People's Choice Awards kick off 2014 awards season

(CNN) -- Awards season -- that most Hollywood of never-ending parties -- kicks off Wednesday night with the People's Choice Awards.



Sandra Bullock, Jennifer Lawrence, Robert Downey Jr., Zach Galifianakis and Ellen DeGeneres are among the big names competing in a variety of categories, covering movies, television and music.




'Glee' led all nominees with eight nods, including one for favorite network TV comedy. Bullock and singer Katy Perry received five nominations each.



Indeed, there had better be plenty of trophies on hand: the People's Choice Awards nominates performers, films, shows and hosts in 58 categories. They range from the mundane -- favorite movie, favorite song -- to the amusing.



There are categories devoted to 'favorite TV gal pals,' 'favorite on-screen chemistry,' 'favorite streaming series' and 'favorite music fan following.'



That last one pits Britney Spears' Britney Army, Katy Perry's KatyCats, Lady Gaga's Little Monsters, Demi Lovato's Lovatics and One Direction's Directioners against one another.



But for all the absurdity of picking a 'favorite TV bromance' -- a category that includes 'Castle's' Ryan and Esposito, 'Glee's' Blaine and Sam, and 'Supernatural's' Sam, Dean and Castiel, incidentally -- the People's Choice Awards do offer a snapshot of what's popular in 2014.



Consider favorite action movie, which includes 'Fast & Furious 6' and 'Iron Man 3.' Or favorite new talk show host, with such chat-show emcees as Bethenny Frankel and Ross Mathews -- the latter being Jay Leno's former 'Ross the Intern,' who now hosts a program, 'Hello Ross,' on E!

Watch 'People's Choice' hosts make Conan happy over accidental boob grab



More importantly, they're a chance to see and be seen, to show off the latest finery on the red carpet and showcase musical performances from singers such as Brad Paisley and Sara Bareilles. It is, after all, an awards show.



The People's Choice Awards were created in 1975 by producer Bob Stivers. Consumer products company Procterone year featured a Nice 'n Easy Fans Favorite Hair.



After many years relying on Gallup Polls, the People's Choice Awards took a new tack in 2005. The nominations are now based on sales, industry ratings, box-office grosses, social media data and votes from peopleschoice.com.



Kat Dennings and Beth Behrs of '2 Broke Girls' host. The show, which will be broadcast from Los Angeles' Nokia Theatre, airs on CBS.
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