Ed Sheeran, Taylor Swift win top Billboard Music Awards
LAS VEGAS: Singers Ed Sheeran and Taylor Swift won the top Billboard Music Awards hosted at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.
Hosted by singer Kelly Clarkson, the awards ceremony had Ed Sheeran, Bruno Mars, and Pulitzer Prize winner Kendrick Lamar leading the way with 15 nominations each. Sheeran took home the top artist prize.
His ‘Shape of You’ was named the Top Radio Song.
Sheeran brought along a few special guests for his lively performance of “Galway Girl” . He was joined by Irish folk band Beoga to add a burst of Celtic energy to the show.
Sheeran wasn’t actually present at the awards ceremony in Las Vegas, but performed in front of a massive audience in Dublin.
Taylor Swift was named the Top Female Artist. She also had the Top Selling Album with ‘Reputation’.
Winning a title for Asia was K-pop group, which topped the category for Top Social Artist.
While BTS members had previously coordinated their awards show style, this year, they chose to arrive in seven distinct outfits by Gucci.
Named Top R&B Artist was Bruno Mars. His album ‘24K Magic’ was also named the Top R&B Album.
Luis Fonsi, of ‘Despacito’ fame, who won three awards, said that it is a “great feeling” to see Latin music becoming more popular. “I can’t sit here and take credit for being the forefront of Latin music,” he added. “I’m a small part of it. I think there’s a lot of people who we have to thank, but I just love the fact that people are embracing Latin music and they’re a little bit more open-minded into trying to learn a song that’s in a different language and at the end of the day, it’s all about music and getting people to move and to dance, have a good time, so I‘m really grateful.”
Imagine Dragons triumphed in the Top Duo/Group category. They were also the Top Rock Artist, while U2 won in the Top Rock Tour category.
Winning the Top Billboard 200 Artist award was Drake, while Kendrick Lamar went home with the award for Top Streaming Songs Artist.
Lamar also triumphed in two other categories, namely Top Rap Artist, and Top Rap Male Artist. Cardi B was Top Rap Female Artist.
Jay-Z won in the category for Top Rap Tour.
Camila Cabello won the Billboard Chart Achievement Award.
The 2018 Billboard Music Awards featured performances from Janet Jackson, who accepted the 2018 Billboard Music Awards ICON Award and performed for the first time on television in nine years, as well as BTS, Kelly Clarkson, Ariana Grande,
I can’t sit here and take credit for being the forefront of Latin music. I’m a small part of it. I think there’s a lot of people who we have to thank, but I just love the fact that people are embracing Latin music ..
Luis Fonsi of ‘Despacito’ fame
John Legend, Dua Lipa and Ed Sheeran with collaborations from Christina Aguilera featuring Demi Lovato, Camila Cabello and Pharrell Williams, Khalid & Normani, Jennifer Lopez featuring DJ Khaled, Macklemore and Kesha, Salt-N-Pepa featuring En Vogue, Shawn Mendes & Khalid and Zedd, Maren Morris and Grey.
Host Clarkson had cold-opened the show with a call to action following the recent school shooting in Santa Fe, Texas, and then performed a stunning medley of other artists’ songs, including Lamar, Sheeran, Swift, Mendes and more.
When Clarkson landed on Taylor Swift’s “Look What You Made Me Do,” Swift, who had a front-row seat to the show, dramatically sang along before letting out a laugh.
Billboard Music Awards nominees are based on key fan interactions with music, including album and digital song sales, streaming, radio airplay, touring and social engagement.