Teddy Swims Joins 2026 American Music Awards Performer Lineup

Teddy Swims has been confirmed as a performer at the 2026 American Music Awards, airing live on CBS and Paramount+ on Memorial Day, Monday, May 25, from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. The announcement dropped Tuesday, May 5, adding Swims to a growing lineup for the 52nd edition of the show.

Swims broke through in 2023-24 with "Lose Control," one of the more durable slow-burn hits of that cycle. He's back in the conversation now with "Gone Gone Gone," a collaboration with David Guetta and Tones and I that reached No. 51 on the Billboard Hot 100 in February 2026. That track earned him a nomination for collaboration of the year at this year's ceremony.

Queen Latifah is hosting, her first time back on that stage in 31 years, having last co-hosted in 1995 alongside Tom Jones and Lorrie Morgan. The show airs live coast-to-coast at 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT, and tickets are available now through AXS.

What the 2026 AMAs Mean for the Current Music Landscape

This year's AMAs are worth paying attention to for a few reasons. The show returned from a two-and-a-half-year hiatus just last year, and it's now settled into a new home on CBS, a significant shift from its decades-long run on ABC. The move to Las Vegas is also a signal of where the industry sees live entertainment heading.

Taylor Swift leads nominations for the 52nd AMAs, with Olivia Dean, sombr, and others rounding out a diverse field. Fan voting is open through Friday, May 8, so if your artist or a collab you're following is in the running, now is the time to mobilize your audience.

For independent artists watching from the outside, Teddy Swims is a useful case study. His trajectory, regional following, slow-build streaming momentum, major-collab placement, is a realistic model, not an overnight myth. "Gone Gone Gone" charting at No. 51 while earning awards-show recognition shows that mid-chart placements with the right partners can still open significant doors.

The 2026 AMAs performer lineup is still being announced, so expect more additions before the May 25 broadcast. Keep an eye on who else gets confirmed, the full lineup will tell you a lot about which artists labels and networks are betting on heading into summer.

If you're an independent artist thinking about how to build toward moments like this, [submit your music](/submit) and let's talk about what development looks like on your timeline.