The ''Billboard'' Music Awards are honors given out annually by ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'', a publication covering the music business and a music popularity chart. The ''Billboard'' Music Awards show has been held annually since 1990, with the exception of the years 2007 through 2010. The event was previously staged in December, but has been held in May since returning in 2011. On October 19, 2023, it was announced that the award ceremony will be reformatted as a digital-only show and move from broadcast television to its website and ''Billboard''s social media pages, starting with the 2023 edition on November 19, but in 2024, the show aired on Fox.

Awards process

Unlike other awards, such as the

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...

, which determine nominations as a result of the highest votes received by the

National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences, Inc. (NARAS), doing business as The Recording Academy, is an American Learned society, learned academy of musicians, producers, recording engineers, and other musical professionals. It is widely kno ...

, the ''Billboard'' Music Awards finalists are based on album and digital songs sales, streaming, radio airplay, touring, and social engagement. These measurements are tracked year-round by ''Billboard'' and its data partners, including

MRC Data Luminate Data, LLC (formerly MRC Data and P-MRC Data) is a provider of music and entertainment data. Established as a joint-venture in 2020, it brought together Nielsen Music, Alpha Data (formerly BuzzAngle Music) and Variety Business Intellig ...

and

Next Big Sound Next Big Sound (NBS) is a New York–based company which provides analytics for online music. The company analyses the popularity of musicians in social networks, Streaming media, streaming services, and radio. The company was acquired by Pandora ...

. The 2018 awards were based on the reporting period of April 8, 2017 through March 31, 2018. Awards are given for the top album, artist and single in a number of different

music genres A music genre is a conventional category that identifies some pieces of music as belonging to a shared tradition or set of conventions. Genre is to be distinguished from musical form and musical style, although in practice these terms are someti ...

Awards

Categories

From 1990 to 2006, the show had the same categories and category names every year. In 2011, for the first time, all of the awards were renamed to "Top ward title. The "of the year" portion of each category title no longer exists, and many of the awards have been further renamed. Other awards, including both "crossover" awards (No. 1 Classical Crossover Artist and No. 1 Classical Crossover Album) were discontinued. As of 2024, there are three fan-voted categories.

Current categories

The general categories are Top Artist, Top Billboard 200 Album, Top Hot 100 Song and Top New Artist. These categories highlighted in each award and other categories are divided by genre.

General

* Top Artist * Top New Artist * Top Male Artist * Top Female Artist * Top Duo/Group * Top ''Billboard 200'' Artist * Top ''Billboard 200'' Album * Top Hot 100 Artist * Top Hot 100 Song * Top Hot 100 Songwriter * Top Hot 100 Producer * Top Billboard Global 200 Artist * Top Billboard Global (Excluding U.S.) Artist * Top Billboard Global 200 Song * Top Billboard Global (Excluding U.S.) Song * Top Touring Artist * Top Song Sales Artist (since 2016) * Top Selling Album (since 2018) * Top Selling Song (since 2016) * Top Radio Songs Artist * Top Radio Song * Top Streaming Songs Artist * Top Streaming Song (Audio) * Top Streaming Song (Video)

R&B

* Top R&B Artist * Top R&B Male Artist (since 2018) * Top R&B Female Artist (since 2018) * Top R&B Album * Top R&B Song *Top R&B Tour (since 2017)

Rap

* Top Rap Artist * Top Rap Male Artist (since 2018) * Top Rap Female Artist (since 2018) * Top Rap Album * Top Rap Song *Top Rap Tour (since 2017)

Country

* Top Country Artist *Top Country Male Artist (since 2018) *Top Country Female Artist (since 2018) *Top Country Duo/Group Artist (since 2018) * Top Country Album * Top Country Song *Top Country Tour (since 2017)

Rock

* Top Rock Artist * Top Rock Album * Top Rock Song *Top Rock Tour (since 2017)

Latin

* Top Latin Artist * Top Latin Male Artist (since 2021) * Top Latin Female Artist (since 2021) *Top Latin Duo/Group (since 2021) * Top Latin Album * Top Latin Song * Top Latin Touring Artist (since 2022)

K-Pop

*Top Global K-Pop Artist (since 2023) *Top Global K-Pop Song (since 2023) *Top K-Pop Album (since 2023) *Top K-Pop Touring Artist (since 2023)

