The Billboard Music Awards is an annual extravaganza where Billboard, a publication and music popularity chart covering the music business, honours the industry’s best. And as usual, we saw some best and worst moments this year. Here are the highlights from the three-hour May 21 spectacle at Las Vegas’s T-Mobile Arena.
Nicki Minaj opens ceremony in theatrical nine-minute performance: Nicki Minaj’s jaw-dropping nine minutes began with older hits like “Super Bass” and “Starships.” The Queens rapper then appeared in a dominatrix-style bejewelled mask to sing “No Frauds.” After Lil Wayne joined her, the appearances kept coming, including one by David Guetta, who pumped up the crowd during their new song, “Light My Body Up.” Even Jason Derulo turned up with neon back up singers to perform their collaborative track “Swalla.” Trinidadian-born Minaj, 34, ended the stacked nine minutes with her single “Regret in Your Tears.” She reenacted the song’s video theme and said goodbye to the audience by standing on an elevated pedestal above them.
Vanessa Hudgens raps: Vanessa Hudgens, the “High School Musical” star who was co-hosting the event with Ludacris, burst into song a couple of times during the show. She even successfully sang Celine Dion’s "The Power of Love." However, one of the night’s funniest moments was her rapping a Nicki Minaj part from the Kanye West song “Monster.” Drake, who complemented Hudgens during the ceremony, causing Nicki Minaj to shout, “Oh, excuse me? What about me?”, pulled a face that said everything about her failed rap attempt.
Drake breaks the record for most wins in one night: Canadian hip-hop star Drake walked away as a record-breaker by winning 13 awards on the same night. He beat previous record-holder Adele, who won 12 gongs in 2012. Some of the awards earned by Drake, who has made two huge records in two years, include Top Artist, Top Male Artist and Top Hot 100 Artist. The 30-year-old “Passionfruit” singer was actually nominated in 22 categories.
Celine Dion celebrates 20th anniversary of “My Heart Will Go On”: Canadian songstress Celine Dion commanded the stage with an epic rendition of “My Heart Will Go On.” The romantic smash-hit ballad from the soundtrack to James Cameron's “Titanic” turns 20 this year. Dion cemented her status as one of the world’s most adored singers as she emerged from a massive chandelier, donning a white gown with a plunging neckline and winged sleeves.
Cher’s performance leaves little to the imagination: Cher, Kim Kardashian’s Armenian inspiration, was honoured with the coveted Icon Award, which was given to her by Gwen Stefani. The outspoken pop diva, who had just celebrated her 71st birthday, wasn’t afraid to wear two very skin-bearing outfits while energetically belting out two of her greatest hits. She truly turned back the clock while singing “Believe” and “If I Could Turn Back Time” during her first award show performance in 15 years. Her first outfit was a glittering barely therenumber, which included nipple pasties, while the second was a revealing black catsuit.
BTS make history by being first K-pop group to win an award: South Korean boy band BTS went down in the history books by becoming the first K-pop group to be nominated and then win a Billboard Music Award. By clinching the Top Social Artist Award, the seven-member band, which debuted in 2013, beat out favourites like Selena Gomez, Shawn Mendes, Ariana Grande and Justin Bieber. The win marks a high point for the K-pop genre, a Western-Asian hybrid. The group, which has almost 10 million followers on social media, use hip-hop, electronica and rock styles to sing about issues including bullying and mental health.
