Karol G will receive the International Artist Award of Excellence at the 52nd American Music Awards, CBS and Dick Clark Productions announced on May 13. The honor was last given to Whitney Houston in 2009, and past recipients include Aerosmith, the Bee Gees, Beyonce, Led Zeppelin, Michael Jackson and Rod Stewart. Karol G will also perform on the broadcast, which airs live from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on Memorial Day, Monday, May 25, at 8 p.m. ET on CBS and Paramount+, hosted by Queen Latifah.
The International Artist Award of Excellence goes to an artist whose music and cultural reach have resonated around the world, a rarer honor than the AMAs' competitive categories. Dick Clark Productions executives Barry Adelman and Alexi Mazareas said the recognition reflects how Karol G has "helped bring Latin music to unprecedented heights" through her connection with fans everywhere. It is one of several honors tracked on award watch this season.
The award caps a breakout year for the Colombian singer. In April she became the first Latina artist to headline Coachella, and her Viajando Por El Mundo Tropitour sold more than 2 million tickets in just four days, growing from 39 to 63 confirmed stadium shows worldwide. That tour supports her 2025 album Tropicoqueta, which earned three nominations at these same 52nd American Music Awards, including Best Latin Album.
Karol G has now passed 128 billion career streams and more than 310 RIAA platinum certifications in the United States, and she remains the only woman to win the Grammy Award for Best Musica Urbana Album, part of a run that has made her one of Latin music's most streamed and decorated stars. Her 2023 album Manana Sera Bonito became the first Spanish-language album by a woman to debut at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, and the tour behind it sold 2.3 million tickets across 62 shows and grossed more than $300 million.
Karol G's win comes the same night Billy Idol receives the Lifetime Achievement Award and Darius Rucker receives the Veterans Voice Award, on a bill that also lists Hootie and the Blowfish, Keith Urban, Maluma, Teddy Swims and Twenty One Pilots as performers. Taylor Swift leads all 52nd AMA nominees with eight, ahead of Morgan Wallen, Olivia Dean, Sabrina Carpenter and SOMBR with seven apiece, and Dick Clark Productions says more performers and presenters for the show will be named in the coming weeks.
The facts
- Receives the International Artist Award of Excellence at the 52nd AMAs, an honor last given to Whitney Houston in 2009
- Also performs on the May 25 broadcast, hosted by Queen Latifah from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas
- Became the first Latina artist to headline Coachella in April 2026
- Her Viajando Por El Mundo Tropitour sold over 2 million tickets in four days, expanding to 63 stadium shows
- 2025 album Tropicoqueta earned three nominations at the 52nd AMAs, including Best Latin Album
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