Billboard memories for Swift, Drake
Drake beat out Cardi B and Ariana Grande, among others, Wednesday to win Billboard’s Top Artist award at the end of the night – making him the most-awarded artist of all time at the Billboard Music Awards.
“I want to thank my mom for her relentless effort in my life . ... To win any award is incredible, but to win this award is surreal,” he said, thanking the crowd while accepting the trophy for best artist.
Something pure must’ve been in the water at the BBMAs because the night was full of pop music adorableness – from Taylor Swift and Brendon Urie’s dreamy, Disney-like show opener to Kelly Clarkson’s impeccable hosting skills.
Read on for all the top awards moments you may have missed.
Taylor Swift opens
Swift and Urie joined forces for the first time ever on stage at the 2019 Billboard Music Awards to give “ME!” – Swift’s brand-new single – its live debut.
Their performance was full of callouts to Swift’s “ME!” music video, including a re-enactment of the clip’s colorful briefcase dance and Urie recreating his Mary Poppins-style ride on a flying umbrella. The performance ended with even more airborne umbrella dancers spinning while attached to the roof.
Host Kelly Clarkson is still a killer singer
Serving as the night’s host, Brendon Urie of Panic! at the Disco and Taylor Swift perform Wednesday.
Clarkson treated the audience to a mash-up of the night’s nominated songs and artists, reminding us all of her amazing vocal skills in the process.
After being jokingly ejected from a seat in the audience for being a “seat filler” by a security guard – aka Rob Gronkowski – Clarkson opened with Bebe Rexha’s verse from “Meant To Be” with Florida Georgia Line. She then launched into a medley including bits of Maroon 5’s “Girls Like You,” Cardi B’s “I Like It,” Maren Morris’ “The Middle,” Calvin Harris and Dua Lipa’s “One Kiss” and more.
The Jonas Brothers had an awards-show reunion
The Jonas Brothers reunited at the 2019 Billboard Music Awards to perform their new single, “Sucker,” and no one was more excited to see the trio on stage than their leading ladies.
Priyanka Chopra, Sophie Turner and Danielle Jonas sat together in the audience as their significant others – Nick, Joe and Kevin Jonas – performed. Nick even stopped midperformance to give Chopra a kiss, and Joe took a moment to dance with his fiancee, Turner.
Ariana Grande brings ‘7 Rings’
Performing “7 Rings” for the first time at an awards show, Grande reminded everyone what the Grammys could’ve had if the awards show hadn’t publicly feuded with the singer this year.
Reprising the scenes fans saw in the “7 Rings” video, which she’s also brought to her Sweetener world tour, Grande showed off her rapping skills in an all-pink ensemble while performing an energetic dance routine with her background
ensemble, featuring a car emblazoned with “Ariana Grande BBMAs.”
Grande also took home two awards during Monday’s show.
Madonna goes VR with ‘Medellin’ performance
Sprawled on the ground, wearing black and white lace and an eye patch, Madonna’s performance of her new single “Medellin” featured eye-popping Madonna holograms wearing various similarly elaborate ensembles.
They danced as she and Colombian singer Maluma performed her new single “Medellin.”
Considering Madonna’s history of controversial live performances, her BBMAs set was a fascinating new direction for the pop star, using virtual reality to spice up what would’ve been an otherwise ordinary appearance.
Of course, “Madame X,” as she’s branded herself for her new album, included plenty of sexed-up details in her performance, flashing a garter and waving around a riding crop while on stage.
Mariah Carey reminds us of her “Icon” status
Introduced by Jennifer Hudson, Mariah Carey took the stage to accept the Billboard Music awards’ Icon trophy with a performance and speech.
With her whistle register ringing through the auditorium, she took the stage to open with a performance of her new song “A No No,” transitioning into a medley of classics from “Always Be My Baby” and “Emotions” to “Hero.”
Swift got in on the fun, breaking out the dance moves from the audience during Carey’s performance.
Mariah’s speech was a celebration of her fans – with a cheeky acknowledgment of the missteps she may have made along the way.
Halsey and BTS shut it down
BTS had the most unmistakable presence of any artist at the BBMAs this year, if the screams from the audience every time they appeared on camera were any indication.
Halsey joined the K-pop boy band in their impressive choreography to “Boy With Luv,” their recent collaboration, which they performed together for the first time.
The song, which is primarily sung in Korean, broke a record for most views in the first 24 hours on YouTube.