2018 American Music Awards: Taylor Swift, Panic! At the Disco, ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ stars added to lineup

October 2, 2018

The following is a press release from Dick Clark Productions and ABC:

Dick Clark Productions and ABC, in partnership with YouTube Music, announced that global superstar Taylor Swift is opening the “2018 American Music Awards” with a performance of “I Did Something Bad,” marking Swift’s first awards show performance in nearly three years. A 19-time American Music Award winner, Swift garnered four 2018 nominations and is the current record holder of most wins for Artist of the Year, a category for which she is nominated again this year.

Swift is set to take the stage on the heels of her record-breaking Taylor Swift Reputation Stadium Tour in support of the chart-topping and critically acclaimed album of the same name, which debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, marking her fifth leader on the chart. She is nominated for Artist of the Year, Tour of the Year, Favorite Female Artist – Pop/Rock and Favorite Album – Pop/Rock.

Also performing is multi-platinum selling band Panic! At the Disco will pay tribute to legendary British rock band, Queen, with a special performance of the award-winning hit, “Bohemian Rhapsody.” This performance will take place at the Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney, Australia as part of the “2018 American Music Awards.” The song, written by Freddie Mercury for the band’s 1975 album “A Night at the Opera,” remains one of Queen’s most popular and is often considered one of the greatest rock songs of all time. Rami Malek, Joe Mazzello and Gwilym Lee, cast of the upcoming 20th Century Fox Queen biopic “Bohemian Rhapsody,” will introduce Panic! At the Disco’s performance live from the awards show in Los Angeles. Nominated this year for Favorite Artist – Alternative Rock, this will mark Panic! At the Disco’s first performance on the AMAs. Hosted by Tracee Ellis Ross, the 2018 American Music Awards, the world’s largest fan-voted awards show, will broadcast live from the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles on Tuesday, Oct. 9 at 8:00 p.m. EDT, on ABC.

“If there is one song that I wish I would’ve written myself, it’s “Bohemian Rhapsody,” said Panic! At the Disco frontman, Brendon Urie. “Freddie Mercury’s genius is clear from the very first note to the last and I’m honored to be able to pay tribute to Queen with my performance.”

Panic! At the Disco joins previously announced performers Benny Blanco with Halsey and Khalid, Cardi B featuring Bad Bunny and J Balvin, Mariah Carey, Ciara featuring Missy Elliott, Dua Lipa, Post Malone featuring Ty Dolla $ign, and Carrie Underwood, as well as a moving tribute to the Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin.

Taylor Swift 
Taylor Swift’s critically-adored new album, “Reputation,” was the biggest selling album of 2017 and #1 in over 111 countries on iTunes’ sales charts upon release. With almost 1.3 million albums sold in a seven-day period, Taylor is the only artist in history to have four consecutive albums sell over one million copies in their week of release (2010’s “Speak Now,” 2012’s “RED,” 2014’s “1989” and 2017’s “Reputation”).

Taylor’s chart-topping first single, “Look What You Made Me Do,” broke multiple records within hours of its release. With over 10 million streams, it was the most-streamed song in a one-day period, the lyric video for “Look What You Made Me Do” broke the standing record with over 19 million views, while the music video shattered the original most viewed video (28 million) record with 43.2 million views in only 24 hours.  Her current single, “Delicate” is already a multi-week #1 at both Pop and Hot AC radio.

Taylor is a 10-time GRAMMY winner, a singer, songwriter, musician and producer.  She is the youngest person in history to win the music industry’s highest honor, the Grammy Award for Album of the year and she is the first female solo artist to win this prestigious award twice. Rolling Stone listed Taylor as one of the 100 Greatest Songwriters of All Time. Time magazine featured Taylor on their prestigious 2017 Person of the Year cover, named her one of the 100 Most Influential People in the world and identified her as one of only eight candidates for the 2014 Person of the Year. An Emmy and Brit Award winner, Taylor is Billboard’s youngest-ever Woman of the Year and the only artist to have been awarded this honor twice.

Panic! At the Disco released their #1 album “Pray for the Wicked” in June (via Fueled by Ramen/DCD2 Records) off the heels of their critically acclaimed fifth album, “Death of a Bachelor.” The album debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200 Chart and was nominated for Best Rock Album at the 2017 GRAMMY Awards. The RIAA platinum selling release was the highest selling rock album and fourth-highest selling album released in 2016, according to Nielsen Soundscan. “Death of a Bachelor” has also spawned RIAA-certified gold singles “Hallelujah,” “LA Devotee,” Don’t Threaten Me With a Good Time,” and platinum singles “Death of a Bachelor,” “Emperor’s New Clothes,” and “Victorious.” Panic! At the Disco have been nominated for multiple awards, including the GRAMMYS, Teen Choice Awards, Alternative Press Music Awards, Kerrang! Awards and MTV VMAs. At the 2006 MTV VMAs they won Video of the Year for their smash “I Write Sins Not Tragedies.”

“Bohemian Rhapsody” is a foot-stomping celebration of Queen, their music and their extraordinary lead singer Freddie Mercury. Freddie defied stereotypes and shattered convention to become one of the most beloved entertainers on the planet. The film traces the meteoric rise of the band through their iconic songs and revolutionary sound. They reach unparalleled success, but in an unexpected turn Freddie, surrounded by darker influences, shuns Queen in pursuit of his solo career. Having suffered greatly without the collaboration of Queen, Freddie manages to reunite with his bandmates just in time for Live Aid. While bravely facing a recent AIDS diagnosis, Freddie leads the band in one of the greatest performances in the history of rock music. Queen cements a legacy that continues to inspire outsiders, dreamers and music lovers to this day.

The American Music Awards winners are voted entirely by fans. Voting is now open in all categories.

For New Artist of the Year presented by Capital One® Savor® Card, Favorite Social Artist presented by Xfinity and Collaboration of the Year, fans can vote for each award 100 times per day, per voting platform in one or both of the ways below. Fans can vote for all other awards once per day, per voting platform.

• Via web at VoteAMAs.com
• Posting a tweet on Twitter that includes the nominee’s name or Twitter handle, the category name and #AMAs within the tweet