American Music Awards go public

Justin Timberlake, Beyonce, Linkin Park and Daughtry are the front-runners for this year's American Music Awards and, for the first time, their fate lies in the hands of the general public.

Each of the acts scored three nominations in favorite artist and album categories. Tim McGraw, Rascal Flatts, Akon, T.I.and Young Jeezy picked up two nods apiece.

The nominations were announced at a Beverly Hills, CA, press conference this morning (10/9), with comedian and talk show host Jimmy Kimmel, Ashanti and The Jonas Brothers on hand. Kimmel will return to host the awards ceremony, which will celebrate its 35th anniversary Nov. 18. The event will take place at Los Angeles' Nokia Theatre and air live on ABC-TV.

In preparing for the anniversary show, Dick Clark Productions decided to open voting to the public via the AMA/ABC-TV website.

"Now instead of limiting the voting to thousands of people, millions of people will have the opportunity to vote," Dick Clark Productions CEO Terry Bateman said in a statement. "It is America's awards show, so why not let the public choose which nominees win?"

Votes will be collected from now through Nov. 2.

AMA nominations are based on sales data compiled by music-industry trade magazine Radio & Records and Nielsen Soundscan. In previous years, winners were selected via a national sampling of about 20,000 people.

And the nominees for the 2007 American Music Awards are:

POP/ROCK

Favorite Male Artist:
Akon
Timbaland
Justin Timberlake

Favorite Female Artist:
Beyonce
Fergie
Avril Lavigne

Favorite Band, Duo or Group:
Linkin Park
Maroon 5
Nickleback

Favorite Album:
"Daughtry," Daughtry
"Minutes to Midnight," Linkin Park
"FutureSex/LoveSounds," Justin Timberlake

COUNTRY

Favorite Male Artist:
Toby Keith
Tim McGraw
Brad Paisley

Favorite Female Artist:
Martina McBride
Taylor Swift
Carrie Underwood

Favorite Band, Duo or Group:
Big & Rich
Brooks & Dunn
Rascal Flatts

Favorite Album:
"Let It Go," Tim McGraw
"Me And My Gang," Rascal Flatts
"Some Hearts," Carrie Underwood

SOUL/RHYTHM & BLUES

Favorite Male Artist:
Akon
Ne-Yo
T-Pain

Favorite Female Artist:
Beyonce
Fantasia
Rihanna

Favorite Album:
"B'Day," Beyonce
"Double Up," R. Kelly
"FutureSex/LoveSounds," Justin Timberlake

RAP/HIP-HOP

Favorite Band, Duo or Group:
Bone Thugs-N-Harmony
Pretty Ricky
Shop Boyz

Favorite Male Artist:
Fabolous
T.I.
Young Jeezy

Favorite Album:
"Strength & Loyalty," Bones Thugs-N-Harmony
"T.I. vs. T.I.P.," T.I.
"The Inspiration," Young Jeezy

ADULT CONTEMPORARY

Favorite Artist:
Daughtry
Norah Jones
John Mayer

LATIN MUSIC

Favorite Artist:
Daddy Yankee
Juan Luis Guerra y 440
Jennifer Lopez

ALTERNATIVE ROCK

Favorite Artist:
Linkin Park
My Chemical Romance
The White Stripes

CONTEMPORARY INSPIRATIONAL

Favorite Artist:
Casting Crowns
Jeremy Camp
tobyMac

SOUNDTRACKS

Favorite Album:
"Dreamgirls"
"Hairspray"
"High School Musical 2"

FAVORITE BREAKTHROUGH ARTIST
Daughtry
Plain White T's
Robin Thicke