Ranking the American Music Awards hosts

We start our list here, because it was destined not to age well. Hammer was so clearly just a flash in a pan — a guy as famous for his pants as his talent. This was a weird choice designed to try and capture a fleeting moment in the zeitgeist. Hammer, a former Oakland A’s bat boy, may appreciate the analogy when we call this choice a strikeout.

Here’s all we really need to say about Sly Stone, and it comes from his Wikipedia page: “By the mid-1970s, Stone’s drug problems and erratic behavior…” Stone was a talented musician. He was not the guy you wanted to host an award show. Reddy and Clark may have been adequate choices, though we aren’t so sure on Clark. Stone was an odd pick.

There is no denying Ross’ talent as a singer. However, have you ever seen her do a public appearance? Her most memorable moment at an award show involved Lil' Kim, and you know what we’re talking about. This was many years before that, when Ross was perhaps a little more well behaved, but this was still a case of giving a star singer a role she wasn't prepared for.

No disrespect to this trio, but these are probably three of the most obscure names on this entire list. You would be forgiven for not knowing a single one of these names. Now, fame doesn’t equal talent, but these are also all musicians, not comedians or other performers who are better in roles like this.

This is just too many people. Campbell was hosting his first show of four, while Reddy was on her third of four. We’re admittedly not sure how many people were in Electric Light Orchestra at this time, and not every member was necessarily at the show doing the hosting. Still, it’s a bunch of people, and none is really a standout personality.

This was the first-ever AMAs show, and it went with an eclectic trio of performers. You know Robinson as a Motown legend, Reddy as the singer of “I Am Woman” and Miller as the guy who performed “King of the Road.” It was an interesting triumvirate, but only Reddy seemed to make any impact. After all, she’s the one of the three who got a chance to keep hosting.

As a musician, Franklin is fantastic. She’s the Queen of Soul. However, being a legendary musician and being a good award show host are two separate things. We’re sure being in Aretha’s presence was a thrill for the musicians at the American Music Awards show she hosted, but that was the strongest thing she brought.

Mr. Worldwide at least tries to put on a show. He’s a consummate professional. However, have you ever known him to do anything funny or terribly interesting? Can you even name any of his songs? It makes total sense the AMAs hired Pitbull to host, because he was probably pumped to do it. Energy means a lot, but it isn’t everything.

Estefan and Judd will show up later, as this was the second time both of them hosted. So why is this one lower on the list? You can probably guess why. We aren’t fans of Brown, as a host or in terms of his personal life.

The AMAs reached out for a young audience by making Gibson, a teen star at the time, one of four co-hosts. Of course, do you expect a 19-year-old to be able to handle hosting an award show, or even co-hosting? This isn’t the Kids’ Choice Awards! At least she had three other people trying to shoulder the load, though none was terribly good at it. But Baker did get to come back later.

Soul was the first personality primarily known as an actor to host the American Music Awards. You may remember his as Hutch on “Starsky and Hutch.” Or you may know him from his No. 1 hit “Don’t Give Up On Us.” Campbell continued to be an adequate presence on the show, and also Natalie Cole was there.

That’s right, all three Bee Gees were hosting! That would have worked out well possibly, though they didn’t necessarily all have dynamic personalities. They crowded things by adding two more hosts, including perhaps the least interesting person from Fleetwood Mac. Stevie Nicks would have ruled.

Two veterans here. This was Campbell’s third time hosting and Reddy’s fourth and final time. She was clearly well seasoned. On the other hand, she was still Helen Reddy. That’s not a knock. She’s just not an obvious choice for hosting an award show. However, the AMAs were still new, and at least the show knew she was reliable.

This was an overstuffed show. You don’t really need five people hosting. Having the Judds helped, sure, and Cooper is definitely a showman. This was just a case of overkill.

McCarthy isn’t necessarily funny, per se. Sure, she’s a comedian, but we aren’t necessarily a fan. However, she had some of the skills required to be a host. That gives her a bit of a boost, because hosting experience matters. Sean Combs, aka Puff Daddy aka Puffy, has more personality than you might think, but hosting isn’t necessarily his strong suit.

