day, with the winners voted on by the fans,” said American Music Awards producer Larry Klein. “Clark always said, ‘Music is the soundtrack of our lives,’ and no one’s recent music has provided a more meaningful soundtrack for the lives of music fans than Taylor Swift.”
Swift will also take to the stage to open the show with the world television premiere performance of her new single “Blank Space”. She joins a line-up of must-see artists including 5 Seconds of Summer, Mary J. Blige, Garth Brooks, Charli XCX, Fergie, Selena Gomez, Ariana Grande, Imagine Dragons, Jessie J, Lil Wayne, Lorde, Magic!, Nicki Minaj, One Direction, Sam Smith, and the evening’s host, Pitbull. Additional stars slated to present throughout the evening include Uzo Aduba, Jhene Aiko, Elizabeth Banks, Aloe Blacc, Lauren Cohan, Gavin DeGraw, Ansel Elgort, Jamie Foxx, Becky G, Brantley Gilbert, Danai Gurira, Lucy Hale, Ella Henderson, Julianne Hough, Kendall Jenner, Kylie Jenner, Kira Kazantsev, Heidi Klum, Mary Lambert, Rose McGowan, Danica McKellar, Pat Monahan, Olivia Munn, Kevin O’Leary, Pentatonix, Tracee Ellis Ross, Taylor Schilling and Meghan Trainor. The 2014 American Music Awards will broadcast live from the NOKIA Theatre L.A. LIVE on SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 23rd (8:00-11:00 p.m. ET/PT) on ABC. Additional performers and presenters will be announced soon.
Taylor Swift is the only artist in history to have three million-selling weeks (2010’s Speak Now, 2012’s RED and 2014’s 1989) and the only artist to have two singles hit No. 1 on Billboards HOT 100 Chart this year. Taylor is a global superstar and seven-time GRAMMY winner, and the youngest winner in history of the music industry’s highest honor, the GRAMMY Award for Album of the Year. She is the first artist since the Beatles (and the only female artist in history) to log six or more weeks at #1 in the U.S. with three consecutive studio albums. Taylor has an album on Rolling Stone’s prestigious The 50 Greatest Albums of All Time (by women) list, Time magazine has named her one the of the 100 Most Influential People in the world, and she is Billboard’s youngest-ever Woman of the Year and the only artist to have been awarded this honor twice. Taylor has career record sales in excess of 30 million albums and more than 80 million song downloads worldwide, and has had singles top both the pop and country radio charts around the globe. Taylor’s album RED, released two years ago, sold more than 1.2 million copies in the U.S. in its first week. The only other album to sell more than RED was her critically acclaimed fifth studio album, 1989, the highest selling release since 2002 and the only album to go platinum in 2014. 1989 sold almost 1.3 million albums release week topping Billboard’s Top 200 charts and iTunes’ sales charts in 95 countries on its release. 1989 has sold almost three million copies globally and tops Billboard Top 200 for a third week. “Shake It Off,” the first single from 1989, topped Billboard’s Pop, HotAC and Hot 100 charts and has earned double Platinum-status by the RIAA for exceeding sales of two million downloads in the U.S. Her current single “Blank Space,” immediately skyrocketed to the top of the Hot 100 and iTunes chart on its debut.
NOKIA Theatre L.A. LIVE on SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 23rd (8:00-11:00 p.m. ET/PT) on ABC. Additional performers and presenters will be announced soon.
The 2014 American Music Award nominations were announced last month, revealing six nominations for Iggy Azalea–the most of any artist. Other top contenders include John Legend, Katy Perry and Pharrell Williams, who each earned five nominations, and Lorde who earned four.
As always at the American Music Awards, artists will be honored in the genres of Pop/Rock, Country, Rap/Hip-Hop, Soul/R&B, Alternative Rock, Adult Contemporary, Latin, Contemporary Inspirational, Electronic Dance Music, as well as categories for Top Soundtrack, New Artist of the Year Presented by Kohl’s, Artist of the Year and Single of the Year. For a full list of nominees visit AMAvote.com.
American Music Awards nominees are based on key fan interactions as reflected in Billboard Magazine and on Billboard.com, including album and digital singles sales, radio airplay, streaming and social activity. These measurements are tracked by Billboard and its data partners, including Nielsen Entertainment and Next Big Sound.
