Culture Representation: Taking place in the United States (mostly in Michigan, Illinois and Washington, D.C.) during the six months before an apocalypse, the dark comedy film “Don’t Look Up” features a predominantly white cast of characters (with some African Americans and Asians) representing the working-class, middle-class and wealthy.
Culture Clash: After a Ph.D. student in astronomy discovers that a catastrophic comet is headed to Earth to destroy the planet in six months, people have varying reactions, including a stubborn refusal to believe that the apocalypse is coming.
Culture Audience: “Don’t Look Up” will appeal primarily to fans of the movie’s star-studded cast and apocalyptic comedies that repeat the same types of gags for an overly long runtime of nearly two-and-a-half hours.
Pictured in front row, from left to right: Jonah Hill (seated) Paul Guilfoyle (seated), Mark Rylance (standing) and Meryl Streep (seated) in “Don’t Look Up” (Photo by Niko Tavernise/Netflix)
The dark comedy “Don’t Look Up” is the equivalent of watching an annoyingly smug hack comedian tell the same clumsily executed joke for more than two hours. This movie crams in a lot of big-name stars to try to make it look better than it really is. In trying to make a point about complacency and denial about how climate change is a global crisis, writer/director/producer Adam McKay instead mishandles that point in “Don’t Look Up,” by not only overselling it with stunt casting but also selling it short with a bloated and messy story.
In a statement in the production notes for “Don’t Look Up,” McKay says that he was inspired to do the movie after reading David Wallace-Wells’ 2019 non-fiction book “The Uninhabitable Earth.” In the statement, McKay comments on the book: “I couldn’t get it out of my head. It depicts the ways in which global warming will wreak havoc on the planet if nothing is done to combat the climate crisis.”
McKay continues, “And, it all boiled down to this idea I just couldn’t shake: We all know how to react when there is a killer with an ax, or when your house is on fire, but what the author David Wallace-Wells was writing about was a million times worse. How do we get people to realize this is a clear and present danger? How close does that danger have to be for us to have the proper response? I felt like I needed to write this script.”
Based on the disappointing end results of “Don’t Look Up,” McKay should’ve spent more time honing the script, which lazily repeats the same gimmick about climate-change deniers being blithering idiots, and hammers this stereotype all over the movie like a robotic jackhammer on full-blast. Almost all of the people in the movie are caricatures who aren’t very funny at all. In a movie about an impending apocalypse, most of the main characters are not seen with any family members or even shown talking about family members. That’s how phony “Don’t Look Up” is and how it makes these caricatures just hollow vessels for the movie’s dumb jokes.
McKay and the other “Don’t Look Up” filmmakers seem to have spent more energy corralling numerous celebrity cast members (many of whom are Oscar winners and Oscar nominees) to overstuff the movie, rather than giving these cast members well-rounded characters to play. All of the characters are extremely shallow and one-note. And for a movie that has an all-star cast and is set primarily in the United States, it’s appallingly exclusionary and racist that the “Don’t Look Up” filmmakers couldn’t be bothered to cast any Hispanic/Latino people to be among the stars of the movie. When people talk about how Hispanic/Latino people are underrepresented in American-made movies, “Don’t Look Up” is part of that problem.
“Don’t Look Up” is the type of movie that takes nearly two-and-a-half hours (138 minutes, to be exact) to tell a story that could’ve been told in 90 minutes or less. And even if the movie had been about 90 minutes, it still would be stretched too thin by the flimsy plot. If you want to watch an apocalypse movie where people deny that an apocalypse is going to happen, and other people get angry at these deniers, while everyone mugs for the camera and tells really pathetic and poorly written jokes, then “Don’t Look Up” is the movie for you.
In “Don’t Look Up,” Jennifer Lawrence portrays Kate Dibiasky, a Ph.D. student in astronomy at Michigan State University. Kate works in an unrealistic-looking high-tech science lab that looks like a movie set, not a lab that’s supposed to be on a university campus. Kate is a character that looks like what an uptight person thinks is “edgy,” because Kate’s hair is dyed bright red, she wears a nose ring, and she likes to smoke marijuana. One day, a bored-looking Kate sees on her computer monitor that an unusual comet is in the universe. She perks up when she finds out that this comet is extremely rare.
She alerts her professor/supervisor Dr. Randall Mindy (played by Leonardo DiCaprio), who is so elated by this comet discovery, he throws an impromptu party with other students in the lab. But that elation soon turns to horror, when Randall calculates during the party that this comet is actually headed toward Earth. He’s so freaked out by these results that he doesn’t tell his students right away and quickly orders them to leave the building. However, he tells Kate to stay behind and confides his suspicions to her. Kate does her own calculations and finds out that the comet will destroy Earth in six months and 14 days.
Kate and Randall call high-level people at NASA, including NASA chief Dr. Jocelyn Calder (played by Hettienne Park), who is skeptical and doesn’t want to deal with investigating this claim about a comet that will destroy Earth. She passes Kate and Randall off to her underling Dr. Teddy Oglethorpe (played by Rob Morgan), who is NASA’s head of planetary defense. Dr. Oglethorpe essentially becomes an awkward sidekick to Kate and Randall for much of the movie.
The next thing you know, Kate and Randall are whisked on a military plane to the White House, where they meet President Janie Orlean (played by Meryl Streep), who is obviously supposed to be a female version of Donald Trump. (Even if people didn’t know that McKay is an outspoken liberal, his political bias is obvious in his movies.) President Orlean is currently distracted because she’s in the middle of a scandal: Her nomination choice to be a U.S Supreme Court Justice is trigger-happy, right-wing Sheriff Conlon (played by Erik Parillo), whose past as a nude model has been exposed.
The scandal gets worse, when it’s revealed in the news that Sheriff Conlon and President Orlean (who is a bachelorette) have been secret lovers, and she sent him photos of her vagina. This is not spoiler information because—much like all the other crude scenarios in “Don’t Look Up”—it has no bearing on the plot. This movie is filled with a bunch of conversations that do nothing to enhance the story but are just in the movie to try to make everything in the film look like it’s “cutting-edge,” when it’s not. “Don’t Look Up” is really just a dumpster of tawdry and witless jokes thrown together in a monotonous cesspool.
Even though Sherrif Conlon is President Orlean’s choice to be a U.S. Supreme Court Justice, he doesn’t have a law degree. Choosing unqualified people for high-ranking government jobs seems to be President Orlean’s speciality. She has appointed her unqualfied and very obnoxious son Jason Orlean (played by Jonah Hill) as the White House’s chief of staff. (Jason’s father is not seen or mentioned in the movie.)
Jason likes to go on egotistical rants and occasionally spews garbage lines that allude to him having incestuous feelings for his mother. Here’s an example of the not-very-funny dialogue in the movie. At one point, Jason smirks about his mother when he says, “I can’t think of another president I’d rather see in Playboy.” He makes other creepy comments to make it clear that he’s sexually attracted to his mother.
Randall estimates that the comet’s destruction of Earth will be like “a billion Hiroshima bombs.” Kate and Randall desperately try to warn anyone who will listen about this impending apocalypse. The movie wastes a lot of time with repeated scenarios of Randall and Kate seeming to be the only people in America who are really sounding the alarm about this apocalypse and sometimes having emotional meltdowns because people won’t take the warnings seriously.
The over-used “joke” in the movie is that most people whom Kate and Randall tell about the apolcalypse either don’t believe them, or if they do believe, they shame Randall and Kate for being too depressing and paranoid. Meanwhile, other people try to use the apocalypse for their own selfish reasons, which usually have to do with wanting more money and power. A military plan to destroy the comet goes awry when certain greedy people discover there are vaulable minerals inside the comet that could make certain people a massive fortune.
The movie’s title comes from a catch phrase used by “apocalypse deniers,” who say, “Don’t Look Up” as their mantra, which they chant whenever and wherever they fell like chanting it. Many of these “apocalypse deniers” gather at rallies that the “Don’t Look Up” filmmakers deliberately made to look a lot like rallies for Donald Trump supporters, including many attendees wearing red baseball caps. In the movie, the “Don’t Look Up” slogan is used by people to identify themselves as not only apocalypse deniers but also advocates of other conservative-leaning political beliefs.
As an example of how poorly written “Don’t Look Up” is, several characters in the movie are useless and just take up space to further stretch out the running time in the movie. In the beginning of “Don’t Look Up,” Kate has a journalist boyfriend named Phillip (played by Himesh Patel), who adds nothing to the overall story. Somehow, the filmmakers of “Don’t Look Up” think it’s hilarious that there’s a scene of Phillip pondering how he’s going to describe in an article that Sheriff Conlon reportedly had an erection when he was doing nude modeling for an art class. “Was he noticeably aroused or engorged?” Phillip asks aloud when trying to decide which words to use in the article.
Randall is married with two adult sons: Marshall Mindy (played by Conor Sweeney) and Evan Mindy (played by Robert Radochia), who appear to be in ther late teens or early 20s. Marshall and Evan still live at home with Randall and his unassuming wife June Mindy (played by Melanie Lynskey), who has to quickly adjust to their lives changing when Randall starts to be believed and he becomes a celebrity “sex symbol” scientist. Randall also gets the nickname of A.I.L.F. (If you know what the slang acronym MILF stands for, just substitute the word “astronomer” for the word “mother” to know the meaning of the acronym A.I.L.F.)
June gets a little bit of a story arc in “Don’t Look Up,” but Marshall and Evan are completely generic. The movie makes no effort to distinguish between Marshall and Evan, in terms of their personalities. All the movie shows is that Randall has two sons who adore and almost worship him. This seemingly blissful family life is supposed to make Randall look like even more of a jerk when he gives in to temptation to cheat on June. (This review won’t reveal who becomes Randall’s mistress, but it’s not the most obvious guess.)
Other caricatures in the movie include Mark Rylance as a billionaire tech mogul named Peter Isherwell, who physically resembles Apple Inc.’s Tim Cook but who talks more like an Elon Musk type who wants to be a spaced-out New Age guru. Peter is a major donor to President Orlean, who kowtows to his every whim. It’s an obvious satire of how corrupt elected politicians will serve their biggest donors rather than serve the people whom the politicians are supposed to represent.
And in a lazily conceived apocalypse movie involving the U.S. government, “Don’t Look Up” has the most stereotypical of apocalypse movie stereotypes: a war-mongering military officer who’s in charge of a military operation to try to stop the apocalypse. His name is Colonel Ben Drask (played by Ron Perlman), who spouts a lot of racist and xenophobic comments. It’s all so the movie can further put an emphasis on showing that President Orlean surrounds herself with a lot of unhinged, extreme right-wingers.
More useless characters include an on-again/off-again music celebrity couple named Riley Bina (played by Ariana Grande) and DJ Chello (played by Scott Mescudi, also known as real-life rapper Kid Cudi), whose relationship drama further clogs up the movie. It seems like the only reason why these shallow lovebird characters are in the movie is to show their concert scenes, where they perform songs that refer to the apocalypse. Oh, and so Grande could do an original song (“Just Look Up,” the anthem of the movie’s apocalypse believers) that the filmmakers obviously wanted to be nominated for an Oscar.
And there’s a silly running “joke” in the movie that a character named General Themes (played by Paul Guilfoyle), who hangs out at the White House, charges people money for snacks and drinks that are supposed to be free at the White House. When Kate finds out that she was conned into paying General Themes for free food and drinks, she gets very snippy and bratty about it, which seems to be her reaction to most things. Kate’s ranting about having to pay for snacks at the White House seems to be the movie’s heavy-handed way of showing that even in an impending apocalypse, when people should be worried about more important things, people will still go out of their way to get angry over petty things.
Two of the more memorable characters in “Don’t Look Up” are slick and superficial TV news co-hosts Brie Evantee (played by Cate Blanchett) and Jack Bremmer (played by Tyler Perry), who would rather talk about the status of the relationship between Riley and DJ Chello than talk about the apocalypse. Blanchett and Perry understood the assignment of being in a dark comedy, because their Brie and Jack characters are the only ones in “Don’t Look Up” who come closest to being characters that viewers can laugh at and laugh with, in these news anchors’ non-stop parade of vanity. Brie gets more screen time than Jack because the movie has a subplot about her personal life.
Brie and Jack host a program called “The Daily Rip” on a 24-hour news network. Kate and Randall are guests on the show multiple times. And each time, Brie and Jack dismiss and disrespect the warnings about the apocalypse. The first time that Kate and Randall are on “The Daily Rip,” Kate has a very angry tantrum and storms off of the show. Kate’s meltdown becomes an unflattering meme. Meanwhile, just because Brie flirts with Randall and flatters him on the show, he suddenly becomes a sex symbol.
Kate’s relationship with Phillip doesn’t last when she becomes the laughingstock of the world, and he writes a tell-all article about her. She ends up working as a cashier at a convenience store called DrinkMo! that sells a lot of liquor (it’s an obvious spoof of the real-life BevMo! liquor store chain), where she meets a disheveled skateboarder named Yule (Timothée Chalamet), who comes into the store with a few friends. Yule is about 10 years younger than Kate, and he immediately flirts with her. You know where this is going, of course.
One of the worst things about “Don’t Look Up” is how predictable it is. And that predictability makes everything move along at a much more tedious pace. In addition to the terrible jokes, “Don’t Look Up” falters with cheap-looking visual effects, and the film editing is often careless and amateurish. “Don’t Look Up” has a lot of talented cast members, who get no cohesive direction in the movie. For example, Lawrence’s acting in the movie is very uneven: Sometimes she plays the comedy in a deapan way, while other times she’s way too over-the-top.
