Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards facts for kids

The Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards, often called the KCAs or Kids' Choice, is a super fun annual awards show made by Nickelodeon. It usually happens on a Saturday night in March or early April. This show celebrates the biggest stars and moments in TV, movies, music, and sports.

What makes it special? Kids from all over the world vote for their favorites! The winners get a cool orange blimp trophy. This blimp is hollow and can even be used as a kaleidoscope! The show is also famous for having lots of celebrity guests and awesome musical performances. Since 2002, they've added exciting slime stunts, often covering people in Nickelodeon's famous green slime!

SpongeBob SquarePants has won the most KCA awards as a show, with twenty trophies! Among individual stars, Selena Gomez has won the most with twelve awards. Close behind are Will Smith and Adam Sandler (both with 11 wins), and Justin Bieber and Ariana Grande (both with 9 wins). Did you know that Whoopi Goldberg is the only person to win a Kids' Choice Award and also an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony? That's super rare! Rosie O'Donnell has hosted the show eight times, more than anyone else. Jack Black has hosted three times, and Candace Cameron, Whitney Houston, and John Cena have each hosted twice.

How the KCAs Began

The final slime at the 2010 Kids' Choice Awards

The Kids' Choice Awards started because of a segment called "The Big Ballot" in 1987. This segment was part of a movie review show called Rated K: For Kids by Kids. Kids would vote by sending in paper ballots. The winners would then record a "thank you" video to be shown on TV.

Alan Goodman, Albie Hecht, and Fred Seibert thought Nickelodeon needed a bigger and more exciting way to celebrate kids' choices. So, they created the awards show! The famous orange blimp award was designed in 1990. It's been the same ever since, except for a small change to the logo on its side in 2010.

As the Internet became popular, voting changed. At first, kids could vote by calling a special phone number or filling out paper ballots at Pizza Hut. But then, voting moved online to the Nickelodeon website. By 2007, you could even vote by text message!

In the early days of online voting, there were some problems. Sometimes, adults would try to vote many times. To fix this, Nickelodeon created a new system. Now, you can usually only vote once per Nick.com account. In 2010, they also added voting through an iPhone app and on mobile phones.

The 2009 Kids' Choice Awards introduced a new award called "The Big Green Help Award." This award went to a celebrity who did amazing things to help the Earth. The first winner was Leonardo DiCaprio. For the 2010 awards, it was renamed "The Big Help" award. The first winner of this renamed award was First Lady Michelle Obama.

Unlike other awards shows, the KCAs don't always use a normal envelope to announce winners. Sometimes, they use balloons, T-shirts, giant letters, or even a foot! In 2010, kids in Canada could also start voting. This was because Nickelodeon launched its Canadian TV channel in 2009. The 2020 ceremony was held online because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Kids' Choice Awards Around the World

The Kids' Choice Awards isn't just in the United States! In June 2010, Nickelodeon Latin America started a Kids' Choice Awards for Mexico. Other countries like Brazil, the United Kingdom, Australia, and Indonesia also have their own versions. Some are completely new shows made in those countries. Others are shown during the U.S. ceremony. The Australian Kids' Choice Awards had its last local show in 2012.

In August 2011, Nickelodeon Latin America also started a Kids' Choice Awards event for Argentina. In June 2014, they added a Kids' Choice Awards event for Colombia.

Awards and Categories

The Kids' Choice Awards has many different categories. Kids vote for their favorite movies, TV shows, music, and more! Some awards, like Favorite Movie, Favorite Movie Actor, Favorite Movie Actress, and Favorite Song, have been given out every year since 1988.

Here are some of the awards that have been given out over the years:

• Favorite Movie
• Favorite Movie Actor
• Favorite Movie Actress
• Favorite TV Show
• Favorite Male TV Star
• Favorite Female TV Star
• Favorite Music Group
• Favorite Male Artist
• Favorite Female Artist
• Favorite Song
• Favorite Video Game
• Favorite Cartoon
• Favorite Animated Movie
• Favorite Voice from an Animated Movie
• Favorite Book
• Favorite Reality Show
• Favorite New Artist
• Favorite Collaboration
• Favorite Global Music Star
• Favorite Social Star

Special Awards

Sometimes, the blimp trophy for these special awards is a different color than orange!

The Hall of Fame Award

The Hall of Fame Award was a gold blimp given from 1991 to 2000. It honored people whose achievements and popularity made them stand out. Kids voted for the winner from a list of nominees. Actors, athletes, and singers could all win this award.

• 1991: Paula Abdul
• 1992: Arnold Schwarzenegger
• 1994: Michael Jordan
• 1995: Boyz II Men
• 1996: Tim Allen
• 1997: Will Smith
• 1998: Tia & Tamera Mowry
• 1999: Jonathan Taylor Thomas
• 2000: Rosie O'Donnell

The Wannabe Award

The Wannabe Award was a silver blimp given from 2001 to 2008. It went to the celebrity who was the best role model or inspiration. This was someone kids wanted to be like. The winner was chosen before the show, not by kids' votes. Will Smith is the only person to have won both the Wannabe Award and the Hall of Fame Award.

• 2001: Tom Cruise
• 2002: Janet Jackson
• 2003: Will Smith
• 2004: Adam Sandler
• 2005: Queen Latifah
• 2006: Chris Rock
• 2007: Ben Stiller
• 2008: Cameron Diaz

The Big Help Award

The Big Green Help Award (later called The Big Help Award) was given to people who did a lot to help the environment. It was inspired by Nickelodeon's "The Big Help" program. The award was green in 2009, then changed to silver in later years.

• 2009: Leonardo DiCaprio
• 2010: Michelle Obama
• 2011: Justin Timberlake
• 2012: Taylor Swift

Lifetime Achievement Award

The Nickelodeon Lifetime Achievement Award is usually a golden blimp. But in 2023, they used a regular orange blimp. In 2014, this award went to TV producer Dan Schneider. He created many popular Nickelodeon shows like Kenan & Kel, Drake & Josh, Zoey 101, iCarly, Victorious, and Sam & Cat. The cast members from his shows joined him on stage! In 2023, the award was given to Transformers character Optimus Prime. He said the award would "seal the bond between humans, Maximals, and Autobots, as we fight together to protect the planet."

• 2014: Dan Schneider
• 2023: Optimus Prime

Generation Change Award

The Generation Change Award celebrates people who work to make positive changes for young people. It first appeared at the 2019 Kids' Choice Sports ceremony. Now it's also part of the main Kids' Choice Awards.

• 2019: Megan Rapinoe
• 2020: LeBron James
• 2021: Kamala Harris

King of Comedy

• 2023: Adam Sandler

Kids' Choice Sports

In July 2014, Nickelodeon started a new show called Kids' Choice Sports. This show celebrates kids' favorite athletes, teams, and sports moments. Michael Strahan hosted the very first ceremony.

See also

In Spanish: Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards para niños