Taylor Swift Skips the 2026 American Music Awards After Scoring Most Nominations

Taylor Swift celebrated her 2026 American Music Awards nominations from afar as the ceremony took place without her.

The pop superstar, 36, skipped the Monday, May 25, awards show at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.

Swift leads the pack of AMAs nominees this year. Her eight nods include Artist of the Year, Best Female Pop Artist, Album of the Year and Best Pop Album for The Life of a Showgirl, Song of the Year, Best Music Video and Best Pop Song for “The Fate of Ophelia” and Song of the Summer for “Elizabeth Taylor.”

Prior to the ceremony, Swift was already the most-awarded artist in AMAs history, with a record-breaking 40 wins throughout her career.

Two months before the AMAs, Swift attended the 2026 iHeartRadio Music Awards, where she earned seven trophies for Artist of the Year, Album of the Year and Pop Album of the Year for The Life of a Showgirl, Pop Song of the Year, Best Lyrics and Best Music Video for “The Fate of Ophelia” and Favorite Tour Style for The Eras Tour.

Swift’s fiancé, Travis Kelce, joined her at the event, marking the couple’s first time attending an awards show together since they began dating in the summer of 2023. During her acceptance speech for Best Pop Album, she paid tribute to the Kansas City Chiefs player, 36.

“This album probably also feels very happy and confident and free because that’s the way that I get to feel every single day of my life because of my fiancé, who is here tonight,” she gushed. “So, thanks for the vibes.”

More recently, Swift and Kelce have been spotted on various dates this month, holding hands while out for dinner in London and New York City and attending friends’ weddings in the Big Apple and Greece.

Meanwhile, the pair are preparing for their own nuptials after getting engaged in August 2025.

“They’re both involved and making decisions together,” a source exclusively told Us Weekly in April, noting that the two have been “focused on actually enjoying the process rather than getting caught up in the pressure” amid the countdown to their summer wedding date. “They’re keeping things light.”

In fact, wedding planning has allowed Swift and Kelce to spend even more quality time together.

“Travis and Taylor have both been very laid back,” the insider revealed, adding that Swift “thinks it’s cute that Travis cares about a lot of the details” for their big day. “They’ve made a conscious decision not to let it cause any tension between them.”

The couple’s wedding will be traditional, with “classic touches” like Taylor’s dad walking her down the aisle as well as father-daughter and mother-son dances.

According to a second source, “Taylor loves those emotional, meaningful moments, and Travis [is] on the same page.”