Gigi Hadid & Jay Pharoah to Host 2016 AMERICAN MUSIC AWARDS

Dick Clark productions and ABC announced today that international supermodel GIGI HADID and actor/comedian Jay Pharoah will co-host the 2016 AMERICAN MUSIC AWARDS. These hosts join previously announced performers including James Bay, Fifth Harmony, Lady Gaga, Green Day, John Legend, Bruno Mars, Shawn Mendes, Twenty One Pilots, The Weeknd, special duets from The Chainsmokers and Halsey, and Ariana Grande and Nicki Minaj, and "The American Music Award of Merit" honoree and performer Sting. The "2016 American Music Awards," the world's biggest fan-voted award show, will broadcast live from the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles on SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 20, at 8:00 p.m. EST on ABC.

"I'm so excited to host the 2016 AMAs with Jay Pharoah," said Hadid. "Jay is known for his spot-on impressions, so I can't wait to take the stage with him to show my goofy side and celebrate this year's nominees!"

"Can't wait to host the AMAs with the beautiful GIGI HADID - so much innocence in her eyes - and being in the building with some of my industry friends, who I've probably impersonated at some point I'm sure," added Pharoah. "It's gonna be a fun night!'

At age two, GIGI HADID was discovered by Paul Marciano of Guess and modelled in campaigns for Baby Guess and Guess Kids. At age 17, she signed a modeling contract with IMG, and now, at only 21, Hadid has graced the runways of Marc Jacobs, Giles, Sonia Rykiel, Jean Paul Gaultier, Jeremy Scott, Chanel, and walked in Victoria's Secret 2015 Fashion Show. She has campaigns with Reebok, Maybelline, Tommy Hilfiger, Stuart Weitzman, BMW, Evian, Versace and has been the face of Tom Ford, Topshop and more. Gigi has appeared on the cover of fourteen Vogue magazines around the world, landed the covers of WSJ Magazine, W, AdWeek, and the fourth installment of Carine Roitfeld's CR Fashion Book. Mentored by Carine Roitfeld, Gigi has sat for renowned photographers, including Steven Meisel, Mario Testino, Mario Sorrenti, Craig McDean, Bruce Weber, Gilles Bensimon and more.

Jay Pharoah is an American actor, stand-up comedian, impressionist, rapper, and voice actor. The six-season SNL alum is well known for his stellar impressions of President Barack Obama, Jay Z, Denzel Washington, Kanye West, and many others. Pharoah also made a splash with his memorable character, Principal Daniel Frye, based on Pharoah's actual high school principal.

In film, Pharoah most recently showcased a flashy role in the Lionsgate/CBS comedy "Get a Job," opposite Miles Teller and Anna Kendrick. This Christmas, Pharoah will voice roles in the Illumination/Universal animated movie "SING," alongside Matthew McConaughey, Scarlett Johansson and Reese Witherspoon, as well as independent animated comedy, "The Adventures of Drunky," alongside Sam Rockwell, Steve Coogan and Jeffrey Tamboor. Previously, Pharoah played fun supporting roles in Chris Rock's film "TOP FIVE," for Paramount, Universal's "Ride Along," opposite Kevin Hart and Ice Cube, the independent film "Intramural," and FOX Searchlight's "Lola Versus," opposite Greta Gerwig.

In TV, Pharoah voices roles in the new Comedy Central series "Legends Of Chamberlain Heights" and just wrapped "White Famous" for Showtime/Lionsgate. In standup, JAY's debut 1hr special premiered on Showtime produced by Broadway Video, and he headlines Comedy Clubs across the country throughout the year.

The nominations for the "2016 American Music Awards" were announced last month, revealing that Drake leads with 13 nominations, while Rihanna received seven and Adele and Justin Bieber received five nominations each. Beyoncé and The Chainsmokers each received four nominations. Additionally, Bryson Tiller, Twenty One Pilots, Carrie Underwood, Fetty Wap and The Weeknd earned three nominations each.

The Artist of the Year nominees are Adele, Beyoncé, Justin Bieber, Drake, Selena Gomez, Ariana Grande, Rihanna, Twenty One Pilots, Carrie Underwood and The Weeknd. The ten nominees will be narrowed to five based on the votes received through Monday, November 14 at 8:59:59 a.m. PST. Voting for Artist of the Year will close on Thursday, November 17 at 8:59:59 p.m. PST. The winner will be determined by the total votes received throughout the entire voting period.

New Artist of the Year Un-leashed by T-Mobile nominees are Alessia Cara, The Chainsmokers, DNCE, Shawn Mendes and Zayn. Voting for this category is now open.

At the American Music Awards, artists will be honored in multiple musical genres. Pop/Rock, Alternative Rock, Country, Rap/Hip-Hop, Soul/R&B, Adult Contemporary, Contemporary Inspirational, Latin, EDM and Soundtrack, are some of the genres alongside the awards for Artist of the Year, New Artist of the Year Un-leashed by T-Mobile and Collaboration of the Year. This year, new categories include Tour of the Year and Video of the Year, while Favorite Song categories in the genres of Pop/Rock, Country, Rap/Hip-Hop and Soul/R&B have been added in lieu of the Song of the Year category.

American Music Awards nominees are based on key fan interactions as reflected in Billboard Magazine and on Billboard.com, including album and digital song sales, radio airplay, streaming, social activity and touring. These measurements are tracked by Billboard and its data partners, including Nielsen Music and Next Big Sound.

The AMERICAN MUSIC AWARDS winners are voted entirely by fans. Voting is now open in all categories.

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