The American Music Awards Appear to Not Know What Rock Music Is

The American Music Awards announced their 2020 nominees today (October 26.) Now, the AMAs have never really been known for being the bastions of rock music, but their "rock" nominees are a bit ridiculous.

For starters, the rock categories are lumped with the pop categories to form the appropriately titled "pop/rock" categories. That's all fine and good, but not when you just blatantly ignore any semblance of rock representation.

So, in all of their baffling glory, here are the nominees for the 2020 AMA pop/rock categories:

Favorite Male Artist - Pop/Rock
Justin Bieber
Post Malone
The Weeknd

Favorite Female Artist - Pop/Rock
Dua Lipa
Lady Gaga
Taylor Swift

Favorite Duo or Group - Pop/Rock
BTS
Jonas Brothers
Maroon 5

Favorite Album - Pop/Rock
Harry Styles - Fine Line
Taylor Swift - folklore
The Weeknd - After Hours

Favorite Song - Pop/Rock
Lewis Capaldi - "Someone You Loved"
Dua Lipa - "Don't Start Now"
Post Malone - "Circles"
Roddy Ricch - "The Box"
The Weeknd - "Blinding Lights"

There are no words. What can you really say when the AMAs clearly have no idea what rock music is or seemingly no interest in the genre? If you're going to ignore rock artists to this extent, just drop the rock label completely. It would actually be a more respectful move when you think about it.

And now, to leave you with something pleasant about the AMAs, let's go back to the magical time of 1990 when a visibly wasted Slash and Duff McKagan accepted two AMA awards on behalf of Guns N' Roses and give the FCC a panic attack by swearing multiple times on live television. (WARNING: NSFW language ahead.)