Janet Jackson To Receive Icon Award At 2025 American Music Awards
Previous recipients of the honor, which recognizes a profound global influence, include Rihanna and Lionel Richie.
Janet Jackson’s iconic status will soon be acknowledged once again. The music legend is set to receive the Icon Award and perform at this year’s American Music Awards, taking place May 26 at the BleauLive Theater Las Vegas. This marks her first TV performance in seven years. The show will be broadcast on CBS and livestreamed on Paramount+ starting at 8 p.m. ET. Jennifer Lopez will host the show.
The Icon Award has previously been bestowed upon Rihanna and Lionel Richie. According to producer Larry Klein, the award “was created to honor an artist whose body of work has made a profound influence over pop music on a global level.”
The description certainly applies to Jackson, whose countless career accolades include 11 American Music Awards wins. She’s also won five Grammys, two Emmys, a Golden Globe, and was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2019. Along with Barbra Streisand, Bruce Springsteen, and U2, she’s one of only four artists to land a No. 1 album in four consecutive decades. Beyond mere stats, it’s impossible to measure the impact of landmark albums like Control, Rhythm Nation 1814, Janet, The Velvet Rope, and All For You.
Jackson has been even more successful as a singles artist. On the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart, she has tallied 10 No. 1 hits (including “Miss You Much,” “Escapade,” “That’s the Way Love Goes,” “Together Again,” “All For You,” and more, and landed dozens more in the top 10. Billboard ranks her as the third most successful female artist in Hot 100 history. Recently, her 2001 song “Someone to Call My Lover” returned to the Billboard charts, powered by social media.
Jackson is coming off her massively successful Together Again Tour and nearing the close of her residency Janet Jackson: Las Vegas. The engagement runs through May 31 at Resorts World Theatre. Janet Jackson: Las Vegas follows her record-breaking 2019 Vegas residency Metamorphosis. As affirmed by Billboard Boxscore, she’s one of the top Vegas performers of the past decade.
