Queen Latifah kicked off his 2026 American Music Awards hosting gig with an unforgettable song fit for royalty.
The rapper and actor, 56, opened the awards show on Monday, May 25, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.
“I have to say, it's great to be back here hosting the AMAs after 31 years,” Latifah said to the crowd. “Can you believe that? Some BTS weren't even born, that's crazy. That Black ain't kidding! And if you'd have told me 31 years ago that I'd be back on that stage, a bunch of awards, a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and a career that took me from music to film, I'd probably look at you and say, 'Who you calling a trailzer?'
He also shared a message to honor the nation's military veterans, as the awards show was on Memorial Day.
This is not the first time Latifah has hosted the AMAs. He previously did his first cohosting on the side Tom Jones again Lorrie Morgan during the January 1995 awards show.
“I'm thrilled to be returning to the American Music Awards stage to host this year,” he said in a statement in April. “It's been an amazing year in music and there's no better place to celebrate than in Vegas.
CEO of Dick Clark Productions Jay Penske was equally excited about Latifah's return to her hosting role after 31 years.
“We are thrilled to welcome Queen Latifah as host of the American Music Awards,” Penske said at the time. “A true powerhouse and trailblazer, he brings a powerful presence and deep connection to fans and fellow musicians, making him the perfect choice to lead a night celebrating the biggest names and most defining moments in music.”
Although Latifah has focused more on acting in recent years, she is also known for her influential hip-hop work. Almost two decades after his last studio album, 2009 A personhe said to himself Us Weekly in May 2025 that “he is about to get my pen again.”
“We'll see what happens with that,” he teased about his return to music. “I'm pretty open. There's rap artists I'd like to go down with. There's also rock artists.”
Although Latifah admits that “a lot of music is different” now than when she started in the 1980s, she is determined to experiment with her sound.
“I want to make house music, I've been making house music since the first album,” he explained. “I definitely want to go into that space with more fun. I can do reggae. I mean, there's a lot of things I feel like I can go into – also, more jazz.”
Regarding possible collaborations, Latifah called out a few famous artists she hopes to work with sometime in the future.
“I love it Doechii. I can do anything with Doechii,” he said Us. “He's dope. He sounds like he's from my era. He's taken from all the famous rappers of my era, for sure, and he's productive. He can do no wrong in my eyes.”
After joining Megan Thee Stallion during her 2025 Coachella set, Latifah commented, “We don't have a record together so it's always fun.”
Latifah is also determined to hit this studio Missy Elliott followed up with their 2009 single, “Fast Car.”
“I would like to work with Missy again,” he said. “[Missy and I] we've had a few records that we haven't released over the years. I have a lot of unreleased music to release. I already have half of the collaborations I would like to do.”
