Iggy Azalea tops AMA nominations

The blonde and leggy Iggy Azalea, model and rapper, is the toast of the town. In less than a year since she made her US debut, the Australian-born recording artist has notched one hit song after another. And now, here comes the news that she is the artist with the most nods in the recently released American Music Awards (AMA) 2014 nominations.

The lovely Iggy was born Amethyst Amelia Kelly.  She would later name herself after her dog and the street where her family lives in New South Wales. She made waves first as a Levi’s model before she got her big break as a rapper. She released her first single only last April. But look at Iggy now, she is nominated in six categories including both the greatly coveted Artist of the Year and the New Artist of the Year trophies at the AMAs. 

Iggy’s big hit, Fancy, a collaboration with Charli XCX about excessive indulgence from her first album, Iggy Azalea: The New Classic, is also nominated for Single of the Year. The song made No. 1 in Billboard’s Hot 100 at the same time when Ariana Grande’s Problem, which also features Iggy, hit No. 2. That was quite a feat.

Fancy has a really great beat, but be careful with making the kiddies listen to this or to any of Iggy’s songs. Her album, which is filled with hits like Change Your Life feat. T.I., New Bitch, Work, Black Widow with Rita Ora, Bounce and others has very explicit language. But it seems like a lot of people love it and the album is a huge success. From the way I see it, part of Iggy’s appeal to her fans is the irony of hearing such a pretty girl spewing strong words in her raps.

I do not know how long Iggy can sustain a career based on shock words and materialistic themes. Madonna has done all that a long time ago. She seems nice and intelligent so I hope she comes out with better songs soon with themes that will appeal to a wider market, and I mean including to kids. But meanwhile, she is on top of the AMAs. And who knows, she might just do as well at the coming Grammy Awards.

Coming close on the heels of Iggy is the prolific hitmaker Pharrell Williams who is nominated in five categories including Artist of the Year. He is also up for Single of the Year for his sensational worldwide hit Happy from the soundtrack of the motion picture Despicable Me 2.

Here is the complete list of the AMA 2014 nominees:

• Artist of The Year: Iggy Azalea; Beyoncé; Luke Bryan; Eminem; Imagine Dragons; John Legend; Lorde; One Direction; Katy Perry; Pharrell Williams.

• New Artist of the Year presented by Kohl’s: Iggy Azalea; 5 Seconds of Summer; Bastille; Sam Smith; Meghan Trainor.

• Single of the Year: Iggy Azalea featuring Charli XCX, Fancy; John Legend, All Of Me; MAGIC!, Rude; Katy Perry feat. Juicy J, Dark Horse.

• Favorite Pop/Rock

Male: Pharrell Williams; John Legend; Sam Smith

Female: Iggy Azalea; Lorde; Katy Perry

Band, Duo or Group: Imagine Dragons; One Direction; OneRepublic

Album: Lorde, Pure Heroine; One Direction, Midnight Memories; Katy Perry, Prism.

• Favorite Country

Male: Jason Aldean; Luke Bryan; Blake Shelton

Female: Miranda Lambert, Kacey Musgraves; Carrie Underwood

Band, Duo or Group: Eli Young Band; Florida Georgia Line; Lady Antebellum

Album: Garth Brooks, Blame It On My Roots: Five Decades of Influences; Eric Church, The Outsiders; Brantley Gilbert, Just As I Am.

• Favorite Rap/Hip-Hop

Artist: Iggy Azalea; Drake; Eminem

Album: Iggy Azalea, The New Classic; Drake, Nothing Was The Same; Eminem, The Marshall Mathers LP 2.

• Favorite Soul/R&B

Male: Chris Brown; John Legend; Pharrell Williams

Female: Jhene Aiko; Beyoncé; Mary J. Blige

Album: Beyoncé, Beyoncé; John Legend, Love In The Future; Pharrell Williams, G I R L.

• Favorite Alternative Rock Artist: Bastille; Imagine Dragons; Lorde

 • Favorite Adult Contemporary Artist: Sara Bareilles; OneRepublic; Katy Perry

• Favorite Latin Artist: Marc Anthony; Enrique Iglesias; Romeo Santos

• Favorite Contemporary Inspirational Artist: Casting Crowns; Hillsong United; Newsboys

• Favorite Electronic Dance Music Artist: Avicii; Calvin Harris; Zedd

• Top Soundtrack: Frozen; The Fault In Our Stars; Guardians Of The Galaxy: Awesome Mix, Vol.1.

We will know who the winners are during the live telecast of the AMA on Nov. 23 at the Nokia Theater in Los Angeles. I hope a local channel airs the event via satellite. You can expect the biggest names in music to be there and to figure in the interesting musical numbers that the AMA has become famous for.