The 40th Annual American Music Awards was held on November 18, 2012 at the Nokia Theatre L.A. Live in Los Angeles. The awards recognized the most popular artists and albums from the year 2012. It was broadcast live on ABC. The nominees were announced on October 9, 2012 by Christina Aguilera. This year included a brand new category, Electronic Dance Music. Justin Bieber won all three of his nominations, and of each of their four nominations, Nicki Minaj won two, and Rihanna one. Katy Perry won one of her 2 nominations, whereas Adele and Taylor Swift each won the award for which they were nominated.

The American Music Awards (AMAs) is an annual American music awards show produced by Dick Clark Productions since 1974. From 1973 to 2005, both the winners and the nominations were selected by the members of the music industry, based on commercial performance, such as sales and airplay. Since 2006, winners have been determined by a poll of the public and fans, who can vote through the AMAs website. The event originally aired on American Broadcasting Company, after the network's contract to air the Grammy Awards expired. CBS will air the 2024 edition.