Other cast members try too hard to be funny. There’s a reason why DiCaprio rarely does comedies. Maybe he should stick to the dramas that he does best. Streep obviously used Trump as a template for her performance, so there’s nothing new and surprising about how she plays President Orlean. (And she’s played many bossy characters in other movies.) Rylance lets the shiny white teeth veneers he’s wearing as Peter do a lot of the acting for him.
Most the cast members seem to have been told to act as irritating as possible while in character. Only a few characters (such as Randall’s wife June and sidekick Dr. Oglethorpe) appear to be decent people. Riley and DJ Chello are too vapid to make an impact on the story.
And this is yet another “end of the world” movie where the male actors far outnumber the female actors. It’s not what the real world looks like at all, because females in reality are 51% of the world’s population. The same 51% female statistic applies to the U.S. population.
“Don’t Look Up” makes half-hearted attempts to show sexism, when people overlook Kate and shower attention on “sex symbol” Randall, who gets most of the glory for work that Kate did. But if the filmmakers intended to have any insightful commentary on women overcoming sexism, it’s overshadowed and negated by the movie making any woman in power (namely, President Orlean, NASA chief Dr. Calder and media star Brie Evantee) use sex to get what she wants and act like groupies when they brag about powerful men they had sex with or dated. “Don’t Look Up” does not celebrate female empowerment. The movie degrades female empowerment, by making it look like women have to sleep with men to gain power, with a woman’s worth in the workplace being valued more for sex appeal rather than talent, personality and intelligence.
Dark comedies are supposed to offer acerbic wit in poking fun at society’s problems, but “Don’t Look Up” is only concerned with stringing together a bunch of scenes where people say and do tacky and annoying things. Simply put: “Don’t Look Up” is boring, sloppily made, and nowhere near as clever as it thinks it is. For a better-made and much-funnier all-star apocalyptic comedy film with adult jokes, watch 2013’s “This Is the End.”
Netflix will release “Don’t Look Up” in select U.S. cinemas on December 10, 2021, and on Netflix on December 24, 2021.
With five prizes, including Artist of the Year, Lady Gaga emerged as the biggest winner at the 37th annual MTV Video Music Awards, which were presented at various outdoor locations in New York City on August 30, 2020. The MTV VMAs are voted for online by the public. The ceremony was originally going to be held indoors at Barclays Center in New York City’s Brooklyn borough, but those plans were scrapped because of the coronavirus pandemic. The ceremony, hosted by Keke Palmer, was dedicated to actor Chadwick Boseman, who died of colon cancer on August 28, 2020.
For the first time in MTV VMA history, the ceremony was simulcast on MTV and on The CW broadcast network. MTV and The CW are both owned by ViacomCBS. The MTV VMAs continued to have simulcasts on ViacomCBS-owned cable TV networks such as BET, BET Her, CMT, Comedy Central, Logo, MTV2, Nick at Nite, Paramount Network, Pop, TV Land and VH1.
In addition to the subdued, mostly serious tone of the show, this year’s MTV VMA ceremony was very different because many of the performers on stage wore masks due to the pandemic. Several of the acceptance speeches had messages addressing the pandemic and civil unrest affecting the world. This wasn’t a ceremony where people were going to pull any crazy publicity stunts that the MTV VMAs are known for having. And as with other award shows and similar events that are being held during the pandemic, the MTV VMAs in 2020 did not have “red carpet” arrivals or a backstage press room.
Lady Gaga had several costume changes during the numerous times she was on stage, either to perform or to accept a VMA trophy. She was given the MTV Tricon Award for career achievement (a non-competitive category) in addition to winning Artist of the Year. Lady Gaga and Ariana Grande’s duet “Rain on Me” picked up three prizes: Song of the Year, Best Collaboration and Best Cinematography. Grande and Lady Gaga performed “Rain on Me” at the ceremony. Lady Gaga and Grande had the most nominations (nine each) going into the ceremony.
Grande ended up winning four VMA prizes: The aforementioned three VMAs for “Rain on Me,” plus one for Grande and Justin Bieber’s duet “Stuck With U,” which was the first MTV VMA winner for Best Music Video From Home, a category that was created because of the pandemic. Another pandemic-created category this year was Best Quarantine Performance, which went to CNCO for “MTV Unplugged at Home.”
The Weeknd’s “Blinding Lights” won two prizes: Video of the Year and Best R&B. BTS picked up four prizes: Best Group, while BTS’s “On” video garnered the awards for Best Pop, Best K-Pop and Best Choreography.
The 2020 MTV VMA also added a pandemic-related category called Everyday Heroes: Frontline Medical Workers, “celebrating the best performances by first responders— doctors, nurses and other frontline medical workers—who kept everyone going with their impromptu and off-the-cuff performances,” according to a press release from MTV. All of the nominees ended up winning the award.
Chloe x Halle, Jack Harlow, Lewis Capaldi, Tate McRae and Machine Gun Kelly featuring Travis Barker and Blackbear performed during the 2020 VMAs Pre-Show, which was hosted by Jamila Mustafa and Nessa, and featured interviews by celebrity correspondents Kevan Kenney and Travis Mills.
The presenters at the 2020 MTV VMAs were host Palmer, Jaden Smith, Drew Barrymore, Anthony Ramos, Joey King, Madison Beer, Nicole Richie, Kelly Clarkson, Sofia Carson, Bella Hadid, Travis Barker, Machine Gun Kelly and Bebe Rexha.
Bruce Gillmer and Den of Thieves co-founder Jesse Ignjatovic were executive producers for the 2020 MTV VMAs. Barb Bialkowski was co-executive producer. Alicia Portugal and Jackie Barba served as executives in charge of production. Wendy Plaut was executive in charge of celebrity talent. Lisa Lauricella was the show’s music talent executive. Official sponsors of the 2020 MTV VMAS included Burger King, Chime Banking, Coors Light, Extra Gum and Pepsi.
Here is the list of performers and the songs they performed at the 2020 MTV VMAs:
The Weeknd – “Blinding Lights”
DaBaby – “Peep Hole,” “Blind” and “Rockstar”
Miley Cyrus – “Midnight Sky”
Maluma – “Hawái”
BTS – “Dynamite”
Lady Gaga – “Chromatica II” “911,” “Rain on Me” (with Ariana Grande) and “Stupid Love”
Doja Cat – “Say So” and “Like That”
Keke Palmer – “Snack”
CNCO – “Beso”
Black Eyed Peas with Nicky Jam and Tyga – “I Gotta Feeling”
JP Saxe and Julia Michaels – “If the World Was Ending” (advertisement for Extra Gum)
COMPLETE LIST OF WINNERS AND NOMINEES
* = winner
VIDEO OF THE YEAR
Billie Eilish – “Everything I Wanted” – Darkroom / Interscope Records
Eminem featuring Juice WRLD – “Godzilla” – Shady / Aftermath / Interscope Records
Future featuring Drake – “Life Is Good” – Epic Records / Freebandz
Lady Gaga with Ariana Grande – “Rain on Me” – Streamline / Interscope Records
Taylor Swift – “The Man” – Republic Records
The Weeknd – “Blinding Lights” – XO / Republic Records*
ARTIST OF THE YEAR
DaBaby – SCMG / Interscope Records
Justin Bieber – RBMG / Def Jam
Lady Gaga – Streamline / Interscope Records*
Megan Thee Stallion – 300 Entertainment
Post Malone – Republic Records
The Weeknd – XO / Republic Records
SONG OF THE YEAR
Billie Eilish – “Everything I Wanted” – Darkroom / Interscope Records
Doja Cat – “Say So” – Kemosabe / RCA Records
Lady Gaga with Ariana Grande – “Rain on Me” – Streamline / Interscope Records*
Megan Thee Stallion – “Savage” – 300 Entertainment
Post Malone – “Circles” – Republic Records
Roddy Ricch – “The Box” – Atlantic Records
BEST COLLABORATION
Ariana Grande & Justin Bieber – “Stuck With U” – Republic Records / Def Jam
Black Eyed Peas featuring J Balvin – “RITMO (Bad Boys for Life)” – Epic Records / We The Best
Ed Sheeran featuring Khalid – “Beautiful People” – Atlantic Records
Future featuring Drake – “Life Is Good” – Epic Records / Freebandz
Karol G featuring Nicki Minaj – “Tusa” – Universal Music Latin Entertainment
Lady Gaga with Ariana Grande – “Rain on Me” – Streamline / Interscope Records*
PUSH BEST NEW ARTIST, Presented by Chime Banking
Doja Cat – Kemosabe / RCA Records*
Jack Harlow – Generation Now / Atlantic Records
Lewis Capaldi – Capitol Records
Roddy Ricch – Atlantic Records
Tate McRae – RCA Records
YUNGBLUD – Locomotion Recordings / Geffen Records / Interscope Records
BEST POP
BTS – “On” – Big Hit Entertainment*
Halsey – “You Should Be Sad” – Capitol Records
Jonas Brothers – “What a Man Gotta Do” – Republic Records
Keke Palmer (Photo by Theo Wargo/Getty Images for IFP)
Miley Cyrus is set to perform her new single, “Midnight Sky,” which she released to rave reviews.
Lady Gaga will bring her chart-topping album, Chromatica, to life at this year’s 2020 “VMAs” for the world premiere televised performance of her latest release. This marks her first return to the “VMAs” stage since 2013.
Ariana Grande to join Lady Gaga for performance of “Rain on Me.”
First-time performances from BTS and Roddy Ricch; second-ever appearance from The Weeknd, who last took the “VMAs” stage in 2015.
This will be BTS’ TV debut of their new, English-only single, “Dynamite,” set to be released on August 21.
The following performers are also 2020 “VMAs” nominees:
Ariana Grande: 9 nominations (Video of the Year, Song of the Year, Best Collaboration [“Rain on Me”], Best Collaboration [“Stuck with U”]. Best Pop, Best Music Video From Home, Best Cinematography, Best Visual Effects, Best Choreography)
Lady Gaga: 9 nominations (Video of the Year, Artist of the Year Song of the Year, Best Collaboration, Best Pop, Best Quarantine Performance, Best Cinematography, Best Visual Effects, Best Choreography)
The Weeknd:6 nominations (Video of the Year, Artist of the Year, Best R&B Video, Best Direction, Best Cinematography, Best Editing)
J Balvin: 4 nominations (Best Collaboration, Best Latin x3)
BTS: 3 nominations (Best Pop, Best K-Pop, Best Choreography)
Roddy Ricch: 3 nominations (Song of the Year, PUSH Best New Artist, Best Hip-Hop Video)
Doja Cat: 3 nominations (Song of the Year, PUSH Best New Artist, Best Direction
CNCO: 2 nominations (Best Quarantine Performance, Best Choreography)
Maluma: 1 nomination (Best Latin Video)
Chloe x Halle, Jack Harlow, Lewis Capaldi, Tate McRae and Machine Gun Kelly featuring Travis Barker and Blackbear, are set to perform during the 2020 “VMAs” Pre-Show airing on Sunday, August 30 at 6:30pm ET/PT. Hosted by Nessa and Jamila Mustafa, the 90-minute event will include jaw-dropping performances, celebrity interviews and coast-to-coast coverage from celebrity correspondents, Kevan Kenney and Travis Mills.
This year’s show will honor “Everyday Heroes: Frontline Medical Workers,” brought to you by EXTRA® Gum, celebrating the best performances by first responders – doctors, nurses, and other frontline medical workers – who kept everyone going with their impromptu and off-the-cuff performances. Nominees include:
Dr. Elvis Francois and Dr. William Robinson – “Imagine”
Dr. Nate Wood – “Lean on Me”
Jefferson University Hospital’s Swab Squad – “Level Up”
Jason “Tik Tok Doc” Campbell
Lori Marie Key – “Amazing Grace”
PUSH Best New Artist, presented by Chime Banking: The top three finalists include: Doja Cat, Lewis Capaldi and YUNGBLUD. Fans can vote for their favorite artist by direct messaging @VMAs on Twitter until August 28.
Social Categories:
BEST GROUP: Fans can vote until August 26 for “Best Group” by swiping up on MTV’s Instagram Story. Nominees include:
5 Seconds of Summer
The 1975
BLACKPINK
BTS
Chloe x Halle
CNCO
Little Mix
MONSTA X
Now United
Twenty One Pilots
SONG OF THE SUMMER: Starting August 26, fans can vote for the “Song of the Summer” in a bracket-style voting on MTV’s Instagram Story. Nominees include:
Pop Smoke featuring 50 Cent & Roddy Ricch – “The Woo”
SAINt JHN – “Roses”
Saweetie – “Tap In”
Taylor Swift – “Cardigan”
The Weeknd – “Blinding Lights”
NOMINATIONS: Ariana Grande and Lady Gaga lead this year’s nominations with nine nods each, closely followed by Billie Eilish and The Weeknd with six nominations. Full nominee list here.
VOTING: Fans can vote for their favorites across 15 gender-neutral categories, including “Video of the Year,” “Artist of the Year,” “Best Quarantine Performance,” and more by visiting vma.mtv.com through August 23, 2020. Voting for “PUSH Best New Artist, Presented by Chime Banking,” will remain open until August 28.
PRODUCTION CREDITS: Bruce Gillmer and Den of Thieves co-founder Jesse Ignjatovic are Executive Producers for the 2020 “VMAs.” Barb Bialkowski is Co-Executive Producer. Alicia Portugal and Jackie Barba serve as Executives in Charge of Production. Wendy Plaut is Executive in Charge of Celebrity Talent. Lisa Lauricella is Music Talent Executive.
SPONSORS: Official sponsors of the 2020 “MTV Video Music Awards” include Burger King®, Chime Banking, Coors Light, EXTRA® Gum, and PEPSI® .
