The dust has settled on the Billboard Music Awards 2021 (BBMA) and what a night it was. Held on 23 May at LA’s Microsoft Theatre, the ceremony had 500 to 600 in attendance. Amidst all safety protocols, it marked one of the largest Hollywood awards show thus far since the pandemic began.
Kicking off the show was high-energy musical performance by official host Nick Jonas with his brothers Joe and Kevin Jonas, alongside DJ Marshmellow.
But the night certainly belonged to the big winners of the night.
The Weeknd took home 10 awards, including top artist, top male artist and top Hot 100 song for ‘Blinding Lights’. He now has total 19 trophies, placing him fifth on the list of artists with the most BBMAs.
Other artists to make history at the Billboard Music Awards 2021 event include K-pop boyband BTS, who scooped up wins in all four categories they were nominated in, including top duo/group for the second time and top social artist for the fifth consecutive year.
The band also lit up the stage with the first-ever live performance of their latest single ‘Butter’. Their megahit ‘Dynamite’ was awarded Top Selling Song making them the first Korean act to debut at No.1 on the Billboard’s singles chart. The group did not waste time thanking the BTS Army via a tweet.
The late rapper Pop Smoke earned five honours posthumously, including top rap artist and top new artist. Bad Bunny was named top Latin artist with three awards in the off-air category – top Latin song, top Latin male artist and top Latin album.
Drake received the Artist of the Decade Award and came out on stage with his 3-year-old son Adonis Graham to accept his trophy.
Stars like Lady Gaga, Taylor Swift, Kanye West also won but were not in attendance. Other performers of the night include Bad Bunny, Glass Animals, Twenty One Pilots, The Weeknd and Duran Duran.
See a list of some major winners for the Billboard Music Awards 2021 below:
Top Billboard 200 Artist
Drake
Juice WRLD
Pop Smoke
Post Malone
Taylor Swift — WINNER
Top Hot 100 Artist
DaBaby
Drake
Dua Lipa
Pop Smoke
The Weeknd — WINNER
Top Streaming Songs Artist
DaBaby
Drake — WINNER
Lil Baby
Pop Smoke
The Weeknd
Top Song Sales Artist
Justin Bieber
BTS — WINNER
Megan Thee Stallion
Morgan Wallen
The Weeknd
Top Radio Songs Artist
Justin Bieber
Lewis Capaldi
Dua Lipa
Harry Styles
The Weeknd — WINNER
Top Social Artist (Fan Voted)
BLACKPINK
BTS — WINNER
Ariana Grande
SB19
Seventeen
Top R&B Artist
Jhené Aiko
Justin Bieber
Chris Brown
Doja Cat
The Weeknd — WINNER
Top Rap Artist
DaBaby
Drake
Juice WRLD
Lil Baby
Pop Smoke — WINNER
Top Country Artist
Gabby Barrett
Kane Brown
Luke Combs
Chris Stapleton
Morgan Wallen — WINNER
Top Rock Artist
AC/DC
AJR
Five Finger Death Punch
Machine Gun Kelly — WINNER
Twenty one pilots
Top Dance/Electronic Artist
The Chainsmokers
Kygo
Lady Gaga — WINNER
Marshmello
Surf Mesa
Top Gospel Artist
Kirk Franklin
Koryn Hawthorne
Tasha Cobbs Leonard
Maverick City Music
Kanye West – WINNER
Top Billboard 200 Album
Juice WRLD, Legends Never Die
Lil Baby, My Turn
Pop Smoke, Shoot for the Stars, Aim for the Moon — WINNER
Taylor Swift, folklore
The Weeknd, After Hours
Top R&B Album
Jhené Aiko, Chilombo
Chris Brown & Young Thug, Slime & B
Doja Cat, Hot Pink
Kehlani, It Was Good Until It Wasn’t
The Weeknd, After Hours — WINNER
Top Rap Album
DaBaby, Blame It On Baby
Juice WRLD, Legends Never Die
Lil Baby, My Turn
Lil Uzi Vert, Eternal Atake
Pop Smoke, Shoot for the Stars, Aim for the Moon — WINNER
Top Rock Album
AC/DC, Power Up
Miley Cyrus, Plastic Hearts
Glass Animals, Dreamland
Machine Gun Kelly, Tickets to My Downfall — WINNER
Bruce Springsteen, Letter to You
Top Dance/Electronic Album
DJ Snake, Carte Blanche
Gryffin, Gravity
Kygo, Golden Hour
Lady Gaga, Chromatica — WINNER
Kylie Minogue, Disco
Top Hot 100 Song Presented by Rockstar
24kGoldn ft. iann dior, “Mood”
Gabby Barrett ft. Charlie Puth, “I Hope”
Chris Brown & Young Thug, “Go Crazy”
DaBaby ft. Roddy Ricch, “ROCKSTAR”
The Weeknd, “Blinding Lights” — WINNER
Top Streaming Song
Cardi B ft. Megan Thee Stallion, “WAP”
DaBaby ft. Roddy Ricch, “ROCKSTAR” — WINNER
Future ft. Drake, “Life Is Good”
Jack Harlow ft. DaBaby, Tory Lanez, & Lil Wayne, “WHATS POPPIN”
The Weeknd, “Blinding Lights”
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”
Top Radio Song
Gabby Barrett ft. Charlie Puth, “I Hope”
Chris Brown & Young Thug, “Go Crazy”
Dua Lipa, “Don’t Start Now”
Harry Styles, “Adore You”
The Weeknd, “Blinding Lights” — WINNER
Top R&B Song
Jhené Aiko ft. H.E.R., “B.S.”
Justin Bieber ft. Quavo, “Intentions”
Chris Brown & Young Thug, “Go Crazy”
Doja Cat, “Say So”
The Weeknd, “Blinding Lights” — WINNER
Top Rap Song
24kGoldn ft. iann dior, “Mood”
Cardi B ft. Megan Thee Stallion, “WAP”
DaBaby ft. Roddy Ricch, “ROCKSTAR” — WINNER
Jack Harlow ft. DaBaby, Tory Lanez, & Lil Wayne, “WHATS POPPIN”
Megan Thee Stallion ft. Beyoncé, “Savage”
Top Rock Song
AJR, “Bang!” — WINNER
All Time Low ft. blackbear, “Monsters
Glass Animals, “Heat Waves”
Machine Gun Kelly ft. blackbear, “my ex’s best friend”
Twenty one pilots, “Level of Concern”
Top Dance/Electronic Song
Lady Gaga, “Stupid Love”
Lady Gaga & Ariana Grande, “Rain on Me”
SAINt JHN, “Roses (Imanbek Remix)” — WINNER
Surf Mesa ft. Emilee, “ily (i love you baby)”
Topic & A7S, “Breaking Me”
Top Gospel Song
Koryn Hawthorne, “Speak To Me”
Jonathan McReynolds & Mali Music, “Movin’ On”
Marvin Sapp, “Thank You For It All”
Tye Tribbett, “We Gon’ Be Alright”
Kanye West ft. Travis Scott, “Wash Us In The Blood” — WINNER
