Later this month, Lionel Richie is set to be awarded this year’s Icon Award at the 2022 American Music Awards.
In addition to celebrating his legendary discography and many A.M.A. distinctions over the past several years, Richie will also become the only artist to have appeared on the A.M.A. stage since the show began in 1974.
Richie will receive his 18th A.M.A. trophy this year, which honors artists “whose body of work has marked a global influence over the music industry.”
“I’m immensely grateful for a career that has taken me to places I never imagined that I’d go, from arenas worldwide to studio sets to the A.M.A. stage,” said Richie. “I can recall one of the first times I got to perform at the A.M.A.s. It was to sing ‘We Are the World’ among the most iconic musicians of my generation, so it is surreal to be receiving this recognition 36 years later.”
In addition to five No. 1 songs on the Billboard Hot 100 as a solo artist, Richie has earned three No. 1 records on the Billboard 200 albums chart, with Can’t Slow Down (1983), Dancing on the Ceiling (1986) and Tuskegee (2012).
This year’s showrunner for the A.M.A.s said: “Lionel Richie has had a profound impact on countless people around the world and on the music industry as a whole. From the millions of dollars raised due to ‘We Are the World’ to the global influence his unique sound still has today, Richie is the definition of a living legend, and honoring him with the A.M.A.s Icon Award is a no-brainer.”
Wayne Brady will host the 2022 American Music Awards, which will be held at the Microsoft Theater at L.A. Live in Los Angeles on November 20. Performers include Carrie Underwood, Imagine Dragons, J.I.D., P!NK, Tems, Wizkid, Yola, and more. The event airs on ABC at 8 p.m. E.T.