Ariana Grande (9), Lady Gaga (9), Billie Eilish (6) and The Weeknd (6) lead nominations for the 2020 MTV “VMAs” airing live on Sunday, August 30, 2020 at 8pm ET/PT.
“We’re excited to unveil the incredible list of VMA nominees who shaped this year’s unique music landscape and bring fans a show that celebrates the powerful unifying force of music,” said Bruce Gillmer, President of Music, Music Talent, Programming & Events for ViacomCBS Media Networks.
Official sponsors of the 2020 “MTV Video Music Awards” include Burger King®, Chime Banking, Coors Light, and EXTRA® Gum.
Beginning today, fans can vote for their favorites across 15 gender-neutral categories, including “Video of the Year,” “Artist of the Year,” “Best Quarantine Performance,” and more by visiting http://www.mtv.com/vma through August 23, 2020. Voting for “PUSH Best New Artist, Presented by Chime Banking,” will remain open.
COMPLETE LIST OF NOMINEES
VIDEO OF THE YEAR
Billie Eilish – “Everything I Wanted” – Darkroom / Interscope Records
Eminem featuring Juice WRLD – “Godzilla” – Shady / Aftermath / Interscope Records
Future featuring Drake – “Life Is Good” – Epic Records / Freebandz
Lady Gaga with Ariana Grande – “Rain on Me” – Streamline / Interscope Records
Taylor Swift – “The Man” – Republic Records
The Weeknd – “Blinding Lights” – XO / Republic Records
ARTIST OF THE YEAR
DaBaby – SCMG / Interscope Records
Justin Bieber – RBMG / Def Jam
Lady Gaga – Streamline / Interscope Records
Megan Thee Stallion – 300 Entertainment
Post Malone – Republic Records
The Weeknd – XO / Republic Records
SONG OF THE YEAR
Billie Eilish – “Everything I Wanted” – Darkroom / Interscope Records
Doja Cat – “Say So” – Kemosabe / RCA Records
Lady Gaga with Ariana Grande – “Rain on Me” – Streamline / Interscope Records
Megan Thee Stallion – “Savage” – 300 Entertainment
Post Malone – “Circles” – Republic Records
Roddy Ricch – “The Box” – Atlantic Records
BEST COLLABORATION
Ariana Grande & Justin Bieber – “Stuck with U” – Republic Records / Def Jam
Black Eyed Peas featuring J Balvin – “RITMO (Bad Boys for Life)” – Epic Records / We The Best
Ed Sheeran featuring Khalid – “Beautiful People” – Atlantic Records
Future featuring Drake – “Life Is Good” – Epic Records / Freebandz
Karol G featuring Nicki Minaj – “Tusa” – Universal Music Latin Entertainment
Lady Gaga with Ariana Grande – “Rain on Me” – Streamline / Interscope Records
PUSH BEST NEW ARTIST, Presented by Chime Banking
Doja Cat – Kemosabe / RCA Records
Jack Harlow – Generation Now / Atlantic Records
Lewis Capaldi – Capitol Records
Roddy Ricch – Atlantic Records
Tate McRae – RCA Records
YUNGBLUD – Locomotion Recordings / Geffen Records / Interscope Records
BEST POP
BTS – “On” – Big Hit Entertainment
Halsey – “You Should Be Sad” – Capitol Records
Jonas Brothers – “What a Man Gotta Do” – Republic Records
Ariana Grande at the Songwriters Hall of Fame 49th Annual Induction and Awards Dinner at New York Marriott Marquis Hotel in New York City on June 14, 2018. (Photo by Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for Songwriters Hall of Fame)
Alicia Keys at the 2019 iHeartRadio Music Awards at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles on March 14, 2019. (Photo by Frank Micelotta/FOX/PictureGroup)
Blake Shelton at the 53rd Annual CMA Awards at the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville on November 13, 2019. (Photo courtesy of ABC/Image Group LA)
The following is a press release from CBS and the Recording Academy:
CBS and the Recording Academy® have confirmed the next slate of performers for the 62nd Annual Grammy Awards. Ariana Grande and Demi Lovato announced on social media earlier this week they will take the stage for Music’s Biggest Night. In addition, current Grammy nominees Camilla Cabello; H.E.R.; Jonas Brothers; Rosalía; Tyler, The Creator, and 13-time nominee Charlie Wilson are set to deliver unforgettable performances. Recording Academy Lifetime Achievement Award recipients Run-D.M.C will perform with previously announced Aerosmith. Ten-time Grammy winner Bonnie Raitt will deliver a tribute performance honoring Lifetime Achievement Awards recipient John Prine. They all join previously announced performers Billie Eilish, Lizzo, Blake Shelton and Gwen Stefani. Hosted by Alicia Keys, the 62nd Annual Grammy Awards will be broadcast live from Staples Center in HDTV and 5.1 surround sound Sunday, Jan. 26 (8:00-11:30 PM, live ET/5:00-8:30 PM, live PT) on the CBS Television Network and streaming on CBS All Access.
About the performers:
Four-time Grammy-winning band Aerosmith first performed on the 33rd Grammy Awards stage in 1991. This year, they are appearing as the MusiCares Person of the Year, being recognized for their considerable philanthropic efforts over five decades and undeniable impact on American music history.
Making her Grammy performance debut, first-time Grammy nominee Billie Eilish is nominated for six awards including Record Of The Year (“Bad Guy”), Album Of The Year (When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?), Song Of The Year (“Bad Guy”), Best New Artist, Best Pop Solo Performance (“Bad Guy”), and Best Pop Vocal Album (When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?).
First-time nominee Lizzo will also take the stage for her first Grammy performance. With eight nominations, Lizzo is the most nominated artist of the year for Record Of The Year (“Truth Hurts”), Album Of The Year (Cuz I Love You [Deluxe]), Song Of The Year (“Truth Hurts”), Best New Artist, Best Pop Solo Performance (“Truth Hurts”), Best R&B Performance (“Exactly How I Feel”), Best Traditional R&B Performance (“Jerome”), and Best Urban Contemporary Album (Cuz I Love You [Deluxe]).
Three-time Grammy winner Gwen Stefani will perform with current Grammy nominee Blake Shelton. Shelton is nominated this year for Best Country Solo Performance (“God’s Country”).
No stranger to the Grammy stage, nominee Camila Cabello is nominated this year for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance (“Señorita”).
Grammy winner Ariana Grande is nominated for Record Of The Year (“7 Rings”), Album Of The Year (thank u, next), Best Pop Solo Performance (“7 Rings”), Best Pop/Duo Group Performance (“Boyfriend”) and Best Pop Vocal Album (thank u, next).
Two-time Grammy winner H.E.R is nominated for Record Of The Year (“Hard Place”), Album Of The Year (I Used To Know Her), Song Of The Year (“Hard Place”), Best R&B Performance (“Could’ve Been”), and Best R&B Song (“Could’ve Been”).
Taking the stage once again, multi-platinum powerhouse trio Jonas Brothers are nominated for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance (“Sucker”).
Making her Grammy stage debut, flamenco pop star Rosalía is nominated for Best New Artist and Best Latin Rock, Urban or Alternative Album (El Mal Querer).
Taking Music’s Biggest Night’s stage for the first time, three-time nominee Tyler, The Creator is nominated for Best Rap Album (Igor).
The 62nd Annual Grammy Awards are produced by AEG Ehrlich Ventures for the Recording Academy. Ken Ehrlich is executive producer, Ben Winston is executive producer, Louis J. Horvitz is director, Chantel Sausedo is the talent producer, and David Wild and Ehrlich are the writers.
About the Recording Academy
The Recording Academy® represents the voices of performers, songwriters, producers, engineers, and all music professionals. Dedicated to ensuring the recording arts remain a thriving part of our shared cultural heritage, the Academy honors music’s history while investing in its future through the Grammy Museum®, advocates on behalf of music creators, supports music people in times of need through MusiCares®, and celebrates artistic excellence through the Grammy Awards®—music’s only peer-recognized accolade and highest achievement. As the world’s leading society of music professionals, we work year-round to foster a more inspiring world for creators.
Post Malone at the 2018 American Music Awards at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles on October 9, 2018, (Photo courtesy of ABC/Image Group LA)
Ariana Grande at iHeartRadio Wango Tango at the Banc of California Stadium in Los Angeles on June 2, 2018. (Photo by Brian Friedman/iHeartRadio via Freeform)
Billie Eilish at the 2019 iHeartRadio Music Awards at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles on March 14, 2019. (Photo by Scott Kirkland/FOX/PictureGroup)
The following is a press release from Dick Clark Productions and ABC:
As the kick-off to this year’s highly anticipated “2019 American Music Awards,” chart-topping artist and AMA nominee Ella Mai today announced the “2019 American Music Awards” nominees in four categories LIVE on ABC’s “Good Morning America” followed by additional nominees announced via the AMAs social media accounts, including three categories which launched the AMAs TikTok profile. Rounding out the morning, Mai also announced nominees via Billboard Magazine’s social media platforms. The “2019 American Music Awards” will broadcast live on ABC from the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles on Sunday, November 24 at 8:00 p.m. ET on ABC.
Two-time AMA winner, Post Malone, is the most nominated artist this year with seven total nominations, including Artist of the Year, Collaboration of the Year and Favorite Male Artist – Pop/Rock. Three-time AMA winner, Ariana Grande, and first-time AMA nominee, Billie Eilish, each received six nods including Favorite Music Video, Favorite Social Artist, Favorite Female Artist – Pop/Rock and Favorite Album – Pop/Rock. Lil Nas X and Taylor Swift are tied with five nominations each, followed by Billy Ray Cyrus, Khalid and Ella Mai with four each.
Nominees for the coveted Artist of the Year category are Drake, Ariana Grande, Halsey, Post Malone and Taylor Swift. Swift is the current record holder for most wins in this category with four wins. Swift could also go on to surpass Michael Jackson’s record for most AMA wins of all time, 24, should she win in two of the five categories she’s nominated in. Swift and Alabama are currently tied with 23 all-time AMA wins.
The American Music Awards, the world’s largest fan-voted awards show, is where music enthusiasts watch their favorite artists and pop culture icons come together to honor idols, newcomers and record-breakers in the contemporary music scene. From Pop and Rock, to Country, Hip Hop and beyond, this year’s show will celebrate some of the best moments in music with appearances by today’s brightest stars and live performances from the biggest names in the industry.
American Music Awards nominees are based on key fan interactions as reflected on Billboard.com, including streaming, album and digital song sales, radio airplay, social activity and touring. These measurements are tracked by Billboard and its data partners, including Nielsen Music and Next Big Sound, and reflect the time period of September 28, 2018 through September 26, 2019. The American Music Awards winners are voted entirely by fans.
Voting is now open for all AMA categories. Fans can access the official voting ballot for the AMAs directly by visiting goo.gle/AMAsVote or by going to Google.com and using the search terms “AMAs Vote” or “[Nominee Name] AMAs Vote.” Fans can submit up to 30 votes per category per day per Google account while voting is open. Voting will close on Wednesday, November 20, 2019 at 11:59:59 p.m. PT.
2019 AMERICAN MUSIC AWARDS TOP NOMINATED ARTISTS CHART FACTS: Post Malone
Two-time American Music Award winner Post Malone comes into the 2019 AMAs with a field-leading seven nominations – and it’s no wonder, as he’s chalked up what could be considered his biggest year yet in music. 2019 started off with his third No. 1 single on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, “Sunflower (Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse)” with Swae Lee, and he followed it up with four more top 10s. Further, his third album, “Hollywood’s Bleeding,” stormed in atop the Billboard 200 chart, giving the artist his second No. 1. Concurrent with the album’s bow at No. 1, all 17 of the set’s songs debuted on the Hot 100 chart.
Ariana Grande
Ariana Grande, a current six-time American Music Award nominee this year, wasted no time in the past year. The pop superstar’s thank u, next album debuted at No. 1 less than six months after her last album, Sweetener, started at No. 1 – the shortest gap between new No. 1 albums by a female artist since 1975. Further, when thank u, next charged in at No. 1, it broke the record for the largest streaming week ever earned for a pop album, according to Nielsen Music. The three-time AMA winner collected her first two No. 1 hits on the Billboard Hot 100 chart with thank u, next’s title track, and its follow-up hit, “7 Rings.” Billie Eilish
It was a big year on the charts for six-time 2019 American Music Award nominee Billie Eilish. The 17-year old singer-songwriter debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 albums chart with “When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?” and logged a smash No. 1 single on the Billboard Hot 100 with the set’s breakout hit “Bad Guy.” “When We All Fall Asleep” has collected more than 2 billion on-demand audio streams for its songs in the U.S., including a half-billion alone for “Bad Guy.” Also impressive: when “Bad Guy” hit No. 1 on the Alternative Songs airplay chart, it followed her previous No. 1, “Bury a Friend,” which made Eilish only the third woman to score multiple No. 1s in the 30-plus year history of the chart.
Lil Nas X
Five-time American Music Award nominee Lil Nas X re-wrote the chart history books in 2019, as his ubiquitous single “Old Town Road” broke the long-standing record for the most weeks at No. 1 in the 60-plus-year history of the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Fueled by the runaway popularity of the song’s remix featuring Billy Ray Cyrus, the song spent 19 weeks at No. 1 on the tally, surpassing the previous record-holders, Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee’s “Despacito,” featuring Justin Bieber, and Mariah Carey and Boyz II Men’s “One Sweet Day,” each with 16 weeks at No. 1. But Lil Nas X didn’t stop there – he followed “Old Town” with another top 10 hit, “Panini,” and a debut EP, “7,” which opened at No. 1 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. Taylor Swift
Twenty-three-time American Music Award winner Taylor Swift had another super-sized year on the charts, thanks to the 2019 five-time nominee’s massive album “Lover” and its singles. The set blasted in at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart, securing the superstar her sixth No. 1 on the list. Further, when it launched at No. 1, it did so with the biggest week earned by an album since her own last release, reputation, in 2017. The “Lover” era kicked off with its first single, “ME!,” featuring Brendon Urie, notching Swift her 23rd top 10 hit on the Billboard Hot 100. She then followed it up with two more top 10s so far, her 24th and 25th total, “You Need to Calm Down” and the album’s title track.
