The nominees for the 31st Annual American Music Awards were announced on Tuesday, September 16 at a press conference in Beverly Hills hosted by Dick Clark, Macy Gray, and Jimmy Kimmel. The three nominees for the sole Christian Music-related category, "Favorite Artist, Contemporary Inspirational Music" are: Steven Curtis Chapman, MercyMe, and Third Day. All three artists are first-time nominees; last year's winner was Avalon, which was the same year the category was first added to the Awards.

MercyMe's Bart Millard commented, “This whole year overall has been pretty shocking. This is just another thing we never saw coming... and we’re very honored.”

Third Day frontman Mac Powell commented, “It sometimes sounds cliché to say, ‘It’s an honor to be nominated for an award,’ but that is especially true with the American Music Awards. After growing up watching the AMAs on television, and having been inspired by so many of the artists who both performed and won awards, it is a dream come true to be among this year’s nominees.”

Steven Curtis Chapman is confirmed to also be co-presenting an award on the live, televised portion of the Awards.

The American Music Awards will be presented during a three-hour special on ABC on Sunday, November 16, 2003 at 8-11:PM (EST & PST). The special will take place at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, California and be hosted by Jimmy Kimmel. The show is produced by Dick Clark Productions.

Winners of the American Music Awards are selected by the public, a national sampling having been sent ballots by the National Family Opinion, Inc. firm under the supervision of Broadcast Research and Consulting, Inc. Names of the nominees on the ballots were compiled from data supplied by the music industry trade publication, Radio & Records, and the Soundscan Inc., management information system. Results of the voting, tabulated by the Ernst & Young LLP accounting firm, are kept secret until envelopes are opened during the presentation ceremonies.