The American Music Awards is voted on by the fans. Winners will be determined through online and Twitter voting. Voting began on October 13 for all categories except New Artist of the Year Presented by Kohl’s. Fans can vote once per day at the Coca-Cola AMA voting site, AMAvote.com, as well as once per day via Twitter by including the nominee’s name, category name and #AMAs within a tweet.
Voting for New Artist of the Year Presented by Kohl’s opened on November 1 and will remain open throughout the first hour of the ABC live broadcast on November 23, with the winner being announced in the final hour. Fans can vote via AMAVote.com and Twitter.
Preceding the ABC broadcast for the 6th consecutive year will be the “Coca-Cola Red Carpet LIVE! @ The 2014 AMAs” pre-show. The show will be hosted by Lance Bass, Chelsea Briggs, Kandi Burruss, Gavin DeGraw, Franke Grande, Taryn Manning, Jordin Sparks, Morgan Stewart and Ted Stryker, and will feature performances by this year’s hottest emerging artists including Becky G, Ella Henderson, Katy Tiz, Mary Lambert and R5. Live coverage will stream online for fans worldwide starting at 5:00 p.m. ET / 2:00 p.m. PT on November 23. The live stream can be watched at ABC.com, TheAMAs.com and yahoo.com.
Once the show starts, the full digital experience kicks into high gear on ABC.com and the WATCH ABC app for smartphones and tablets. Sponsored by Kohl’s®, the “AMAs Backstage Live” on WATCH ABC is designed to be the ultimate complement to the live telecast. Beginning at 8:00 PM ET, WATCH ABC viewers nationwide can choose between four different live feeds that deliver insider viewpoints into all the action happening on the show and backstage: Kohl’s Director’s Cut, Backstage and the Press Room. Verified pay TV viewers in New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Houston, Fresno, Raleigh-Durham and Philadelphia can also access a live stream of the full awards show as part of WATCH ABC’s regular service. Once aired, the full show will be available on demand via WATCH ABC for 14 days.
The 2014 American Music Awards partners include Cumulus, Music Choice, Shazam, Time Warner Cable and Yahoo.
The 2014 American Music Awards is produced by dick clark productions. Allen Shapiro and Mike Mahan are Executive Producers. Barry Adelman and Mark Bracco are Co-Executive Producers and Larry Klein is producer.
For the latest American Music Awards news, exclusive content and more, be sure to follow the AMAs on social and join the conversation by using the official hashtag for the show, #AMAs.
Twitter: @TheAMAs
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Tickets are now on sale at www.axs.com.
About the American Music Awards
The American Music Awards features performances from today’s hottest artists and presents fan-voted awards in the categories of Pop/Rock, Alternative Rock, Country, Rap/Hip-Hop, Soul/R&B, Adult Contemporary, Contemporary Inspirational, Latin, EDM, Soundtrack, Single of The Year, New Artist of the Year Presented by Kohl’s, and Artist of the Year. The American Music Awards pays tribute to today’s most influential and iconic artists. The show is produced by dick clark productions and is seen in more than 160 countries around the world. For more information, visit www.theamas.com, www.dickclark.com or abc.go.com/shows/american-music-awards.
About dick clark productions
dick clark productions (dcp) is among the world’s largest producers and proprietors of televised live event programming. dcp produces perennial hits such as the “American Music Awards,” “Golden Globe Awards,” “Academy of Country Music Awards,” “Billboard Music Awards,” and “Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest.” Weekly television programming, includes “So You Think You Can Dance” from 19 Entertainment, a division of CORE Media Group, and dick clark productions; as well as “Rising Star” and the upcoming “Boom!” from Keshet DCP, the joint venture between Keshet International (KI), the global distribution and production arm of Keshet Media Group, and DC Media, the parent company of dick clark productions (dcp). In 2014, dcp will debut the “American Country Countdown Awards” (FOX), “Hollywood Film Awards (CBS) and “The PEOPLE MAGAZINE Awards” (NBC). dcp also owns one of the world’s most unique and extensive entertainment archive libraries with more than 55 years of dcp’s award-winning shows, historic programs, specials, performances, and legendary programming. For additional information, visit www.dickclark.com.