Billy Ray Cyrus
Two-time American Music Award winner Billy Ray Cyrus returned to the top of the Billboard charts in a major way in 2019, thanks to an unlikely collaboration: his teaming with Lil Nas X on a remix of the enormous hit “Old Town Road.” The tune spent a record 19 weeks atop the Billboard Hot 100 chart, and brought 2019 four-time AMA nominee Cyrus back to the chart’s top 10 for the first time since 1992, when his debut hit “Achy Breaky Heart” reached No. 4.
Ella Mai
Four-time American Music Award nominee Ella Mai broke through in mid-2018 with her chart-dominating hit “Boo’d Up,” which spent 13 weeks at No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot R&B Songs chart. The singer-songwriter followed it up with a string of further hits on the list, including “Trip” (No. 1 for 14 weeks) and “Shot Clock” (No. 3). Plus, her self-titled full-length album arrived and spent 11 weeks at No. 1 on the Top R&B Albums chart, while also hitting No. 5 on the Billboard 200. Khalid
Khalid made waves on the charts in 2019, as the American Music Award-winner landed his first No. 1 album on the Billboard 200 chart with “Free Spirit,” and his highest charting single as a lead artist on the Billboard Hot 100 with “Talk” (peaking at No. 3). With Free Spirit, the singer-songwriter also logged the first R&B album to top the Billboard 200 in nearly a year, and scored one of the largest streaming weeks ever for an R&B album, according to Nielsen Music. “Talk” also spent 18 weeks at No. 1 on the Hot R&B Songs chart – one of over a dozen top 20-charting hits in 2019 for the current four-time AMA nominee.
The complete list of nominations for the 2019 American Music Awards is below.
The “2019 American Music Awards” are sponsored by T-Mobile.
The “2019 American Music Awards” is produced by dick clark productions. Barry Adelman and Mark Bracco are Executive Producers. Larry Klein is Producer.
For the latest American Music Awards news, exclusive content and more, be sure to follow the AMAs on social and join the conversation by using the official hashtag for the show, #AMAs.
ARTIST OF THE YEAR
Drake
Ariana Grande
Halsey
Post Malone
Taylor Swift
NEW ARTIST OF THE YEAR
Luke Combs
Billie Eilish
Lil Nas X
Lizzo
Ella Mai
COLLABORATION OF THE YEAR
Lady Gaga & Bradley Cooper “Shallow”
Lil Nas X ft. Billy Ray Cyrus “Old Town Road”
Marshmello & Bastille “Happier”
Shawn Mendes & Camila Cabello “Señorita”
Post Malone & Swae Lee “Sunflower (Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse)”
TOUR OF THE YEAR
BTS
Ariana Grande
Elton John
P!nk
Ed Sheeran
FAVORITE MUSIC VIDEO
Billie Eilish “bad guy”
Ariana Grande “7 rings”
Halsey “Without Me”
Lil Nas X ft. Billy Ray Cyrus “Old Town Road”
Taylor Swift “You Need to Calm Down”
FAVORITE SOCIAL ARTIST
BTS
Billie Eilish
EXO
Ariana Grande
Shawn Mendes
FAVORITE MALE ARTIST – POP/ROCK
Drake
Khalid
Post Malone
FAVORITE FEMALE ARTIST – POP/ROCK
Billie Eilish
Ariana Grande
Taylor Swift
FAVORITE DUO OR GROUP – POP/ROCK
BTS
Jonas Brothers
Panic! At The Disco
FAVORITE ALBUM – POP/ROCK
Billie Eilish “When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?”
Ariana Grande “thank u, next”
Taylor Swift “Lover”
FAVORITE SONG – POP/ROCK
Halsey “Without Me”
Jonas Brothers “Sucker”
Lil Nas X ft. Billy Ray Cyrus “Old Town Road”
Panic! At The Disco “High Hopes”
Post Malone & Swae Lee “Sunflower (Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse)”
FAVORITE MALE ARTIST – COUNTRY
Kane Brown
Luke Combs
Thomas Rhett
FAVORITE FEMALE ARTIST – COUNTRY
Kelsea Ballerini
Maren Morris
Carrie Underwood
FAVORITE DUO or GROUP – COUNTRY
Dan + Shay
Florida Georgia Line
Old Dominion
FAVORITE ALBUM – COUNTRY
Kane Brown “Experiment”
Dan + Shay “Dan + Shay”
Carrie Underwood “Cry Pretty”
FAVORITE SONG – COUNTRY
Luke Combs “Beautiful Crazy”
Dan + Shay “Speechless”
Blake Shelton “God’s Country”
FAVORITE ARTIST – RAP/HIP-HOP
Cardi B
Drake
Post Malone
FAVORITE ALBUM – RAP/HIP-HOP
Meek Mill “Championships”
Post Malone “Hollywood’s Bleeding”
Travis Scott “Astroworld”
FAVORITE SONG – RAP/HIP-HOP
Lil Nas X ft. Billy Ray Cyrus “Old Town Road”
Post Malone “Wow.”
Travis Scott “SICKO MODE”
FAVORITE MALE ARTIST – SOUL/R&B
Chris Brown
Khalid
Bruno Mars
FAVORITE FEMALE ARTIST – SOUL/R&B
Beyoncé
Lizzo
Ella Mai
FAVORITE ALBUM – SOUL/R&B
Chris Brown “Indigo”
Khalid “Free Spirit”
Ella Mai “Ella Mai”
FAVORITE SONG – SOUL/R&B
Khalid “Talk”
Lizzo “Juice”
Ella Mai “Trip”
FAVORITE ARTIST – ALTERNATIVE ROCK
Billie Eilish
Imagine Dragons
Panic! At The Disco
FAVORITE ARTIST – ADULT CONTEMPORARY
Maroon 5
P!nk
Taylor Swift
FAVORITE ARTIST – LATIN
Bad Bunny
J Balvin
Ozuna
FAVORITE ARTIST – CONTEMPORARY INSPIRATIONAL
Lauren Daigle
for KING & COUNTRY
MercyMe
FAVORITE ARTIST – ELECTRONIC DANCE MUSIC (EDM)
Avicii
Marshmello
The Chainsmokers
FAVORITE SOUNDTRACK
“A Star is Born” by Lady Gaga & Bradley Cooper
“Bohemian Rhapsody” by Queen
“Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse”
About the American Music Awards
The American Music Awards, the world’s largest fan-voted award show, features performances from today’s hottest artists and presents fan-voted awards in the music genres of Pop/Rock, Alternative Rock, Country, Rap/Hip-Hop, Soul/R&B, Adult Contemporary, Contemporary Inspirational, Latin, EDM and Soundtrack, and the categories of Artist of the Year, New Artist of the Year, Collaboration of the Year, Tour of The Year, Favorite Social Artist and Favorite Music Video. The American Music Awards pays tribute to today’s most influential and iconic artists. The show is produced by dick clark productions and is seen in more than 200 countries and territories around the world. For more information, visit www.theamas.com, www.dickclark.com or abc.go.com/shows/american-music-awards.
About Dick Clark Productions
Dick Clark Productions (DCP) is the world’s largest producer and proprietor of televised live event entertainment programming with the “Academy of Country Music Awards,” “American Music Awards,” “Billboard Music Awards,” “Golden Globe Awards,” “Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest” and the “Streamy Awards.” Weekly television programming includes “So You Think You Can Dance” from 19 Entertainment and DCP. DCP also owns one of the world’s most unique and extensive entertainment archive libraries with over 60 years of award-winning shows, historic programs, specials, performances and legendary programming. DCP is a division of Valence Media, a diversified and integrated media company with divisions and strategic investments in television, film, live entertainment, digital media and publishing. For additional information, visit www.dickclark.com.
About ABC Entertainment
ABC Entertainment airs compelling programming across all day parts, including “Grey’s Anatomy,” the longest-running medical drama in prime-time television; riveting dramas “The Good Doctor,” “How to Get Away with Murder,” “A Million Little Things” and “Station 19”; the Emmy® Award-winning “Modern Family” and trailblazing comedy favorites “American Housewife,” “black-ish,” “Bless This Mess,” “The Conners,” “The Goldbergs,” and “Schooled”; the popular “Summer Fun & Games” programming block, including “Card Sharks,” “Celebrity Family Feud,” “Holey Moley” and “Press Your Luck”; star-making sensation “American Idol”; reality phenomenon “Shark Tank”; “The Bachelor” franchise; long-running hits “Dancing with the Stars” and “America’s Funniest Home Videos”; “General Hospital,” which has aired for more than 55 years on the network; and late-night talk show “Jimmy Kimmel Live!”; as well as the critically acclaimed hit special ”Live in Front of a Studio Audience: Norman Lear’s ‘All in the Family’ and ‘The Jeffersons.’” The network also boasts some of television’s most prestigious awards shows, including “The Oscars®,” “The CMA Awards” and the “American Music Awards.” ABC programming can also be viewed on ABC.com, the ABC app and Hulu.
NOMINATIONS IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER (BY FIRST NAME):
“A Star Is Born” (1): Favorite Soundtrack
Ariana Grande (6): Artist of the Year; Tour of the Year; Favorite Social Artist; Favorite Music Video; Favorite Female Artist – Pop/Rock; Favorite Album – Pop/Rock
Avicii (1): Favorite Artist – Electronic Dance Music (EDM)
Bad Bunny (1): Favorite Artist – Latin
Bastille (1): Collaboration of the Year
Beyoncé (1): Favorite Female Artist – Soul/R&B
Billie Eilish (6): New Artist of the Year; Favorite Music Video; Favorite Social Artist; Favorite Female Artist – Pop/Rock; Favorite Album – Pop/Rock; Favorite Artist – Alternative Rock
Billy Ray Cyrus (4): Collaboration of the Year; Favorite Music Video; Favorite Song – Pop/Rock; Favorite Song – Rap/Hip-Hop
Blake Shelton (1): Favorite Song – Country
“Bohemian Rhapsody” (1): Favorite Soundtrack
Bradley Cooper (2): Collaboration of the Year; Favorite Soundtrack
Bruno Mars (1): Favorite Male Artist – Soul/R&B
BTS (3): Tour of the Year; Favorite Social Artist; Favorite Duo or Group – Pop/Rock
Camila Cabello (1): Collaboration of the Year
Cardi B (1): Favorite Artist – Rap/Hip-Hop
Carrie Underwood (2): Favorite Female Artist – Country; Favorite Album – Country
Chris Brown (2): Favorite Male Artist – Soul/R&B; Favorite Album – Soul/R&B
Dan + Shay (3): Favorite Duo or Group – Country; Favorite Album – Country; Favorite Song – Country
Drake (3): Artist of the Year; Favorite Male Artist – Pop/Rock; Favorite Artist – Rap/Hip-Hop
Ed Sheeran (1): Tour of the Year
Ella Mai (4): New Artist of the Year; Favorite Female Artist – Soul/R&B; Favorite Album – Soul/R&B; Favorite Song – Soul/R&B
Elton John (1): Tour of the Year
EXO (1): Favorite Social Artist
Florida Georgia Line (1): Favorite Duo or Group – Country
For King & Country (1): Favorite Artist – Contemporary Inspirational
Halsey (3): Artist of the Year; Favorite Music Video; Favorite Song – Pop/Rock
Imagine Dragons (1): Favorite Artist – Alternative rock
J Balvin (1): Favorite Artist – Latin
Jonas Brothers (2): Favorite Duo or Group – Pop/Rock; Favorite Song – Pop/Rock
Kane Brown (2): Favorite Male Artist – Country; Favorite Album – Country
Kelsea Ballerini (1): Favorite Female Artist – Country
Khalid (4): Favorite Male Artist – Pop/Rock; Favorite Male Artist – Soul/R&B; Favorite Album – Soul/R&B, Favorite Song – Soul/R&B
Lady Gaga (2): Collaboration of the Year; Favorite Soundtrack
Lauren Daigle (1): Favorite Artist – Contemporary Inspirational
Lil Nas X (5): New Artist of the Year; Collaboration of the Year; Favorite Music Video; Favorite Song – Pop/Rock; Favorite Song – Rap/Hip-Hop
Lizzo (3): New Artist of the Year; Favorite Female Artist – Soul/R&B; Favorite Song – Soul/R&B
Luke Combs (3): New Artist of the Year; Favorite Male Artist – Country; Favorite Song – Country
Maren Morris (1): Favorite Female Artist – Country
Maroon 5 (1): Favorite Artist – Adult Contemporary
Marshmello (2): Collaboration of the Year; Favorite Artist – Electronic Dance Music (EDM)
Meek Mill (1): Favorite Album – Rap/Hip-Hop
MercyMe (1): Favorite Artist – Contemporary Inspirational
Old Dominion (1): Favorite Duo or Group – Country
Ozuna (1): Favorite Artist – Latin
P!nk (2): Tour of the Year; Favorite Artist – Adult Contemporary
Panic! At The Disco (3): Favorite Duo or Group – Pop/Rock; Favorite Song – Pop/Rock; Favorite Artist – Alternative Rock
Post Malone (7): Artist of the Year; Collaboration of the Year; Favorite Male Artist – Pop/Rock; Favorite Song – Pop/Rock; Favorite Artist – Rap/Hip-Hop; Favorite Album – Rap/Hip-Hop; Favorite Song – Rap/Hip-Hop
Queen (1): Favorite Soundtrack
Shawn Mendes (2): Collaboration of the Year; Favorite Social Artist
“Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse” (1): Favorite Soundtrack
Swae Lee (2): Collaboration of the Year; Favorite Song – Pop/Rock
