By Diana Sanchez
This year’s Billboard Music Awards show was hosted by Nick Jonas, a member of the 3-person boy band known as the Jonas Brothers. The ceremony crowned P!nk as Icon of the Year, Drake as Artist of the Decade, and Trae Tha Truth as the Change Maker. The event took place at the Microsoft Theater, in LA, allowing a live audience to attend outside with masks. There were many spectacular performances by artists of all backgrounds, and many awards were awarded to confirm the talent of these artists.
Some highlights from the show:
Alicia Keys
One high point of this “pandemic edition” of the Billboard Awards was Alicia Keys’ performance. She was celebrating the 20th anniversary of her debut album, Songs in A Minor. Special guest and former First Lady Michelle Obama appeared on the screen giving a message to Keys. She was able to performed four songs off her debut album while playing piano and hitting amazing high notes.
Her performance: https://youtu.be/MNNbmeC4-vo
P!nk
As if being called Icon of the Year wasn’t amazing enough on its own, she is also the youngest person in Billboard history to receive this award. She was given a total of 8 minutes to perform her songs, and P!nk owned the stage when she preformed acrobatics with her daughter Willow, and ballads.
Her performance: https://youtu.be/SK935IVDQMQ
Producers Jam and Lewis, staunch supporters of the group Sounds of Blackness
A George Floyd Tribute
The BBMAs included a segment to acknowledge the Black Lives Matter protests that occurred last summer following the death of the George Floyd. They had a gospel singer, Ann Nesby, and the Minneapolis choral group, Sounds of Blackness, who performed the song “Optimistic” from Minneapolis.
Performance: https://youtu.be/V-namNGVn6Y
The Weeknd
The Weeknd had an amazing day at the BBMAs taking ten awards! His performance was just as impressive, singing “Save Your Tears,” and adding his own style. He performed the song in a parking lot in Los Angeles, in a black suit, with multiple cars and trucks giving a geometric style performance.
His performance: https://youtu.be/-Ot0vHUyEpw
BTS
Last year the 7 member South Korean group performed their first all English song Dynamite, and this year they performed their second all English song, Butter. Despite Butter only being released on May 21st, only two days before the award show, it became the most viewed music video in 24 hours with 108M views, surpassing Dynamite’s record of 101M views in 24 hours. The band performed remotely from South Korea, recreating the Billboard stage in Korea, wearing black suits.
This is their debut stage for “Butter,” and to say fans were blown away would be an understatement. Not only did BTS put on an amazing show with their dance moves, but the group also took home all four awards they were nominated for that night. BTS was nominated for Top Song Sales Artist and Top Selling Song for “Dynamite” and Top Duo/Group. For the fifth consecutive year BTS earned the title Top Social Artist, which is award that is determined solely by the voting of the fans.
Their performance: https://youtu.be/T7lhGz6Bfik
Listed below are just some of the nominees and winners in various categories:
Top Artist
Drake
Juice WRLD
Pop Smoke
Taylor Swift
The Weeknd — WINNER
Top Male Artist
Drake
Juice WRLD
Lil Baby
Pop Smoke
The Weeknd — WINNER
Top Female Artist
Billie Eilish
Ariana Grande
Dua Lipa
Megan Thee Stallion
Taylor Swift — WINNER
Top Duo/Group
AC/DC
AJR
BTS — WINNER
Dan + Shay
Maroon 5
Top Hot 100 Artist
DaBaby
Drake
Dua Lipa
Pop Smoke
The Weeknd — WINNER
Top Song Sales Artist
Justin Bieber
BTS — WINNER
Megan Thee Stallion
Morgan Wallen
The Weeknd
Top Social Artist (Fan Voted)
BLACKPINK
BTS — WINNER
Ariana Grande
SB19
Seventeen
Top Latin Artist
Anuel AA
Bad Bunny — WINNER
J Balvin
Maluma
Ozuna
Top Latin Male Artist
Bad Bunny — WINNER
J Balvin
Ozuna
Top Latin Female Artist
Becky G
Karol G — WINNER
Rosalía
Top Selling Song
Gabby Barrett ft. Charlie Puth, “I Hope”
BTS, “Dynamite” — WINNER
Cardi B ft. Megan Thee Stallion, “WAP”
Megan Thee Stallion ft. Beyoncé, “Savage”
The Weeknd, “Blinding Lights”
To check out other winners of the night:https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/awards/9576742/2021-billboard-music-awards-winners-list