AMAs 2016 Winner Predictions: Who Will Win Artist of the Year, Pop/Rock Album & More? [VIDEO]
The 2016 American Music Awards are set to air this Sunday, so let's try to predict which artists might be up on stage accepting trophies.
The AMAs are an annual fan-voted award show that helps determine the best in popular music. Fans have been voting over the past few weeks to help their favorite artist win big, and as usual, the fanbases on Twitter are doing battle.
So who has the best shot of pulling ahead and winning trophies at this year's top AMA categories? Here are our predictions.
Artist of the Year
Justin Bieber
Selena Gomez
Ariana Grande
Rihanna
Carrie Underwood
While Rihanna and Underwood continue to have strong fanbases, they likely won't be enough to overcome the triumvirate of young pop stars Bieber, Gomez and Grande. While Grande has certainly dominated the charts with "Dangerous Woman", "Into You" and "Side to Side", her lack of nominations elsewhere suggest she likely won't take it home. Gomez is always a favorite, but we think Bieber's fanbase combined with his newfound crossover appeal in the industry is strong enough to defeat both pop divas.
We predict: Justin Bieber
Watch out for: Selena Gomez
New Artist of the Year
Alessia Cara
The Chainsmokers
DNCE
Shawn Mendes
Zayn
New Artist of the Year can often be even more intense than Artist of the Year, considering such a win can prove that an artist has great potential for the future. Cara, The Chainsmokers and DNCE have all had top trending hits, but based on the Twitter campaigns, this one is down to Mendes and Zayn. Both fanbases are rabid in their devotion, so it's really a tossup at this point. Ultimately, we are going with Zayn not only because of his One Direction background but because he proved himself to be his own artist in 2016.
We predict: Zayn
Watch out for: Shawn Mendes
Favorite Pop/Rock Male Artist
Justin Bieber
Drake
The Weeknd
Now to the less cutthroat categories. Drake has undoubtedly dominated 2016 with his bestselling album Views, and The Weeknd is coming on strong with songs like "Starboy" and "False Alarm". But the Bieber fanbase is undeniable and we think he will take home another victory here.
We predict: Justin Bieber
Watch out for: Drake
Favorite Pop/Rock Female Artist
Adele
Selena Gomez
Rihanna
Adele is mysteriously missing from the Artist of the Year category, despite massive success with her new album, 25. This, combined with Gomez's strong Twitter fanbase makes us think that the Revival singer could pull off an upset of the British songstress.
We predict: Selena Gomez
Watch out for: Adele
Favorite Pop/Rock Band/Duo/Group
The Chainsmokers
DNCE
Twenty One Pilots
All three bands have had great success this year, though DNCE is probably third in this particular group. If it's down to The Chainsmokers and Twenty One Pilots, we think there are enough rabid fans of the latter compared to the more general fans of the former to propel the "Heathens" band to the top.
We predict: Twenty One Pilots
Watch out for: The Chainsmokers
Favorite Pop/Rock Album
Adele - 25
Justin Bieber - Purpose
Drake - Views
25 and Views have been very successful in their own right, but Bieber fans will likely get Purpose the win, especially considering they've done so twice in the past in this category.
We predict: Purpose
Watch out for: 25
Favorite Pop/Rock Song
Adele - "Hello"
Justin Bieber - "Love Yourself"
Drake feat. Wizkid and Kyla - "One Dance"
These are the exact same artists as the Pop/Rock Album category and while we think "Hello" will put up a good fight, it's going to be hard to knock down "Love Yourself".
We predict: "Love Yourself"
Watch out for: "Hello"