Taylor Swift (5): Artist of the Year; Favorite Music Video; Favorite Female Artist – Pop/Rock; Favorite Album – Pop/Rock; Favorite Artist – Adult Contemporary
The Chainsmokers (1): Favorite Artist – Electronic Dance Music (EDM)
Thomas Rhett (1): Favorite Male Artist – Country
Travis Scott (2): Favorite Album – Rap/Hip-Hop; Favorite Song – Rap/Hip-Hop
NOMINATIONS BY NUMERICAL ORDER:
Post Malone (7): Artist of the Year; Collaboration of the Year; Favorite Male Artist – Pop/Rock; Favorite Song – Pop/Rock; Favorite Artist – Rap/Hip-Hop; Favorite Album – Rap/Hip-Hop; Favorite Song – Rap/Hip-Hop
Ariana Grande (6): Artist of the Year; Tour of the Year; Favorite Music Video; Favorite Social Artist; Favorite Female Artist – Pop/Rock; Favorite Album – Pop/Rock
Billie Eilish (6): New Artist of the Year; Favorite Music Video; Favorite Social Artist; Favorite Female Artist – Pop/Rock; Favorite Album – Pop/Rock; Favorite Artist – Alternative Rock
Lil Nas X (5): New Artist of the Year; Collaboration of the Year; Favorite Music Video; Favorite Song – Pop/Rock; Favorite Song – Rap/Hip-Hop
Taylor Swift (5): Artist of the Year; Favorite Music Video; Favorite Female Artist – Pop/Rock; Favorite Album – Pop/Rock; Favorite Artist – Adult Contemporary
Billy Ray Cyrus (4): Collaboration of the Year; Favorite Music Video; Favorite Song – Pop/Rock; Favorite Song – Rap/Hip-Hop
Ella Mai (4): New Artist of the Year; Favorite Female Artist – Soul/R&B; Favorite Album – Soul/R&B; Favorite Song – Soul/R&B
Khalid (4): Favorite Male Artist – Pop/Rock; Favorite Male Artist – Soul/R&B; Favorite Album – Soul/R&B, Favorite Song – Soul/R&B
BTS (3): Tour of the Year; Favorite Social Artist; Favorite Duo or Group – Pop/Rock
Dan + Shay (3): Favorite Duo or Group – Country; Favorite Album – Country; Favorite Song – Country
Drake (3): Artist of the Year; Favorite Male Artist – Pop/Rock; Favorite Artist – Rap/Hip-Hop
Halsey (3): Artist of the Year; Favorite Music Video; Favorite Song – Pop/Rock
Lizzo (3): New Artist of the Year; Favorite Female Artist – Soul/R&B; Favorite Song – Soul/R&B
Luke Combs (3): New Artist of the Year; Favorite Male Artist – Country; Favorite Song – Country
Panic! At The Disco (3): Favorite Duo or Group – Pop/Rock; Favorite Song – Pop/Rock; Favorite Artist – Alternative Rock
Bradley Cooper (2): Collaboration of the Year; Favorite Soundtrack
Carrie Underwood (2): Favorite Female Artist – Country; Favorite Album – Country
Chris Brown (2): Favorite Male Artist – Soul/R&B; Favorite Album – Soul/R&B
Jonas Brothers (2): Favorite Duo or Group – Pop/Rock; Favorite Song – Pop/Rock
Kane Brown (2): Favorite Male Artist – Country; Favorite Album – Country
Lady Gaga (2): Collaboration of the Year; Favorite Soundtrack
Marshmello (2): Collaboration of the Year; Favorite Artist – Electronic Dance Music (EDM)
P!nk (2): Tour of the Year; Favorite Artist – Adult Contemporary
Shawn Mendes (2): Collaboration of the Year; Favorite Social Artist
Swae Lee (2): Collaboration of the Year; Favorite Song – Pop/Rock
Travis Scott (2): Favorite Album – Rap/Hip-Hop; Favorite Song – Rap/Hip-Hop
“A Star Is Born” (1): Favorite Soundtrack
Avicii (1): Favorite Artist – Electronic Dance Music (EDM)
Bad Bunny (1): Favorite Artist – Latin
Bastille (1): Collaboration of the Year
Beyoncé (1): Favorite Female Artist – Soul/R&B
Blake Shelton (1): Favorite Song – Country
“Bohemian Rhapsody” (1): Favorite Soundtrack
Bruno Mars (1): Favorite Male Artist – Soul/R&B
Camila Cabello (1): Collaboration of the Year
Cardi B (1): Favorite Artist – Rap/Hip-Hop
Ed Sheeran (1): Tour of the Year
Elton John (1): Tour of the Year
EXO (1): Favorite Social Artist
Florida Georgia Line (1): Favorite Duo or Group – Country
For KING & COUNTRY (1): Favorite Artist – Contemporary Inspirational
Imagine Dragons (1): Favorite Artist – Alternative rock
J Balvin (1): Favorite Artist – Latin
Kelsea Ballerini (1): Favorite Female Artist – Country
Lauren Daigle (1): Favorite Artist – Contemporary Inspirational
Maren Morris (1): Favorite Female Artist – Country
Maroon 5 (1): Favorite Artist – Adult Contemporary
Meek Mill (1): Favorite Album – Rap/Hip-Hop
MercyMe (1): Favorite Artist – Contemporary Inspirational
Old Dominion (1): Favorite Duo or Group – Country
Ozuna (1): Favorite Artist – Latin
Queen (1): Favorite Soundtrack
“Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse” (1): Favorite Soundtrack
The Chainsmokers (1): Favorite Artist – Electronic Dance Music (EDM)
Thomas Rhett (1): Favorite Male Artist – Country
2019 AMERICAN MUSIC AWARDS NOMINEE STATISTICS 2019 NOMINATIONS FAST FACTS ALL-TIME RECORD HOLDERS BY CATEGORY TOP 10 AMA WINNERS OF ALL TIME (1974-2018)
2019 NOMINATIONS FAST FACTS:
“TAYLOR SWIFT COULD SURPASS MICHAEL JACKSON’S RECORD FOR MOST AMA WINS OF ALL TIME”
Michael Jackson is the current record holder for most AMA wins ever with 24 total wins, while Taylor Swift and Alabama are second with 23 total wins. Should Swift take home at least 2 of the 5 awards she is nominated for, she will become the artist with the most AMA wins ever.
“POST MALONE IS THE MOST NOMINATED ARTIST THIS YEAR WITH 7 NOMINATIONS
Two-time AMA winner, Post Malone, is the most nominated artist this year with seven total nominations in the following categories: Artist of the Year; Collaboration of the Year; Favorite Male Artist – Pop/Rock; Favorite Song – Pop/Rock; Favorite Artist – Rap/Hip-Hop; Favorite Album – Rap/Hip-Hop; Favorite Song – Rap/Hip-Hop.
“FIRST-TIME AMA NOMINEE BILLIE EILISH IS TIED WITH ARIANA GRANDE WITH 6 NOMINATIONS EACH”
Three-time AMA winner, Ariana Grande, and first-time AMA nominee, Billie Eilish, are tied with six total nominations each. Grande is nominated in the following categories: Artist of the Year; Tour of the Year; Favorite Music Video; Favorite Social Artist; Favorite Female Artist – Pop/Rock; Favorite Album – Pop/Rock. Eilish is nominated in the following categories: New Artist of the Year; Favorite Music Video; Favorite Social Artist; Favorite Female Artist – Pop/Rock; Favorite Album – Pop/Rock; Favorite Artist – Alternative Rock.
“P!NK AND HALSEY COULD WIN THEIR FIRST AMA EVER THIS YEAR”
Eight-time AMA nominee, P!nk, could win her first American Music Award this year if she takes home the trophy in either one of her two categories this year, the Tour of the Year or Favorite Artist – Adult Contemporary category. Five-time nominee, Halsey, is nominated for Artist of the Year, Favorite Music Video and Favorite Song – Pop/Rock, and could take home her first AMA award. Halsey received two nominations in 2017 for her collaboration with The Chainsmokers on their hit song “Closer.”
“BILLY RAY CYRUS COULD WIN HIS FIRST AMA IN ALMOST 30 YEARS”
With 2 AMA wins in 1993 under his belt, including one for his hit song “Achy Breaky Heart,” Billy Ray Cyrus, a four-time nominee this year, could take home his first American Music Award in almost three decades for his chart-topping collaboration with Lil Nas X for “Old Town Road.”
“FOR THE SECOND YEAR IN A ROW, KHALID GOES HEAD TO HEAD WITH BRUNO MARS FOR FAVORITE MALE ARTIST – SOUL/R&B, AND ELLA MAI FOR FAVORITE SONG – SOUL/R&B”
Bruno Mars could take home his 10th AMA award should he win Favorite Male Artist – Soul/R&B this year and could tie with Mariah Carey and Randy Travis in the 10th spot for most wins of all time. Should Khalid win, this will be his second consecutive win in this category. Nominated for “Boo’d Up” in 2018 and “Trip” this year, Ella Mai goes up against Khalid for the second year in a row for Favorite Song – Soul/R&B. Last year in this category, Khalid was nominated for “Young Dumb & Broke” and is nominated this year for “Talk.”
ALL-TIME RECORD HOLDERS BY CATEGORY:
ARTIST OF THE YEAR
Taylor Swift is the current record holder for most wins in the Artist of the Year category with four wins. It will be the first win in this category for nominee Halsey should she take home the award. Ariana Grande took home the award in 2016 and was previously nominated in this category in 2015. It’s the third nomination in this category for Post Malone, who was previously nominated in 2017 and 2018. Drake was nominated four times before in 2012, 2016, 2017 and 2018.
COLLABORATION OF THE YEAR
This year Lady Gaga & Bradley Cooper are nominated for their hit collaboration “Shallow,” alongside Lil Nas X & Billy Ray Cyrus “Old Town Road,” Marshmello & Bastille “Happier,” Post Malone & Swae Lee “Sunflower (Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse)” and Shawn Mendes & Camila Cabello “Señorita.” Last year, Cabello took home this award for “Havana,” her hit collaboration with Young Thug.
TOUR OF THE YEAR
Introduced in 2016, Beyoncé was the first to win this award, followed by Coldplay in 2017 and Taylor Swift in 2018. This year, Ariana Grande, BTS, Elton John, P!nk or Ed Sheeran could take home the award.
FAVORITE MUSIC VIDEO
Lionel Richie holds the record for most wins (six) in the Favorite Music Video (previously known as Video of the Year) category. Ariana Grande, Billie Eilish, Halsey, Lil Nas X & Billy Ray Cyrus and Taylor Swift are up for the award this year.
FAVORITE SOCIAL ARTIST
Introduced in 2018, BTS was the first to win this award. They could win for the second time in a row should they take home the award this year. The nominees include Ariana Grande, Billie Eilish, EXO and Shawn Mendes.
FAVORITE MALE ARTIST – POP/ROCK
Michael Jackson, Justin Bieber, Barry Manilow, Eric Clapton and Michael Bolton are the current record holders for most wins in the Favorite Male Artist – Pop/Rock category with three wins each. This could be Post Malone’s second win in this category, and Drake and Khalid’s first win should they take home the award this year.
FAVORITE FEMALE ARTIST – POP/ROCK
Whitney Houston and Olivia Newton John are the current record holders for most wins in the Favorite Female Artist – Pop/Rock category with 4 wins each. This will be Taylor Swift’s fourth win in this category should she take home the award, tying with Houston & Newton John. Ariana Grande could take home her second award in this category. First-time AMA nominee, Billie Eilish, is also nominated in this category.
FAVORITE DUO OR GROUP – POP/ROCK
One Direction, Aerosmith and Black Eyed Peas lead with three wins each in the Favorite Duo or Group – Pop/Rock category. It would be their first win in this category should either BTS, Jonas Brothers or Panic! At The Disco win.
FAVORITE ALBUM – POP/ROCK
Michael Jackson and Justin Bieber are the current record holders for most wins in the Favorite Album – Pop/Rock category with three wins each. This year, Ariana Grande, Billie Eilish and Taylor Swift are nominated in this category. Should she take home the award for the third time, Swift would tie with Jackson and Bieber in this category.
FAVORITE SONG – POP/ROCK
Whitney Houston, Boyz II Men and Lionel Richie are tied for the most wins in this category with 2 each. This will be the first win in this category for Halsey (“Without Me”), Jonas Brothers (“Sucker”), Lil Nas X & Billy Ray Cyrus (“Old Town Road”), Panic! At The Disco (“High Hopes”) and Post Malone & Swae Lee (“Sunflower (Spider-Mas: Into The Spider-Verse”).
FAVORITE MALE ARTIST – COUNTRY
Garth Brooks is the current record holder for most wins in the Favorite Male Artist – Country category with eight wins. This would be Kane Brown’s second time taking home the award in this category should he win. This would be the first win for Luke Combs and Thomas Rhett.
FAVORITE FEMALE ARTIST – COUNTRY
Reba McEntire is the current record holder for most wins in the Favorite Female Artist – Country category with 11 wins. With 6 wins in this category under her belt, Carrie Underwood could win her seventh award. Kelsea Ballerini and Maren Morris could win their first AMA ever this year if they win in this category.