In 2001 Spears was still a big star, so having her co-host the AMAs was a big get. However, she has never been the most interesting of personalities. Fortunately, she had LL Cool J by her side. He would go on to host five Grammys, but he wasn’t quite that seasoned at this point.

Pharoah is a comedian, but he’s more of an impressionist. That can be fun, but it’s not necessarily the top skill for a host. Hadid rose to fame as a model, which means she can clearly stand on stage and help do traffic control, but she’s not necessarily as effervescent of a personality.

The AMA obviously loved Campbell, which is a little problematic in hindsight. However, he co-hosted four times because he had some acumen for it. Richie would go on to host twice by himself, which we’ll get to later, and this was Summer’s second appearance. Two veteran hosts plus a guy who had some chops.

Yes, all four Osbournes, Ozzy, Sharon, Kelly, and Jack, hosted. That’s the makings of a chaotic show right there. Ozzy isn’t exactly known for his coherence. Also, Kelly and Jack weren’t exactly the most riveting people either. This is mostly because of Sharon, who would go on to a lengthy career as a talk show host.

Clarissa and Moesha, finally together! Well, by 1999, when these two hosted, Hart was Sabrina, as opposed to Clarissa. They were both still relatively young, but they had enough charm to skate by.

Wayans was the first non-musician to host the AMAs. It was a smart choice. As you’ll notice, a lot of non-musicians are higher on these rankings. It just makes sense to have a comedian or somebody else who has experience working an audience outside of banter between songs. Wayans wasn’t the best at it among comedians, but he was still better than a lot of musicians.

Meat Loaf can be a bit much, but at least he’s theatrical. Smith, as we all know, can make up for a lot of issues. He’s a consummate showman. He’s a huge movie star, but he’s still always on Instagram doing stuff for fans, because he cares, and he hustles. We also like the charms of McEntire.

This is mostly about Queen Latifah. There’s a good chance you don’t even recognize Morgan’s name unless you’re a big country music fan. Latifah has a lot of hosting experience though. She hosted the People’s Choice Awards five years in a row. Obviously there are people who like her as a host.

Richie was a co-host at an earlier award show, as you may recall. The show clearly liked him, as Richie got to host by himself in back-to-back years in the ‘80s. Clearly, we’re fans of the famous singer as well. He was, in fact, the one we were looking for.

On the one hand, MacDonald is funny. On the other hand, he’s not a great choice for an award show host if you want to appeal to a broad audience. MacDonald doesn’t take anything seriously. He doesn’t care if he alienates people. MacDonald is polarizing, but for a certain segment of the viewership, he was probably a favorite American Music Awards host. He’s down here at No. 7 because of everybody else.

Well, he has “Entertainer” right in his name. You would think he could handle the job of hosting an award show. And he could, by and large. That’s why he also got to be one of the people who hosted “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?” after Regis Philbin left and it went into syndication.

You saw her mom earlier on the list, but now it’s Tracee Ellis Ross’ turn. She’s hosted the last two AMAs, and it’s easy to see why she got that second chance. The “Black-ish” star has more comedic chops than her mom and is also a little bit more of an affable personality.

Yes, some people consider Sinbad a punchline now. He’s a very “’90s” comedian. That being said, he was hosting in the ‘90s, in back-to-back years in 1996 and 1997. There’s a reason the standup became a successful actor. He had charm, and he showed that as a host.

Lopez can do it all, and she’s still going strong as a performer, as anybody who saw “Hustlers” knows. Back when she started acting, though, she was also a singer and a dancer. That made her a great choice for an award show host, especially at a musical award show.

You know somebody has to be a good host to get the chance to replace the legendary Bob Barker on “The Price is Right.” Before that, though, he was the star of “The Drew Carey Show” and a host/performer on “Whose Line is it Anyway?” Also, he has years of experience as a standup. All that serves him well in a host role.

Kimmel hosted five AMAs solo, and it’s easy to see why. No, it’s not just because he’s the late night host on ABC. It’s because of the same skills that got him that gig and also all the other hosting gigs he’s had. Kimmel has hosted the Oscars. This is just something he’s built for as a performer. He may not be a musician, but Kimmel was still the best hosting choice the American Music Awards ever made.