Nominees for this year's American Music Awards were announced today (September 16th) at the Beverly Hills Hotel in Los Angeles. There is no clear front-runner for this year's awards, with many artists getting two nominations each. Among the artists with two nominations are Norah Jones, Beyonce, Sean Paul, Ashanti, R. Kelly, Luther Vandross, Shania Twain, Eminem, 50 Cent, Celine Dion and Justin Timberlake.

The awards will be presented during a three-hour special on the ABC-TV on Sunday, November 16th at 8:00 p.m. The ceremony will take place at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles and will be hosted by Jimmy Kimmel.

At the nominations announcement, executive producer Dick Clark gave a preview of who will be performing at this year's awards, while keeping some names a secret:"We have probably 18-plus performances on the show this year. Britney Spears, Alan Jackson, Ashanti, Metallica, Hillary Duff, and the rest will be dribbled out piecemeal to you, but -- they're already booked."

Macy Gray and Jimmy Kimmel were both on hand to announce this year's nominees, joking their way through the list: (Gray)"For favorite band, duo or group, the nominees are: B2K, Dru Hill, and the Isley Brothers." (Kimmel)"The Isley Brothers? Dick's still paying off those old payola debts, right?" (Gray)"Whoa!"

Gray and Kimmel joked about the pop/rock nominees: (Gray)"In the pop/ rock category, predominately white people, the nominees for favorite male artist are: Clay Aiken." (Kimmel)"He's white." (Gray)"Kid Rock." (Kimmel) "Extra-white." (Gray)"John Mayer." (Kimmel)"He might even be an albino, I'm not sure." (Gray) "And Justin Timberlake." (Kimmel) "We're not sure about him."

Nominations for the 2003 American Music Awards:

FAVORITE MALE ARTIST - POP OR ROCK 'N ROLL
Clay Aiken
Kid Rock
John Mayer
Justin Timberlake

FAVORITE FEMALE ARTIST - POP OR ROCK 'N ROLL
Celine Dion
Avril Lavigne
Jennifer Lopez

FAVORITE BAND, DUO OR GROUP - POP OR ROCK 'N ROLL
Fleetwood Mac
Matchbox Twenty
3 Doors Down

FAVORITE ALBUM - POP OR ROCK 'N ROLL
Fallen - Evanescence
Come Away With Me - Norah Jones
Cocky - Kid Rock
Justified - Justin Timberlake

FAVORITE MALE ARTISTS - COUNTRY
Kenny Chesney
Alan Jackson
Toby Keith
Tim McGraw

FAVORITE FEMALE ARTIST - COUNTRY
Faith Hill
Martina McBride
Shania Twain

FAVORITE BAND, DUO OR GROUP - COUNTRY
Alabama
Brooks & Dunn
Dixie Chicks

FAVORITE ALBUM - COUNTRY
Unleashed - Toby Keith
Tim McGraw & The Dancehall Doctors - Tim McGraw
Melt - Rascal Flatts
Up! - Shania Twain

FAVORITE MALE ARTIST - HIP-HOP/RHYTHM & BLUES
Ginuwine
Jaheim
R. Kelly
Luther Vandross

FAVORITE FEMALE ARTIST - HIP-HOP/RHYTHM & BLUES
Aaliyah
Ashanti
Beyonce

FAVORITE BAND, DUO OR GROUP - HIP-HOP/RHYTHM & BLUES
B2K
Dru Hill
The Isley Brothers

FAVORITE ALBUM - HIP-HOP/RHYTHM AND BLUES
Chapter II - Ashanti
Dangerously In Love (Beyonce)
Chocolate Factory - R. Kelly
Dance With My Father - Luther Vandross

FAVORITE MALE ARTIST - RAP/HIP-HOP
Eminem
50 Cent
Nelly
Sean Paul

FAVORITE FEMALE ARTISTS - RAP/HIP-HOP
Missy Elliott
Eve
Lil' Kim

FAVORITE BAND, DUO OR GROUP - RAP/HIP-HOP
Black Eyed Peas
Bone Crusher
Lil Jon & The East Side Boyz

FAVORITE ALBUM - RAP/HIP-HOP
Under Construction - Missy Elliott
Get Rich Or Die Tryin' - 50 Cent
Dutty Rock - Sean Paul
8 Mile -Soundtrack

FAVORITE ARTIST - ALTERNATIVE
Coldplay
Linkin Park
Metallica

FAVORITE ARTIST - ADULT CONTEMPORARY
Cher
Celine Dion
Norah Jones

FAVORITE ARTIST - LATIN
Kumbia Kings
Ricky Martin
Luis Miguel

FAVORITE ARTIST - CONTEMPORARY INSPIRATIONAL
Steven Curtis Chapman
MercyMe
Third Day

COCA-COLA NEW MUSIC AWARD
Elcodrive (Boston, MA)
Mere (Hoboken, NJ)
Relax to Paris (Sherman Oaks, CA)