FAVORITE DUO OR GROUP – COUNTRY
Alabama is the current record holder for most wins in the Favorite Duo or Group – Country category with 17 wins. Florida Georgia Line could win for a fifth time in this category, and Dan + Shay or Old Dominion could win their first AMA, should they take home the award this year.
FAVORITE ALBUM – COUNTRY
This year, Carrie Underwood could break the record for most wins in the Favorite Album – Country category should she win the award a 6th time. She is currently tied with Kenny Rogers with 5 wins each. This year could also mark Dan + Shay and Kane Brown’s first ever win in this category.
FAVORITE SONG – COUNTRY
Kenny Rogers leads in this category with 5 all-time wins. Nominees Blake Shelton, Dan + Shay or Luke Combs could take home their first win ever in this category.
FAVORITE ARTIST – RAP/HIP-HOP
Nicki Minaj, M.C. Hammer and Eminem are the current record holders for most wins in the Favorite Artist – Rap/Hip-Hop category with three wins each. Drake could tie with them if he wins the category this year. Cardi B could win for the second time in a row should she take home the award this year. Fellow 2019 nominee Post Malone could win his first award in this category.
FAVORITE ALBUM – RAP/HIP-HOP
Nicki Minaj is the current record holder for most wins in the Favorite Album – Rap/Hip-Hop category with three wins. This will be Post Malone’s second win and Meek Mill and Travis Scott’s first win in this category should they take home the award at the “2019 American Music Awards.”
FAVORITE SONG – RAP/HIP-HOP
Drake received the first ever win in this category when it was introduced in 2016 for his hit, “Hotline Bling.” He is currently tied for most wins in this category with DJ Khaled, Justin Bieber, Quavo, Chance The Rapper & Lil Wayne (“I’m The One”) and Cardi B (“Bodak Yellow, Money Moves”). 2019 nominees include: Lil Nas X & Billy Ray Cyrus (“Old Town Road”), Post Malone (“Wow.”) and Travis Scott (“SICKO MODE”). Travis Scott could win his first ever AMA should he take home the award.
FAVORITE MALE ARTIST – SOUL/R&B
Luther Vandross is the current record holder for most wins in the Favorite Male Artist – Soul/R&B category with seven wins. Chris Brown could win his third award in this category, while it could be Bruno Mars and Khalid’s second.
FAVORITE FEMALE ARTIST – SOUL/R&B
Rihanna is the current record holder for most wins in the Favorite Female Artist – Soul/R&B category with seven wins. Beyoncé could win for the sixth time should she take the award this year. Ella Mai and newcomer Lizzo could win their first AMA ever should they win this category.
FAVORITE ALBUM – SOUL/R&B
Michael Jackson leads the Favorite Album – Soul/R&B category with four all-time wins. Khalid was previously nominated in 2018, while Chris Brown and Ella Mai are first-time nominees in this category.
FAVORITE SONG – SOUL/R&B
Michael Jackson holds the record for most wins (three) in this category. Ella Mai (“Trip”) is nominated in this category for the second year in a row. Khalid (“Talk”) and newcomer Lizzo (“Juice”) are nominated in this category for the first time.
FAVORITE ARTIST – ALTERNATIVE ROCK
Linkin Park is the current record holder for most wins in the Favorite Artist – Alternative Rock category with 6 wins. Imagine Dragons could win their third award in this category, while Panic! At The Disco could win for the second time in a row. This would be Billie Eilish’s first AMA ever should she take home the award this year.
FAVORITE ARTIST – ADULT CONTEMPORARY
Celine Dion holds the record for most wins in the Favorite Artist – Adult Contemporary category with 4 wins. Taylor Swift could take home her third award in this category should she win, while this could be Maroon 5’s second win. P!nk is nominated in this category for the second year in a row.
FAVORITE ARTIST – LATIN
Enrique Iglesias is the current record holder for the Favorite Artist – Latin category with eight wins. This is Ozuna’s second nomination in this category, while Bad Bunny and J Balvin are first-time nominees.
FAVORITE ARTIST – CONTEMPORARY INSPIRATIONAL
Casting Crowns is the current record holder for most wins in the Favorite Artist – Contemporary Inspirational category with four wins. Lauren Daigle and MercyMe could take home their third award in this category should either of them win, while it would be King & Country’s first.
FAVORITE ARTIST – ELECTRONIC DANCE MUSIC (EDM)
Calvin Harris and The Chainsmokers are tied for the most wins in the Favorite Artist – Electronic Dance Music (EDM) category with two wins each. Should The Chainsmokers win this year, they will surpass Calvin Harris for most wins ever in this category. The duo won in this category two consecutive years (2016 and 2017). This would be Avicii and Marshmello’s second trophy in this category should either of them win.
FAVORITE SOUNDTRACK
Whitney Houston won three awards for “The Bodyguard” soundtrack in 1994 in the Adult Contemporary, Pop/Rock and Soul/R&B categories. This year, “A Star is Born,” “Bohemian Rhapsody” and “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse” are up for the award. Queen last won an AMA in 1981 for their song “Another One Bites the Dust.”
TOP 10 AMA WINNERS OF ALL TIME (1974–2018):
Michael Jackson – 24 wins total, the most AMA wins of any artist in history; Leads the Favorite Album – Pop/Rock category with 3 wins; Leads the Favorite Album – Soul/R&B category with 4 wins; Leads the Favorite Single – Soul/R&B category with 3 wins; Won Artist of the Century in 2002.
Alabama – 23 wins total; Leads the Favorite Duo or Group – Country category with 17 wins, 14 of which are consecutive from 1983-1996.
Taylor Swift – 23 wins total, the most AMA wins of any female artist in history; Leads the Artist of the Year category with four wins; Won Dick Clark Award for Excellence in 2014.
Whitney Houston – 21 wins total; Received the Award of Merit in 1994 and the International Artist Award in 2009.
Kenny Rogers – 19 wins total; Leads the Favorite Album – Country category with five wins and the Favorite Single – Country category, also with five wins.
Garth Brooks – 17 wins total; Leads the Favorite Male Artist – Country category with eight wins, six of which are consecutive from 1992-1997; Won Artist of the Decade in 2000.
Reba McEntire – 15 wins total; Leads the Favorite Female Artist – Country category with 11 wins, nine of which are consecutive from 1988-1996; Reba McEntire, Lionel Richie and Justin Bieber tie as record holders with 15 wins each.
Lionel Richie – 15 wins total; Lionel Richie, Reba McEntire and Justin Bieber tie as record holders with 15 wins each.
Justin Bieber – 15 wins total; three wins for Favorite Album – Pop/Rock (2010, 2012, 2016); Justin Bieber, Reba McEntire and Lionel Richie tie as record holders with 15 wins each.
Rihanna – 13 wins total; Won the Icon Award in 2013; Leads the Favorite Female Artist – Soul/R&B category with seven wins.
Carrie Underwood – 13 wins total; six wins for Favorite Female Artist – Country (2007, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018).
Willie Nelson – 12 wins total; Won the Award of Appreciation: Farm-Aid in 1986 and Award of Merit in 1989.
Janet Jackson – 11 wins total; Won the Award of Merit in 2001; Janet Jackson, Stevie Wonder and Tim McGraw tie as record holders with 11 wins each.
Stevie Wonder – 11 wins total; Won the Award of Merit in 1982; Stevie Wonder, Janet Jackson and Tim McGraw tie as record holders with 11 wins each.
Tim McGraw – 11 wins total; six wins for Favorite Male Artist – Country (2001, 2002, 2003 (x2), 2005, 2007); Tim McGraw, Janet Jackson and Stevie Wonder tie as record holders with 11 wins each.
Mariah Carey – 10 wins total; Received an Award of Achievement in 2000, and one in 2008 for becoming the solo artist with the most number one hits of all time.
Randy Travis – 10 wins total; Won Favorite Male Artist – Country three years in a row (1988, 1989, 1990).
Taylor Swift’s “You Need to Calm Down” took the prizes for Video of the Year and Best Video for Good at the 36th annual MTV Video Music Awards, which were held on August 26, 2019, at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. The show was hosted by Sebastian Maniscalco.
Swift’s “Me!” video featuring Panic! At the Disco’s Brendon Urie took the prize for Best Visual Effects. Other multiple winners were Ariana Grande (four awards, including Artist of the Year); Billie Eilish (three awards); and the smash hit “Old Town Road” from Lil Nas X featuring Billy Ray Cyrus (three awards). Winning two prizes each were Rosalía and J Balvin featuring El Guincho’s “Con Altura”; Shawn Mendes and Camilla Cabello’s “Señorita”; and BTS, winner of Best Group and Best K-Pop. Grande, Eilish and BTS were all no-shows at the event, although Eilish did provide a video with a prerecorded acceptance speech.
It was the first time that the MTV VMA show was held in New Jersey. There were numerous references to New Jersey throughout the show, including the closing-night “supergroup” performance by several hip-hop artists with New Jersey roots: Queen Latifah, Naughty By Nature, Redman, Fetty Wap and Wyclef Jean.
Other performers included Swift; Jonas Brothers; Shawn Mendes, who later joined Camila Cabello for their duet “Senorita”; Lizzo; Big Sean featuring A$AP Ferg, H.E.R.; Lil Nas X; Normani and Ozuna; Rosalía and J Balvin; Bad Bunny and J Balvin; H.E.R.; and Miley Cyrus.
Ava Max, CNCO and Megan Thee Stallion performed at the 2019 MTV VMAs red carpet pre-show, hosted by Terrence J and Nessa with special correspondent Zara Larsson.
Missy Elliott received the Video Vanguard award, which is a non-competitive prize given to an artist whose music videos have been influential. She performed a medley before accepting the award.
Fashion designer Marc Jacobs received MTV’s first Fashion Trailblazer Award, another non-competitive prize.
Presenters included Queen Latifah, John Travolta, Lenny Kravitz, Gigi Hadid, Bella Hadid, Rick Ross, Pepa, Hailee Steinfeld, Bebe Rexha, Alison Brie, French Montana, Megan Thee Stallion, Billy Ray Cyrus, DJ Khaled, Jonathan Van Ness, Cardi B, Lindsey Vonn, P. K. Subban, Lizzo, Keke Palmer, Victor Cruz, Ice-T. Also taking the stage as presenters were U.S. Women’s Soccer Team stars Alex Morgan, Ali Krieger and Ashlyn Harris and former “Sopranos” stars Drea de Matteo, Jamie Lynn Sigler and Vincent Pastore.