Dance/Electronic

* Top Dance/Electronic Artist (since 2014) * Top Dance/Electronic Album (since 2014) * Top Dance/Electronic Song (since 2014)

Christian

* Top Christian Artist * Top Christian Album * Top Christian Song

Gospel

* Top Gospel Artist (since 2016) * Top Gospel Album (since 2016) * Top Gospel Song (since 2016)

Others genres

* Top Soundtrack (1993, 1998, 2000, 2006, 2015 – present) * Top Social Artist (fan-voted) * ''Billboard'' Chart Achievement (since 2015, fan-voted) * Top Collaboration (since 2017, fan-voted)

Retired categories (1990–2022)

*Top Alternative Album *Top Alternative Artist *Top Alternative Song *Top Classical Crossover Artist *Top Classical Crossover Album *Top Country Collaboration (2017) *Top Dance Artist (until 2013) *Top Dance Album (until 2013) *Top Dance Song (until 2013) *Top Digital Media Artist (until 2012) *Top Digital Songs Artist (until 2015) *Top Digital Song (until 2015) *Top EDM Artist (until 2013) *Top EDM Album (until 2013) *Top EDM Song (until 2013) *Top Independent Artists *Top Independent Album *Top Modern Rock Artist *Top Modern Rock Track *Top New Male Artist *Top New Female Artist *Top New Group/Band *Top New Song *Top Pop Song (until 2013) *Top Pop Album (until 2013) *Top Pop Artist (until 2013) *Top Pop Punk Artist *Top R&B Collaboration (2017) *Top Rap Collaboration (2017) *Top Rhythmic Top 40 Title *Top Selling Single *Top Soundtrack Single of the Year *Milestone Award (2013, 2014)

Special awards

Artist Achievement Award

* 1993:

Rod Stewart Sir Roderick David Stewart (born 10 January 1945) is a British singer and songwriter. Known for his distinctive raspy singing voice, Stewart is among the List of best-selling music artists, best-selling music artists of all time, having sold ...

* 1994:

Whitney Houston Whitney Elizabeth Houston (August 9, 1963 – February 11, 2012) was an American singer, actress, film producer, model, and philanthropist. Commonly referred to as "Honorific nicknames in popular music, the Voice", she is List of awards and no ...

* 1995:

Janet Jackson Janet Damita Jo Jackson (born May 16, 1966) is an American singer, songwriter, actress and dancer. She is noted for her innovative, socially conscious and sexually provocative records, as well as elaborate stage shows. Her sound and choreogr ...

* 1996:

Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone ( ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress. Referred to as the "Queen of Pop", she has been recognized for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, ...

* 1997:

Garth Brooks Troyal Garth Brooks (born February 7, 1962) is an American Country music, country singer and songwriter. His integration of pop and rock elements into the country genre has earned him his immense popularity, particularly in the United States, ...

* 1999:

Aerosmith Aerosmith is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Boston in 1970. The group consists of lead vocalist Steven Tyler, bassist Tom Hamilton (musician), Tom Hamilton, drummer Joey Kramer, and guitarists Joe Perry (musician), Joe Perry and B ...

* 2001:

* 2002:

Cher Cher ( ; born Cheryl Sarkisian, May 20, 1946) is an American singer, actress and television personality. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Goddess of Pop", she is known for her Androgyny, androgynous contralto voice, Music an ...

* 2004:

Destiny's Child Destiny's Child was an American girl group whose final lineup comprised Beyoncé, Beyoncé Knowles, Kelly Rowland, and Michelle Williams (singer), Michelle Williams. The group began their musical career as Girl's Tyme, formed in 1990 in Hou ...

* 2005:

Kanye West Ye ( ; born Kanye Omari West ; June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, singer and record producer. One of the most prominent figures in hip-hop, he is known for his varying musical style and polarizing cultural and political commentary. After ...

Artist of the Decade Award

* 1980s:

* 1990s:

Mariah Carey Mariah Carey ( ; born March 27, 1969) is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and actress. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Songbird Supreme" by ''Guinness World Records'', Carey is known for her five-octave voc ...

* 2000s:

Eminem Marshall Bruce Mathers III (born October 17, 1972), known professionally as Eminem, is an American rapper, songwriter, and record producer. Regarded as one of the greatest and most influential rappers of all time, he is credited with popula ...

