Queen of Motown, Diana Ross will receive the American Music Award of Lifetime Achievement at the 2017 American Music Awards, Dick Clark Productions and ABC announced.
“I have endless memories of all the years that I have appeared on the American Music Awards,” Ross stated in a press release. “It started with Dick Clark and The Caravan of Stars and American Bandstand. It was Dick Clark who said ‘Music is the soundtrack of our lives.’ So true. I am so excited to be receiving this honorable award.”
According to the press release, the prestigious award is “only given to artists who have made truly exceptional contributions to the music industry.”
Previous recipients of the award, formerly known as the Merit Award, include Whitney Houston, Sting, Michael Jackson and Paul McCartney.
This year’s 45th show will broadcast live from the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles on Sunday, Nov. 19 at 8 p.m. E.T. on ABC.