Here is the complete list of winners and nominees for the 2019 MTV Video Music Awards that were announced when the ceremony ended:
*=winner
VIDEO OF THE YEAR 21 Savage ft. J. Cole – “a lot” – Slaughter Gang LLC/Epic Records
Billie Eilish – “bad guy” – Darkroom/Interscope Records
Ariana Grande – “thank u, next” – Republic Records
Jonas Brothers – “Sucker” – Republic Records
Lil Nas X featuring Billy Ray Cyrus – “Old Town Road (Remix)” – Columbia Records Taylor Swift – “You Need to Calm Down” – Republic Records*
ARTIST OF THE YEAR Cardi B – Atlantic Records
Billie Eilish – Darkroom/Interscope Records Ariana Grande – Republic Records*
Halsey – Capitol Records
Jonas Brothers – Republic Records
Shawn Mendes– Island Records
SONG OF THE YEAR Drake – “In My Feelings” – Young Money/Cash Money/Republic Records
Ariana Grande – “thank u, next” – Republic Records
Jonas Brothers – “Sucker” – Republic Records
Lady Gaga & Bradley Cooper – “Shallow” – Interscope Records Lil Nas X featuring Billy Ray Cyrus – “Old Town Road (Remix)” – Columbia Records*
Taylor Swift – “You Need to Calm Down” – Republic Records
BEST NEW ARTIST, presented by Taco Bell®
Ava Max – Atlantic Records Billie Eilish – Darkroom/Interscope Records*
H.E.R. – MBK/RCA Records
Lil Nas X – Columbia Records
Lizzo – Atlantic Records
Rosalía – Columbia Records
BEST COLLABORATION Lil Nas X featuring Billy Ray Cyrus – “Old Town Road (Remix)” – Columbia Records
Lady Gaga & Bradley Cooper – “Shallow” – Interscope Records Shawn Mendes & Camila Cabello – “Señorita” – Island Records*
Taylor Swift featuring Brendon Urie of Panic! At The Disco – “ME!” – Republic Records
Ed Sheeran & Justin Bieber – “I Don’t Care” – Atlantic Records
BTS featuring Halsey – “Boy With Luv” – Columbia Records
PUSH ARTIST OF THE YEAR Bazzi – Atlantic Records
CNCO – RCA Records Billie Eilish – Darkroom/Interscope Records*
H.E.R. – MBK/RCA Records
Lauv – LAUV/AWAL
Lizzo – Atlantic Records
BEST POP 5 Seconds of Summer – “Easier” – Interscope Records
Cardi B & Bruno Mars – “Please Me” – Atlantic Records
Billie Eilish – “bad guy” – Darkroom/Interscope Records
Khalid – “Talk” – Right Hand Music Group/RCA Records
Ariana Grande – “thank u, next” – Republic Records Jonas Brothers – “Sucker” – Republic Records*
Taylor Swift – “You Need to Calm Down” – Republic Records
BEST HIP HOP 2 Chainz featuring Ariana Grande – “Rule the World” – 2 Chainz Ps/Def Jam
21 Savage featuring J. Cole – “a lot” – Slaughter Gang LLC/Epic Records Cardi B – “Money” – Atlantic Records*
DJ Khaled featuring Nipsey Hussle & John Legend – “Higher” – We The Best/Epic Records
Lil Nas X featuring Billy Ray Cyrus – “Old Town Road (Remix)” – Columbia Records
Travis Scott featuring Drake – “SICKO MODE” – Epic Records/Grand Hustle/Cactus Jack
BEST R&B Anderson .Paak featuring Smokey Robinson – “Make It Better” – Aftermath Ent/12 Tone Music
Childish Gambino – “Feels Like Summer” – RCA Records
H.E.R. featuring Bryson Tiller – “Could’ve Been” – MBK/RCA Records
Alicia Keys – “Raise A Man” – RCA Records
Ella Mai – “Trip” – 10 Summers/Interscope Records Normani featuring 6lack – “Waves” – Keep Cool/RCA Records*
BEST K-POP
BTS featuring Halsey – “Boy With Luv” – Columbia Records*
BLACKPINK – “Kill This Love” – YG Entertainment/Interscope Records
Monsta X featuring French Montana – “Who Do You Love” – Epic Records
TOMORROW X TOGETHER – “Cat & Dog” – Republic Records
NCT 127 – “Regular” – SM Entertainment
EXO – “Tempo” – SM Entertainment
BEST LATIN Anuel AA, Karol G – “Secreto” – Universal Music Latino
Bad Bunny featuring Drake – “MIA” – OVO Sound/Warner Bros. Records
Benny Blanco, Tainy, Selena Gomez, J Balvin – “I Can’t Get Enough” – NEON16/Friends Keep Secrets/Interscope Records
Daddy Yankee featuring Snow – “Con Calma” – Universal Music Latin Entertainment
Maluma – “Mala Mía” – Sony Music US Latin Rosalía and J Balvin featuring El Guincho — “Con Altura” – Columbia Records*
BEST DANCE
The Chainsmokers featuring Bebe Rexha – “Call You Mine” – Disruptor/Columbia Records*
Clean Bandit featuring Demi Lovato – “Solo” – Big Beat/Atlantic Records
DJ Snake featuring Selena Gomez, Ozuna & Cardi B – “Taki Taki” – DJ Snake Music Productions Ltd/Geffen
David Guetta, Bebe Rexha & J Balvin – “Say My Name” – Big Beat/Atlantic Records
Marshmello & Bastille – “Happier” – Capitol Records
Silk City & Dua Lipa – “Electricity” – Columbia Records
BEST ROCK The 1975 – “Love It If We Made It” – Dirty Hit/Interscope Records
Fall Out Boy – “Bishops Knife Trick” – Island Records
Imagine Dragons – “Natural” – KIDinaKORNER/Interscope Records
Lenny Kravitz – “Low” – BMG Rights Management (UK) Ltd. Panic! At The Disco – “High Hopes” – Elektra Music Group*
twenty one pilots – “My Blood” – Elektra Music Group
VIDEO FOR GOOD Halsey – “Nightmare” – Capitol Records
The Killers – “Land of the Free” – Island
Jamie N Commons, Skylar Grey ft. Gallant – “Runaway Train” – Interscope Records
John Legend – “Preach” – Columbia Records
Lil Dicky – “Earth” – Dirty Burd, Inc./Commission/BMG Taylor Swift – “You Need to Calm Down” – Republic Records*
BEST DIRECTION Billie Eilish – “bad guy” – Darkroom/Interscope Records – Directed by Dave Meyers
FKA twigs – “Cellophane” – Young Turks – Directed by Andrew Thomas Huang
Ariana Grande – “thank you, next” – Republic Records – Directed by Hannah Lux Davis Lil Nas X featuring Billy Ray Cyrus – “Old Town Road (Remix)” – Columbia Records – Directed by Calmatic*
LSD featuring Labrinth, Sia, Diplo – “No New Friends” – Columbia Records – Directed by Dano Cerny
Taylor Swift – “You Need to Calm Down” – Republic Records – Directed by Drew Kirsch & Taylor Swift
BEST VISUAL EFFECTS Billie Eilish – “when the party’s over” – Darkroom/Interscope Records – Visual Effects by Ryan Ross, Andres Jaramillo
FKA twigs – “Cellophane” – Young Turks – Visual Effects by Matt Chandler, Fabio Zaveti for Analog
Ariana Grande – “God is a Woman” – Republic Records – Visual Effects by Fabrice Lagayette, Kristina Prilukova & Rebecca Rice for Mathematic
DJ Khaled featuring SZA – “Just Us” – We The Best/Epic Records – Visual Effects by Sergii Mashevskyi
LSD featuring Labrinth, Sia, Diplo – “No New Friends” – Columbia Records – Visual Effects by Ethan Chancer Taylor Swift featuring Brendon Urie of Panic! At The Disco – “ME!” – Republic Records – Visual Effects by Loris Paillier & Lucas Salton for BUF VFX*
BEST EDITING Anderson .Paak featuring Kendrick Lamar – “Tints” – Aftermath Ent/12 Tone Music – Editing by Elias Talbot
Lil Nas X featuring Billy Ray Cyrus – “Old Town Road (Remix)” – Columbia Record – Editing by Calmatic Billie Eilish – “bad guy” – Darkroom/Interscope Records – Editing by Billie Eilish*
Ariana Grande – “7 Rings” – Republic Records – Editing by Hannah Lux Davis & Taylor Walsh
Solange – “Almeda” – Columbia Records – Editing by Solange Knowles, Vinnie Hobbs, Jonathon Proctor
Taylor Swift – “You Need to Calm Down” – Republic Records – Editing by Jarrett Fijal
BEST ART DIRECTION BTS featuring Halsey – “Boy With Luv” – Columbia Records – Art Direction by JinSil Park, BoNa Kim (MU:E) Ariana Grande – “7 Rings” – Republic Records – Art Direction by John Richoux*
Lil Nas X featuring Billy Ray Cyrus – “Old Town Road (Remix)” – Columbia Records – Art Direction by Itaru Dela Vegas
Shawn Mendes & Camila Cabello – “Señorita” – Island Records – Art Direction by Tatiana Van Sauter
Taylor Swift – “You Need to Calm Down” – Republic Records – Art Direction by Brittany Porter
Kanye West and Lil’ Pump featuring Adele Givens – “I Love It” – Warner Records & Def Jam Music Group – Art Direction by Tino Schaedler
BEST CHOREOGRAPHY FKA twigs – “Cellophane” – Young Turks – Choreography by Kelly Yvonne Rosalía and J Balvin featuring El Guincho – “Con Altura” – Columbia Records – Choreography by Charm La’Donna*
LSD featuring Labrinth, Sia, Diplo – “No New Friends” – Columbia Records – Choreography by Ryan Heffington
Shawn Mendes & Camila Cabello – “Señorita” – Island Records – Choreography by Calvit Hodge, Sara Biv
Solange – “Almeda” – Columbia Records – Choreography by Maya Taylor, Solange Knowles
BTS featuring Halsey – “Boy With Luv” – Columbia Records – Choreography by Rie Hata
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY Anderson .Paak featuring Kendrick Lamar – “Tints” – Aftermath Ent/12 Tone Music – Cinematography by Elias Talbot
Billie Eilish – “hostage” – Darkroom/Interscope Records – Cinematography by Pau Castejon
Ariana Grande – “thank you, next” – Republic Records – Cinematography by Christopher Probst Shawn Mendes & Camila Cabello – “Señorita” – Island Records – Cinematography by Scott Cunningham*
Solange – “Almeda” – Columbia Records – Cinematography by Chayse Irvin, Ryan Marie Helfant, Justin Hamilton
Taylor Swift featuring Brendon Urie of Panic! At The Disco – “ME!” – Republic Records – Cinematography by Starr Whitesides
BEST POWER ANTHEM
Miley Cyrus — “Mother’s Daughter”
DJ Khaled (featuring Cardi B and 21 Savage) — “Wish Wish”
Ariana Grande — “7 Rings”
Halsey — “Nightmare”
Lizzo (featuring Missy Elliott) — “Tempo” Megan Thee Stallion (featuring Nicki Minaj and Ty Dolla Sign) — “Hot Girl Summer”*
Maren Morris — “GIRL”
Taylor Swift — “You Need to Calm Down”
SONG OF THE SUMMER
The Chainsmokers and Bebe Rexha — “Call You Mine”
Miley Cyrus — “Mother’s Daughter”
DaBaby — “Suge”
Billie Eilish — “Bad Guy” Ariana Grande and Social House — “Boyfriend”*
Jonas Brothers — “Sucker”
Khalid — “Talk”
Lil Nas X (featuring Billy Ray Cyrus) — “Old Town Road (Remix)”
Lil Tecca — “Ransom”
Lizzo — “Truth Hurts”
Shawn Mendes and Camila Cabello – “Señorita”
Post Malone (featuring Young Thug) — “Goodbyes”
Rosalía and J Balvin (featuring El Guincho) — “Con altura”
Ed Sheeran and Justin Bieber – “I Don’t Care”
Taylor Swift — “You Need to Calm Down”
Young Thug (featuring J. Cole and Travis Scott) — “The London”
Official sponsors of the 2019 “MTV Video Music Awards” included EXTRA Refreshers, PEPSI, Taco Bell, and the 2020 Toyota Corolla.
Bruce Gillmer and Den of Thieves co-founder Jesse Ignjatovic were Executive Producers for the 2019 “VMAs.” Barb Bialkowski is Co-Executive Producer. Jackie Barba, Joe Buoye and Alicia Portugal served as Executive in Charge of Production. Amani Duncan is Executive in Charge of Music. Wendy Plaut is Executive in Charge of Celebrity Talent.
About MTV: MTV is the leading global youth media brand in 180 countries, reaching 450 million households in nearly 30 different languages across every platform. A unit of Viacom Inc. (NASDAQ: VIAB, VIA), MTV operations span cable and mobile networks, live events, theatrical films and MTV Studios.
About The Prudential Center: Prudential Center is the world-class sports and entertainment venue located in downtown Newark, New Jersey. Opened in October 2007, the state-of-the-art arena is the home of the National Hockey League’s (NHL) three-time Stanley Cup Champion New Jersey Devils, Seton Hall University’s NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball program, and more than 175 concerts, family shows and special events each year. The arena is also home to the GRAMMY Museum Experience Prudential Center, which opened its doors to the public on October 2017. The 8,200-square-foot experience marks the first GRAMMY Museum outpost on the East Coast, and features a dynamic combination of educational programming and interactive permanent and traveling exhibits, including a spotlight on legendary GRAMMY winners from New Jersey. Ranked in the Top 8 nationally by Pollstar, Billboard and Venues Today, Prudential Center is recognized as one of the premier venues in the United States, and hosts over 2 million guests annually. For more information about Prudential Center, visit PruCenter.com and follow the arena on Facebook,Twitter and Instagram @PruCenter. Prudential Center is a Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment property.
MTV unveiled the nominations for the 2019 “VMAs,” which includes dozens of artists whose reach and influence have elevated the music industry and global cultural conversation. Ariana Grande and Taylor Swift lead the nominations with 10 nods each in categories including, “Video of the Year,” “Song of the Year” and “Best Pop.” Other top contenders include first-time VMA nominees Billie Eilish and Lil Nas X who both entered the category of “Best New Artist,” presented by Taco Bell®. This year’s show will introduce two new categories, “Best K-Pop” and “Video for Good.”
In a first for a major awards show, MTV revealed nominations today via the “VMA chatbot,” giving fans a sneak peek at the nominees by sending a DM (direct message) to @VMAs on Facebook Messenger and Twitter.
“It’s been an incredible year in music and this group of nominees perfectly reflect the rich pop music landscape,” said Bruce Gillmer, Head of Music and Music Talent, Viacom and Co-Brand Head, MTV International. “We can’t wait to see the outcome, once the fans weigh in. It’s going to be an awesome, unforgettable evening!”
Beginning today, fans can vote for their favorites across 14 gender-neutral VMA categories, including “Video of the Year,” “Artist of the Year,” “Best Collaboration” and more by visiting vma.mtv.com until Thursday, August 15. Voting for the “Best New Artist” award, presented by Taco Bell®, will remain active until the VMA broadcast. Fans on Twitter and Facebook Messenger can also slide into VMAs’ DMs to cast an additional vote for “Video of the Year,” “Song of the Year,” and more. Also launching this week, fans will be able to ask Alexa to “vote for the VMAs” for “Artist of the Year” within the MTV skill on Alexa-enabled devices.
This year, for the first time ever, MTV is rewarding fans for voting through VMA Power Hour on vma.mtv.com, where their votes are doubled from 1-2pm ET daily. Superfans can come back each day within this voting window beginning tomorrow to show double the love for their favorite artists.