* 2010s:

Drake Drake may refer to: Animals and creatures * A male duck * Drake (mythology), a term related to and often synonymous with dragon People and fictional characters * Drake (surname), a list of people and fictional characters with the family ...

Millennium Award

* 2011:

Beyoncé Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter ( ; born September 4, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and businesswoman. With a career spanning over three decades, she has established herself as one of the most Cultural impact of Beyoncé, ...

* 2012:

(award accepted by her daughter, Bobbi Kristina Brown) * 2016:

Britney Spears Britney Jean Spears (born December 2, 1981) is an American singer. Often referred to as the "Princess of Pop", she has sold over 150 million records worldwide, making her one of the world's best-selling music artists. Cultural impact of Brit ...

Century Award

* 1992:

George Harrison George Harrison (25 February 1943 – 29 November 2001) was an English musician, singer and songwriter who achieved international fame as the lead guitarist of the Beatles. Sometimes called "the quiet Beatle", Harrison embraced Culture ...

* 1993:

Buddy Guy George "Buddy" Guy (born July 30, 1936) is an American blues guitarist and singer. He is an exponent of Chicago blues who has influenced generations of guitarists including Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, Jimmy Page, Keith Richards, Stevie Ray Vaug ...

* 1994:

Billy Joel William Martin Joel (born May 9, 1949) is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. Nicknamed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Piano Man" after his Signature song, signature 1973 song Piano Man (song), of the same name, Joel has ha ...

* 1995:

Joni Mitchell Roberta Joan Mitchell (née Anderson; born November 7, 1943) is a Canadian and American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and painter. As one of the most influential singer-songwriters to emerge from the 1960s folk music circuit, Mitch ...

* 1996:

Carlos Santana Carlos Humberto Santana Barragán (; born July 20, 1947) is an American guitarist, best known as a founding member of the Rock music, rock band Santana (band), Santana. Born and raised in Mexico where he developed his musical background, he r ...

* 1997:

Chet Atkins Chester Burton Atkins (June 20, 1924 – June 30, 2001), also known as "Mister Guitar" and "the Country Gentleman", was an American musician who, along with Owen Bradley and Bob Ferguson (musician), Bob Ferguson, helped create the Nash ...

* 1998:

James Taylor James Vernon Taylor (born March 12, 1948) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. A six-time Grammy Award winner, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000. Taylor achieved his breakthrough in 1970 with the single "Fi ...

* 1999:

Emmylou Harris Emmylou Harris (born April 2, 1947) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, bandleader, and activist. She is considered one of the leading music artists behind the country rock genre in the 1970s and the Americana (music), Americana genre ...

* 2000:

Randy Newman Randall Stuart Newman (born November 28, 1943) is an American singer, songwriter, arranger, pianist, composer, conductor and orchestrator. He is known for his non-rhotic Southern American English, Southern-accented singing style, early America ...

* 2001:

John Mellencamp John J. Mellencamp (born October 7, 1951), previously known as Johnny Cougar, John Cougar, and John Cougar Mellencamp, is an American singer-songwriter. He is known for his brand of heartland rock, which emphasizes traditional instrumentation ...

* 2002:

Annie Lennox Ann Lennox (born 25 December 1954) is a Scottish singer-songwriter, political activist and philanthropist. After achieving moderate success in the late 1970s as part of the new wave band the Tourists, she and fellow musician Dave Stewart w ...

* 2003:

Sting Stimulator of interferon genes (STING), also known as transmembrane protein 173 (TMEM173) and MPYS/MITA/ERIS is a regulator protein that in humans is encoded by the STING1 gene. STING plays an important role in innate immunity. STING induces typ ...

* 2004:

Stevie Wonder Stevland Hardaway Morris (; Judkins; born May 13, 1950), known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American and Ghanaian singer-songwriter, musician, and record producer. He is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th c ...

* 2005:

Tom Petty Thomas Earl Petty (October 20, 1950October 2, 2017) was an American singer, songwriter, and musician. He was the leader and frontman of the Rock music, rock bands Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers and Mudcrutch and a member of the late 1980s sup ...

* 2006:

Tony Bennett Anthony Dominick Benedetto (August 3, 1926 – July 21, 2023), known professionally as Tony Bennett, was an American jazz and traditional pop singer. He received many accolades, including 20 Grammy Awards, a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, ...

Icon Award

*2011:

Neil Diamond Neil Leslie Diamond (born January 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. He has sold more than 130 million records worldwide, making him one of the List of best-selling music artists, best-selling musicians of all time. He has written and ...

