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Nicki Minaj And Pitbull Celebrate AMA Nominations

Minaj jokes that mentor Lil Wayne should 'move to the side and let me win' at the American Music Awards.

Whether they had a heads-up or not, when [artist id="3055069"]Nicki Minaj[/artist] and [artist id="1678002"]Pitbull[/artist] unveiled the [article id="1672323"]nominees for the 39th annual American Music Awards[/article] on Tuesday (October 11), it was obvious they were both pleased to read the other's name off the list.

Minaj is nominated for Favorite Rap/Hip-Hop Artist and Favorite Rap/Hip-Hop Album, while Pitbull picked up nods for Favorite Latin Music Artist and Favorite Pop or Rock Male Artist. When MTV News caught up with the nominees immediately following the announcement, they weren't shy about their hopes for bringing home the big awards come November 20, when the AMAs air live on ABC.

"It's an honor to be here with the kind of caliber of artists here," Pitbull said of fellow nominees [artist id="3187077"]Justin Bieber[/artist], [artist id="3528710"]Bruno Mars[/artist], [artist id="508982"]Enrique Iglesias[/artist] and [artist id="508574"]Jennifer Lopez[/artist]. "Me, I come to the awards shows and I just learn, I watch everyone, I see how they handle their performances and hopefully grab a couple things and apply it to my career. So to be here nominated and to also be performing at the AMAs, I want to thank you."

The "Give Me Everything" singer also promised he'll do his best to top [article id="1669853"]his VMA performance[/article] when he takes the AMA stage. "That [VMA performance] was definitely a lot of fun. It's hard to get 60 women from Miami on a plane after they were partying the night before and bring that vibe out there," he joked. "But that's definitely what we're looking for: We're looking for a lot of energy, something very sexy, sophisticated, powerful -- and get ready."

With regard to Miss Minaj's chances at victory, she's nominated in both categories with Young Money boss Lil Wayne, so we wanted to know if there will be any friendly wagering going on beforehand.

"I don't know. He's won enough," she said with a smile. "He's been winning for 10 years, so he can move to the side and let me win, hopefully."

Who will you be rooting for at the AMAs? Let us know in the comments!

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