Latifah tells PEOPLE about hosting the 2026 AMAs more than 30 years after she last handled the gig at the 1995 ceremony
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NEED TO KNOW
- Queen Latifah is hosting the 2026 American Music Awards live from Las Vegas on Monday, May 25
- The music and film icon tells PEOPLE she’s most excited to see The Pussycat Dolls and Busta Rhymes perform
- Latifah also reflects on cohosting the 1995 AMAs and the memories that stick with her from the awards show
Queen Latifah is ready to get back on the AMAs stage!
The 56-year-old music and film icon is preparing to host the 2026 American Music Awards live from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on Monday, May 25, more than 30 years after she last cohosted the show with Tom Jones and Lorrie Morgan in 1995.
"That was big then," Latifah tells PEOPLE, "so I'm really like, 'What is happening?'"
Credit: CBS
This time around, the "U.N.I.T.Y." rapper is handling the AMAs hosting gig on her own. "I feel pretty good about it. I'm nervous. I'm excited," she says.
"I know it's going to be great just because of the people that are performing and that this is a fan-favorite show. The fans get to pick who they want to see and who they should think should win," adds Latifah. "This is always something that really comes back to the people, and I'm going to make sure that the people feel good about what they're seeing and hearing."
This year's AMAs will feature performances from special award recipients Billy Idol, Karol G and Darius Rucker (with Hootie & the Blowfish) as well as KATSEYE, Keith Urban, Maluma, New Kids on the Block, The Pussycat Dolls and Busta Rhymes, Riley Green, Sombr, Teddy Swims, Teyana Taylor and Twenty One Pilots.
Who is Latifah most excited to see take the stage? "I ain't going to lie, I want to see that Pussycat Dolls with Busta Rhymes," she says. "I think that's going to tear the house down because I know Busta, and then The Pussycat Dolls, they get down, they sing, they dance, they light the stage up."
Latifah is no stranger to awards shows. In addition to the 1995 AMAs, she's previously hosted the People's Choice Awards, the BET Awards and the Grammy Awards, among other ceremonies. Her favorite parts of emceeing such events are "just being part of the show" and "revealing what's about to happen."
"These shows are there to honor people and celebrate people, and the people are there, so I think the combination of it all is what makes it so exciting. I'm the host, so I'm just the guide on this journey," says Latifah. "I'm just happy to be part of it, and I want to make sure it happens as fluidly as possible so we get this show in the can and say, 'Yes, we did that. There it is. It's done. It was crazy. We went there, and we got it done.'"
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Looking back on cohosting the 1995 AMAs, Latifah recalls the excitement of "just being around everyone" at the show and preparing her outfits for the evening.
"People have showed me pictures of this red leather outfit I had on, and I can still remember the feeling of that leather. It was so buttery soft. And then I had this black dress on that was more of a velvet. It might've been purple, but it had this stretch to it and just felt sexy and comfortable at the same time," she explains. "And my hair had a lot of curls. There were lots of curls and lots of hairspray in that hair."
Latifah adds of her 1995 AMAs look, "It was cute at the time, but it's a little bit of a timestamp because I'm like, 'Okay, that tells me that was then, and this is now.'"
The 2026 AMAs will air live at 8 p.m. ET on CBS and Paramount+.
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