*2012:

*2013:

Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. The ...

*2014:

Jennifer Lopez Jennifer Lynn Lopez (born July 24, 1969), also known by her nickname J.Lo, is an American singer, songwriter, actress, dancer and businesswoman. Lopez is regarded as one of the most influential entertainers of her time, credited with breaking ...

*2016:

Celine Dion Céline Marie Claudette Dion (born 30 March 1968) is a Canadian singer. Referred to as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Power Ballads", Dion's powerful, technically skilled vocals and commercially successful works have had ...

*2017:

*2018:

*2019:

*2020:

*2021:

P!nk Alecia Beth Moore-Hart (née Moore; born September 8, 1979), known professionally as Pink (stylized as ), is an American singer and songwriter. She is known for her acrobatic stage presence and activism. At the age of 15, Pink formed the shor ...

*2022:

Mary J. Blige Mary Jane Blige ( ; born January 11, 1971) is an American singer, songwriter, rapper, actress, and entrepreneur. Often referred to as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Hip-Hop Soul" and "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Qu ...

Spotlight Award

* In 2012,

Katy Perry Katheryn Elizabeth Hudson (born October 25, 1984), known professionally as Katy Perry, is an American singer, songwriter, and television personality. She is one of the List of best-selling music artists, best-selling music artists in hist ...

was honored with ''Billboard'''s second Spotlight award for being the second and first female artist in music history to have five consecutive number ones singles on ''Billboard'' Hot 100 from one album.

Change Maker Award

* 2020:

Killer Mike Michael Santiago Render (born April 20, 1975), better known by his stage name Killer Mike, is an American rapper, singer and activist. He made his recording debut on Outkast's fourth album ''Stankonia'' (2000), and guest appeared on the duo's Gr ...

* 2021:

Trae tha Truth Trae tha Truth (or simply Trae) is an American rapper. He embarked on a recording career in 1998, and established local prominence in the Southern hip hop, Texas hip hop scene with his solo debut, ''Losing Composure'' (2003). His second and thi ...

* 2022: Mari Copeny

Other special awards

*1992: Special Award commemorating the 10th Anniversary of ''

Thriller Thriller may refer to: * Thriller (genre), a broad genre of literature, film and television ** Thriller film, a film genre under the general thriller genre Comics * ''Thriller'' (DC Comics), a comic book series published 1983–84 by DC Comics i ...

'':

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Michael Jackson, one of the most culturally significan ...

*1992: No. 1 World Album for '' Dangerous'' and No. 1 World Single for "

Black or White "Black or White" is a song by American singer Michael Jackson, released by Epic Records on November 11, 1991, as the first single from Jackson's eighth studio album, '' Dangerous'' (1991). Jackson wrote, composed, and produced the track with rec ...

*1993: Special Award for the first single with most weeks at No.1 on the Billboard Hot 100 (14 weeks for "

I Will Always Love You "I Will Always Love You" is a song written and originally recorded in 1973 by American singer-songwriter Dolly Parton. Written as a farewell to her business partner and mentor Porter Wagoner, expressing Parton's decision to pursue a solo career ...

"):

*1996: Special Award for most weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 (16 weeks for "

One Sweet Day "One Sweet Day" is a song by American singer-songwriter Mariah Carey and American vocal group Boyz II Men. The song was released on , as the second single from the former's fifth studio album, ''Daydream'' (1995) by Columbia Records. The artis ...

"):

and

Boyz II Men Boyz II Men ( ) is an American vocal harmony group from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, best known for emotional ballads and a cappella harmonies. Formed in 1985, they have been a trio composed of baritone Nathan Morris, tenor Wanya Morris, Wanyá Mo ...

*1997: Special Award honoring "

Candle In the Wind 1997 "Candle in the Wind 1997", also known as "Goodbye England's Rose" and "Candle in the Wind '97", is a threnody by English musician Elton John and songwriter Bernie Taupin, a re-written and re-recorded version of their 1973 song " Candle in the ...

" as the all-time best selling single:

Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, songwriter and pianist. His music and showmanship have had a significant, lasting impact on the music industry, and his songwriting partnership with l ...

and

Bernie Taupin Bernard John Taupin (born 22 May 1950) is an English lyricist and visual artist. He is best known for his songwriting partnership with Elton John, recognised as one of the most successful partnerships of its kind in history. Taupin co-wrote th ...

