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Leon Thomas winner of the Breakthrough R&B Artist Award at the 52nd American Music Awards, from the MGM Grand Las Vegas, on Monday, May 25, 2026. (Francis Specker\/CBS \u00a92026 CBS Broadcasting, Inc.)<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
Cardi B, Bruno Mars and Leon Thomas were among the winners at the American Music Awards Monday night. Cardi won three awards, including best female hip-hop artist, best hip-hop song for \u201cErrtime\u201d and best hip-hop album for Am I the Drama?<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cAMAs thank you so much for giving me three awards tonight,\u201d she said on her Instagram Story. \u201cThank you so much, and I promise you, not only am I going to attend next year, I\u2019m gonna perform. That\u2019s word to everything. I don\u2019t give a f*** what I\u2019m doing.\u201d She jokingly requested her awards be sent to her home and not her mother\u2019s house, since her mom likes to keep and display them in the living room.<\/p>\n Bruno won best male R&B artist, best R&B song for \u201cI Just Might\u201d and best R&B album for The Romantic<\/em>. Leon was named breakthrough R&B artist, while Monaleo took home the hip-hop equivalent.<\/p>\n \u201cThrough it all God provides. Yall know what i been through this year . The wins mean everything to me . Idk who needs to hear this but your BREAKTHROUGH is on the horizon. First NAACP now AMA . Without my supporters and my village i am dust . Thank you @amas . This award is so fitting. Pimpcess the chain breaker!\u201d Monaleo wrote on Instagram<\/a>.<\/p>\n Other winners included Kendrick Lamar for best male hip-hop artist; SZA, who won the best female R&B artist category; and Tyla, who took home best Afrobeats artist and social song of the year for \u201cChanel.\u201d<\/p>\n The AMAs marked Queen Latifah\u2019s return as host after more than 30 years. Highlights included Teyana Taylor’s performance of \u201cAll of Your Heart\u201d and \u201cOpen Invite\u201d featuring an appearance from Missy Elliott, as well as Busta Rhymes joining Pussycat Dolls during their performance of \u201cDon\u2019t Cha.\u201d<\/p>\n Copyright \u00a9 2026, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n