American Music Awards host Ciara rolls out the red carpet, talks Taylor Swift

American Music Awards host Ciara had praise for her friend Taylor Swift as she helped roll out the red carpet for the show on Thursday in downtown Los Angeles. Ciara said hosting the AMAs came as one in a series of "pinch myself moments" in November. The 34-year-old pop star released a new single and is preparing to perform at the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade in New York.

Ciara got her first Grammy nominations at age 19 and said she enjoyed seeing success of younger artists like Billie Eilish. Swift has won 23 AMAs and has five nominations this year. She's being honored as artist of the decade. Post Malone is the leading AMA nominee with seven nods, while newcomer Eilish and Ariana Grande each earned six nominations. Swift, Malone and Grande, along with Drake and Halsey, are nominated for the top prize - artist of the year. The AMAs will include performances from Toni Braxton and Shania Twain, among others. The fan-voted AMAs will air live Nov. 24 on ABC from the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles.