Courtesy ABCEPrep

 Rihanna and Nicki Minaj are the leading nominees for the 40th Anniversary American Music Awards, announced this morning by Christina Aguilera. Christina is the first artist confirmed to perform on the awards show, which will air November 18 on ABC. Nicki and Rihanna each have four nominations individually. Following with three nods each are Justin Bieber, Maroon 5, Drake, One Direction and Usher.

  The nominees for the most prestigious category -- Artist of the Year -- are Justin Bieber, Katy Perry, Maroon 5, Rihanna and Drake.

  Top country nominees include Jason Aldean, Taylor Swift, Carrie Underwood, Rascal Flatts, Lady Antebellum and Lionel Richie, who released his first country album this past year.

   The Alternative Rock nominees include The Black Keys, Gotye and Linkin Park. Other nominees include Train, Kelly Clarkson, Chris Brown and Trey Songz.

    A new category has been added to the AMAs this year: Favorite Electronic Dance Music Artist. The nominees in that category are David Guetta, Skrillex and Calvin Harris.

     Winners will be determined by online vote; you can vote starting today at AMAVote.com, as well as at AMA.abc.com.

      Here are the nominees:

ARTIST OF THE YEAR Justin Bieber Drake Maroon 5 Katy Perry Rihanna

NEW ARTIST OF THE YEAR J. Cole fun. Gotye Carly Rae Jepsen One Direction

FAVORITE MALE ARTIST – POP/ROCK Justin Bieber Flo Rida Pitbull Usher

FAVORITE FEMALE ARTIST – POP/ROCK Kelly Clarkson Nicki Minaj Katy Perry Rihanna

FAVORITE BAND, DUO OR GROUP – POP/ROCK fun. Maroon 5 One Direction The Wanted

FAVORITE ALBUM – POP/ROCK Justin Bieber /Believe Maroon 5/Overexposed Nicki Minaj/Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded One Direction/Up All Night

FAVORITE MALE ARTIST – COUNTRY Jason Aldean Luke Bryan Eric Church

FAVORITE FEMALE ARTIST – COUNTRY Miranda Lambert Taylor Swift Carrie Underwood

FAVORITE BAND, DUO or GROUP - COUNTRY Zac Brown Band Lady Antebellum Rascal Flatts

FAVORITE ALBUM - COUNTRY Luke Bryan/Tailgates & Tanlines Lionel Richie/Tuskegee Carrie Underwood/Blown Away

FAVORITE ARTIST – RAP/HIP-HOP Drake Nicki Minaj Tyga

FAVORITE ALBUM – RAP/HIP-HOP J. Cole/Cole World: The Sideline Story Drake/Take Care Nicki Minaj/Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded

FAVORITE MALE ARTIST – SOUL/R&B Chris Brown Trey Songz Usher

FAVORITE FEMALE ARTIST – SOUL/R&B Beyoncé Mary J. Blige Rihanna

FAVORITE ALBUM – SOUL/R&B Chris Brown/Fortune Rihanna/Talk That Talk Usher/Looking 4 Myself

FAVORITE ARTIST - ALTERNATIVE ROCK The Black Keys Gotye Linkin Park

FAVORITE ARTIST - ADULT CONTEMPORARY Adele Kelly Clarkson Train

FAVORITE ARTIST - LATIN Don Omar Pitbull Shakira

FAVORITE ARTIST - CONTEMPORARY INSPIRATIONAL Jeremy Camp Newsboys tobyMac

FAVORITE ARTIST - ELECTRONIC DANCE MUSIC (EDM) David Guetta Calvin Harris Skrillex