*1998: Special Award for the most No. 1s ever by a female artist (13):

*2000: Special Award for biggest one-week sales ever of an album: '' No Strings Attached'',

NSYNC NSYNC ( ; also stylized as *NSYNC or N Sync) was an American vocal group and pop boy band formed by Chris Kirkpatrick in Orlando, Florida, in 1995 and launched in Germany by BMG Ariola Munich. The group consists of Kirkpatrick, JC Chasez, ...

*2000: Special Award for biggest one-week sales of an album ever by a female artist, '' Oops!... I Did It Again'',

*2001: Special Award for biggest one-week sales for an album in 2001: ''

Celebrity Celebrity is a condition of fame and broad public recognition of a person or group due to the attention given to them by mass media. The word is also used to refer to famous individuals. A person may attain celebrity status by having great w ...

'',

*2002: Special Award for 1982 album ''

'', which spent more weeks at No. 1 (37) than any other album in the history of the ''Billboard'' 200:

*2003: Special Award for Most weeks at No. 1:

(17 weeks with "Crazy in Love" featuring Jay-Z and "Baby Boy" featuring Sean Paul)

Most wins

The record for most ''Billboard'' Music Awards won by an artist is held by

Taylor Swift Taylor Alison Swift (born December 13, 1989) is an American singer-songwriter. Known for her autobiographical songwriting, artistic versatility, and Cultural impact of Taylor Swift, cultural impact, Swift is one of the Best selling artists, w ...

, earning 49 awards. The record for most ''Billboard'' Music Awards won by a group is held by

BTS BTS (), also known as the Bangtan Boys, is a South Korean boy band formed in 2010. The band consists of Jin, Suga, J-Hope, RM, Jimin, V, and Jung Kook, who co-write or co-produce much of their material. Originally a hip hop group, they ...

who have won 12 awards. Most Wins in a single ceremony

Performances

Broadcast

Since its inception (created by Rick Garson, Paul Flattery & Jim Yukich), the BMAs had been telecast on the

Fox Foxes are small-to-medium-sized omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull; upright, triangular ears; a pointed, slightly upturned snout; and a long, bushy tail ("brush"). Twelve species ...

network; however due to contractual expirations and other unforeseen circumstances, the awards were cancelled for 2007. Plans for a new version of the BMAs in 2008 (in association with

AEG Live The initials AEG are used for or may refer to: Common meanings * AEG (German company) ; AEG) was a German producer of electrical equipment. It was established in 1883 by Emil Rathenau as the ''Deutsche Edison-Gesellschaft für angewandte El ...

) fell through and were not held until 2011. On February 17, 2011, ''Billboard'' announced that the BMAs would return to television, moving from its original home on Fox to its new network,

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...

, on May 22. A new award statuette was created by New York firm

Society Awards Society Awards is an American company best known for designing and manufacturing high-profile entertainment industry awards, including the Emmy Award, Golden Globe Award, GLAAD Media Award, and YouTube Creator Awards, among others. History So ...

Dick Clark Productions Dick Clark Productions, LLC (DCP, stylized in lowercase as dick clark productions or dcp) is an American multinational television production company founded by radio and TV host Dick Clark. The studio primarily produces Awards ceremony, award sh ...

, which is co-owned with ''Billboard'', began producing the ceremony in 2014. On November 28, 2017, it was announced that the ''Billboard'' Music Awards would move from ABC to

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

beginning in 2018 under a multi-year contract. The 2020 ceremony, originally scheduled for April 29, was postponed indefinitely on March 17 due to coronavirus-related public assembly concerns. On August 14, 2020, it was announced that the 2020 ceremony had been rescheduled to October 14. On November 25, 2024, it was announced that the BMAs will return to Fox with a pre-recorded special on December 12. It will also stream live on Amazon Fire TV Channels and on-demand on

Paramount+ Paramount+ (formerly known as CBS All Access in the United States and 10 All Access in Australia) is an American Video on demand#Subscription models, subscription video on-demand Over-the-top media service, over-the-top Streaming media, stream ...

Ratings

References

External links

* {{italic title, string=Billboard Billboard (magazine) Fox Broadcasting Company original programming American annual television specials American Broadcasting Company original programming Television series by Dick Clark Productions Awards established in 1990 Awards disestablished in 2006 Awards established in 2011