The nominees have been announced for the 2026 ‘American Music Awards‘. As with most U.S. industry awards shows, you will largely find the genres of metal and hard rock overlooked this year when it comes to any of the major categories, such as album of the year, song of the year, etc..
However, there are some familiar faces to be seen among this year’s hopefuls. Alternative metal innovators Deftones, nü-metal superstars Linkin Park, and rising masked British alternative metal band Sleep Token all managed to score nominations this year. Sleep Token‘s elaborate first-ever U.S. headlining tour, with its towering Castle Grayskull-like motif, has also managed to earn a nod on its own in the ‘Breakout Tour’ category.
This year’s winners will be handed out in a ceremony set to be held Monday, May 25th at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, NV. Fan voting is already underway over at voteamas.com. This year’s nominees of note include:
Best Rock/Alternative Artist:
- Deftones
- Linkin Park
- The Marias
- Sleep Token
- Twenty One Pilots
Best Rock/Alternative Song:
- Noah Kahan – “The Great Divide“
- Linkin Park – “Up From The Bottom“
- SOMBR – “back to friends“
- Sublime – “Ensenada“
- Tame Impala – “Dracula“
Best Rock/Alternative Album:
- Sleep Token – “Even In Arcadia‘
- SOMBR – “I Barely Know Her“
- Tame Impala – “Deadbeat“
- Twenty One Pilots – “Breach“
- Zach Bryan – “With Heaven On Top“
Breakout Tour:
- Benson Boone – American Heart World Tour
- Kali Uchis – The Sincerely, Tour
- The Marias – Submarine Tour
- Megan Moroney – Am I Okay? Tour
- Sleep Token – Even In Arcadia Tour
