Fans tuning in for a chance to see their favourite artists at this year’s American Music Awards were left underwhelmed on Monday night, after it became clear that none of the ceremony’s most nominated acts had shown up in person.
Lady Gaga, Taylor Swift, Olivia Dean, Sabrina Carpenter, Morgan Wallen and Alex Warren all landed among the top nominees at the 2026 #AMAs, but as the red carpet rolled out and the show got underway, it was obvious they wouldn’t be making an appearance.
With a noticeably smaller star turnout, it’s easy to understand why viewers felt short-changed—especially with so many major contenders absent from the venue entirely.
The widespread no-shows created a striking gap at the heart of a fan-voted event that typically relies on big-name presence to fuel excitement.
Taylor Swift went into the night as the leading nominee, picking up eight nominations thanks to the chart success of The Life of a Showgirl.
Sabrina Carpenter, Olivia Dean, and country heavyweight Morgan Wallen followed close behind, each earning seven nominations.
But with many headline categories dominated by artists who skipped the trip to Las Vegas, the broadcast played like a major contest without its biggest competitors in the room.
It didn’t take long for complaints to spread online, as #AMAs quickly filled with viewers asking what the point was if the night’s top names weren’t present.
“Why am I staying up to watch an awards show when half of my faves aren’t even there?” questioned one disappointed fan.
Others criticised the show’s “empty energy,” arguing that the low-wattage red carpet set a flat tone that carried through the rest of the night.
To keep momentum inside the MGM Grand Garden Arena, the broadcast leaned heavily on veteran performers and host Queen Latifah, who returned to the AMAs stage 31 years after first hosting in 1995.
Live moments from punk icon Billy Idol—honoured with the Lifetime Achievement Award—along with performances from legacy pop acts like The Pussycat Dolls and New Kids on the Block helped lift the atmosphere somewhat, but didn’t fully silence younger viewers hoping to see today’s biggest hitmakers.
The sparse turnout underlines a broader issue facing major music award shows, which appear to be having a harder time persuading the biggest artists to attend in person.
For the AMAs—an event built around fan participation and public voting—having its top draws treat the ceremony as skippable could be one of the harshest signals about where award-show culture is heading.
Artist of the Year
Album of the Year
Song of the Year