POP & ROCK

The pop-metal group Def Leppard and singer George Michael led the 16th annual American Music Awards nominations, announced Wednesday. Each received four nominations. The awards show, set for a three-hour broadcast Jan. 30 on ABC, added heavy metal and rap music to categories for this year while eliminating video music awards. Among the acts earning three nominations each for the awards were Los Angeles heavy metal homeboys Guns N’ Roses. (Van Halen and country star Randy Travis also earned three nods each.) Nominations for the American Music Awards are made through a popularity poll rather than a vote by industry experts, like the Grammy awards. The nominees were announced by Dick Clark, Jermaine Jackson and Rita Coolidge during a morning news conference.