COMPLETE LIST OF NOMINEES
VIDEO OF THE YEAR 21 Savage featuring J. Cole – “a lot” – Slaughter Gang LLC/Epic Records
Billie Eilish – “bad guy” – Darkroom/Interscope Records
Ariana Grande – “thank u, next” – Republic Records
Jonas Brothers – “Sucker” – Republic Records
Lil Nas X featuring Billy Ray Cyrus – “Old Town Road (Remix)” – Columbia Records
Taylor Swift – “You Need to Calm Down” – Republic Records
ARTIST OF THE YEAR Cardi B – Atlantic Records
Billie Eilish – Darkroom/Interscope Records
Ariana Grande – Republic Records
Halsey – Capitol Records
Jonas Brothers – Republic Records
Shawn Mendes– Island Records
SONG OF THE YEAR Drake – “In My Feelings” – Young Money/Cash Money/Republic Records
Ariana Grande – “thank u, next” – Republic Records
Jonas Brothers – “Sucker” – Republic Records
Lady Gaga & Bradley Cooper – “Shallow” – Interscope Records
Lil Nas X featuring Billy Ray Cyrus – “Old Town Road (Remix)” – Columbia Records
Taylor Swift – “You Need to Calm Down” – Republic Records
BEST NEW ARTIST, presented by Taco Bell®
Ava Max – Atlantic Records
Billie Eilish – Darkroom/Interscope Records
H.E.R. – MBK/RCA Records
Lil Nas X – Columbia Records
Lizzo – Atlantic Records
ROSALÍA – Columbia Records
BEST COLLABORATION Lil Nas X featuring Billy Ray Cyrus – “Old Town Road (Remix)” – Columbia Records
Lady Gaga & Bradley Cooper – “Shallow” – Interscope Records
Shawn Mendes & Camila Cabello – “Señorita” – Island Records
Taylor Swift featuring Brendon Urie of Panic! At The Disco – “ME!” – Republic Records
Ed Sheeran & Justin Bieber – “I Don’t Care” – Atlantic Records
BTS featuring Halsey – “Boy With Luv” – Columbia Records
PUSH ARTIST OF THE YEAR Bazzi – Atlantic Records
CNCO – RCA Records
Billie Eilish – Darkroom/Interscope Records
H.E.R. – MBK/RCA Records
Lauv – LAUV/AWAL
Lizzo – Atlantic Records
BEST POP 5 Seconds of Summer – “Easier” – Interscope Records
Cardi B & Bruno Mars – “Please Me” – Atlantic Records
Billie Eilish – “bad guy” – Darkroom/Interscope Records
Khalid – “Talk” – Right Hand Music Group/RCA Records
Ariana Grande – “thank u, next” – Republic Records
Jonas Brothers – “Sucker” – Republic Records
Taylor Swift – “You Need to Calm Down” – Republic Records
BEST HIP HOP 2 Chainz featuring Ariana Grande – “Rule the World” – 2 Chainz Ps/Def Jam
21 Savage featuring J. Cole – “a lot” – Slaughter Gang LLC/Epic Records
Cardi B – “Money” – Atlantic Records
DJ Khaled featuring Nipsey Hussle & John Legend – “Higher” – We The Best/Epic Records
Lil Nas X featuring Billy Ray Cyrus – “Old Town Road (Remix)” – Columbia Records
Travis Scott featuring Drake – “SICKO MODE” – Epic Records/Grand Hustle/Cactus Jack
BEST R&B Anderson .Paak featuring Smokey Robinson – “Make It Better” – Aftermath Ent/12 Tone Music
Childish Gambino – “Feels Like Summer” – RCA Records
H.E.R. featuring Bryson Tiller – “Could’ve Been” – MBK/RCA Records
Alicia Keys – “Raise A Man” – RCA Records
Ella Mai – “Trip” – 10 Summers/Interscope Records
Normani ft. 6lack – “Waves” – Keep Cool/RCA Records
BEST K-POP BTS featuring Halsey – “Boy With Luv” – Columbia Records
BLACKPINK – “Kill This Love” – YG Entertainment/Interscope Records
Monsta X featuring French Montana – “Who Do You Love” – Epic Records
TOMORROW X TOGETHER – “Cat & Dog” – Republic Records
NCT 127 – “Regular” – SM Entertainment
EXO – “Tempo” – SM Entertainment
BEST LATIN Anuel AA, Karol G – “Secreto” – Universal Music Latino
Bad Bunny featuring Drake – “MIA” – OVO Sound/Warner Bros. Records
Benny Blanco, Tainy, Selena Gomez, J Balvin – “I Can’t Get Enough” – NEON16/Friends Keep Secrets/Interscope Records
Daddy Yankee featuring Snow – “Con Calma” – Universal Music Latin Entertainment
Maluma – “Mala Mía” – Sony Music US Latin
Rosalía & J Balvin featuring El Guincho – “Con Altura” – Columbia Records
BEST DANCE The Chainsmokers featuring Bebe Rexha – “Call You Mine” – Disruptor/Columbia Records
Clean Bandit featuring Demi Lovato – “Solo” – Big Beat/Atlantic Records
DJ Snake featuring Selena Gomez, Ozuna & Cardi B – “Taki Taki” – DJ Snake Music Productions Ltd/Geffen
David Guetta, Bebe Rexha & J Balvin – “Say My Name” – Big Beat/Atlantic Records
Marshmello & Bastille – “Happier” – Capitol Records
Silk City & Dua Lipa – “Electricity” – Columbia Records
BEST ROCK The 1975 – “Love It If We Made It” – Dirty Hit/Interscope Records
Fall Out Boy – “Bishops Knife Trick” – Island Records
Imagine Dragons – “Natural” – KIDinaKORNER/Interscope Records
Lenny Kravitz – “Low” – BMG Rights Management (UK) Ltd.
Panic! At The Disco – “High Hopes” – Elektra Music Group
twenty one pilots – “My Blood” – Elektra Music Group
VIDEO FOR GOOD Halsey – “Nightmare” – Capitol Records
The Killers – “Land of the Free” – Island
Jamie N Commons, Skylar Grey ft. Gallant – “Runaway Train” – Interscope Records
John Legend – “Preach” – Columbia Records
Lil Dicky – “Earth” – Dirty Burd, Inc./Commission/BMG
Taylor Swift – “You Need to Calm Down” – Republic Records
BEST DIRECTION Billie Eilish – “bad guy” – Darkroom/Interscope Records – Directed by Dave Meyers
FKA twigs – “Cellophane” – Young Turks – Directed by Andrew Thomas Huang
Ariana Grande – “thank you, next” – Republic Records – Directed by Hannah Lux Davis
Lil Nas X featuring Billy Ray Cyrus – “Old Town Road (Remix)” – Columbia Records – Directed by Calmatic
LSD featuring Labrinth, Sia, Diplo – “No New Friends” – Columbia Records – Directed by Dano Cerny
Taylor Swift – “You Need to Calm Down” – Republic Records – Directed by Drew Kirsch & Taylor Swift
BEST VISUAL EFFECTS Billie Eilish – “when the party’s over” – Darkroom/Interscope Records – Visual Effects by Ryan Ross, Andres Jaramillo
FKA twigs – “Cellophane” – Young Turks – Visual Effects by Matt Chandler, Fabio Zaveti for Analog
Ariana Grande – “God Is a Woman” – Republic Records – Visual Effects by Fabrice Lagayette, Kristina Prilukova & Rebecca Rice for Mathematic
DJ Khaled featuring SZA – “Just Us” – We The Best/Epic Records – Visual Effects by Sergii Mashevskyi
LSD featuring Labrinth, Sia, Diplo – “No New Friends” – Columbia Records – Visual Effects by Ethan Chancer
Taylor Swift ft. Brendon Urie of Panic! At The Disco – “ME!” – Republic Records – Visual Effects by Loris Paillier & Lucas Salton for BUF VFX
BEST EDITING Anderson .Paak featuring Kendrick Lamar – “Tints” – Aftermath Ent/12 Tone Music – Editing by Elias Talbot
Lil Nas X featuring Billy Ray Cyrus – “Old Town Road (Remix)” – Columbia Record – Editing by Calmatic
Billie Eilish – “bad guy” – Darkroom/Interscope Records – Editing by Billie Eilish
Ariana Grande – “7 Rings” – Republic Records – Editing by Hannah Lux Davis & Taylor Walsh
Solange – “Almeda” – Columbia Records – Editing by Solange Knowles, Vinnie Hobbs, Jonathon Proctor
Taylor Swift – “You Need to Calm Down” – Republic Records – Editing by Jarrett Fijal
BEST ART DIRECTION BTS featuring Halsey – “Boy With Luv” – Columbia Records – Art Direction by JinSil Park, BoNa Kim (MU:E)
Ariana Grande – “7 Rings” – Republic Records – Art Direction by John Richoux
Lil Nas X featuring Billy Ray Cyrus – “Old Town Road (Remix)” – Columbia Records – Art Direction by Itaru Dela Vegas
Shawn Mendes & Camila Cabello – “Señorita” – Island Records – Art Direction by Tatiana Van Sauter
Taylor Swift – “You Need to Calm Down” – Republic Records – Art Direction by Brittany Porter
Kanye West and Lil’ Pump featuring Adele Givens – “I Love It” – Warner Records & Def Jam Music Group – Art Direction by Tino Schaedler
BEST CHOREOGRAPHY FKA twigs – “Cellophane” – Young Turks – Choreography by Kelly Yvonne
Rosalía & J Balvin featuring El Guincho – “Con Altura” – Columbia Records – Choreography by Charm La’Donna
LSD featuring Labrinth, Sia, Diplo – “No New Friends” – Columbia Records – Choreography by Ryan Heffington
Shawn Mendes & Camila Cabello – “Señorita” – Island Records – Choreography by Calvit Hodge, Sara Biv
Solange – “Almeda” – Columbia Records – Choreography by Maya Taylor, Solange Knowles
BTS featuring Halsey – “Boy With Luv” – Columbia Records – Choreography by Rie Hata
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY Anderson .Paak featuring Kendrick Lamar – “Tints” – Aftermath Ent/12 Tone Music – Cinematography by Elias Talbot
Billie Eilish – “hostage” – Darkroom/Interscope Records – Cinematography by Pau Castejon
Ariana Grande – “thank you, next” – Republic Records – Cinematography by Christopher Probst
Shawn Mendes & Camila Cabello – “Señorita” – Island Records – Cinematography by Scott Cunningham
Solange – “Almeda” – Columbia Records – Cinematography by Chayse Irvin, Ryan Marie Helfant, Justin Hamilton
Taylor Swift featuring Brendon Urie of Panic! At The Disco – “ME!” – Republic Records – Cinematography by Starr Whitesides
Ariana Grande – 10 Nominations Video of the Year
Artist of the Year
Song of the Year
Best Pop
Best Hip-Hop
Best Direction
Best Visual Effects
Best Editing
Best Art Direction
Best Cinematography
Taylor Swift – 10 Nominations Video of the Year
Song of the Year
Best Collaboration
Best Pop
Best Direction
Best Visual Effects
Best Editing
Best Art Direction
Best Cinematography
Video For Good
Billie Eilish – 9 Nominations Video of the Year
Artist of the Year
Best New Artist, presented by Taco Bell®
Best Pop
Best Direction
Best Visual Effects
Push Artist of the Year
Best Editing
Best Cinematography
Lil Nas X – 8 Nominations Video of the Year
Song of the Year
Best New Artist, presented by Taco Bell®
Best Collaboration
Best Hip-Hop
Best Direction
Best Editing
Best Art Direction
Halsey – 6 Nominations Artist of the Year
Best Collaboration
Video For Good
Best Art Direction
Best Choreography
Best K-POP
Shawn Mendes – 5 Nominations Artist of the Year
Best Collaboration
Best Art Direction
Best Choreography
Best Cinematography
Camila Cabello – 4 Nominations Best Collaboration
Best Art Direction
Best Choreography
Best Cinematography
Cardi B – 4 Nominations Artist of the Year
Best Pop
Best Hip-Hop
Best Dance
J Balvin – 4 Nominations Best Latin
Best Latin
Best Dance
Best Choreography
Jonas Brothers – 4 Nominations Video of the Year
Artist of the Year
Song of the Year
Best Pop
BTS – 4 Nominations Best Collaboration
Best Art Direction
Best Choreography
Best K-POP
Anderson .Paak – 3 Nominations Best R&B
Best Editing
Best Cinematography
Drake – 3 Nominations Song of the Year
Best Hip-Hop
Best Latin
FKA twigs – 3 Nominations Best Direction
Best Visual Effects
Best Choreography
H.E.R. – 3 Nominations Best New Artist
Best R&B
Push Artist of the Year
LSD – 3 Nominations Best Direction
Best Visual Effects
Best Choreography
ROSALÍA – 3 Nominations Best New Artist, presented by Taco Bell®
Best Latin
Best Choreography
Solange – 3 Nominations Best Editing
Best Choreography
Best Cinematography
The “VMAs,” which will be hosted by comedian, actor and best-selling author Sebastian Maniscalco, will air live from Prudential Center in Newark, N.J. on Monday, August 26 at 8:00 p.m. ET/PT, and across MTV’s global network of channels in more than 180 countries, reaching more than half a billion households around the world.
Official sponsors of the 2019 “MTV Video Music Awards” include EXTRA™ Refreshers, PEPSI®, Taco Bell®, and the 2020 Toyota Corolla.
Follow @MTV and @VMAs on social to keep up with all-things #VMAs.
Bruce Gillmer and Den of Thieves co-founder Jesse Ignjatovic are Executive Producers for the 2019 “VMAs.” Barb Bialkowski is Co-Executive Producer. Jackie Barba, Joe Buoye and Alicia Portugal serve as Executive in Charge of Production. Amani Duncan is Executive in Charge of Music. Wendy Plaut is Executive in Charge of Celebrity Talent.
About MTV: MTV is the leading global youth media brand in 180 countries, reaching 450 million households in nearly 30 different languages across every platform. A unit of Viacom Inc. (NASDAQ: VIAB, VIA), MTV operations span cable and mobile networks, live events, theatrical films and MTV Studios.
About The Prudential Center: Prudential Center is the world-class sports and entertainment venue located in downtown Newark, New Jersey. Opened in October 2007, the state-of-the-art arena is the home of the National Hockey League’s (NHL) three-time Stanley Cup Champion New Jersey Devils, Seton Hall University’s NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball program, and more than 175 concerts, family shows and special events each year. The arena is also home to the GRAMMY Museum Experience Prudential Center, which opened its doors to the public on October 2017. The 8,200-square-foot experience marks the first GRAMMY Museum outpost on the East Coast, and features a dynamic combination of educational programming and interactive permanent and traveling exhibits, including a spotlight on legendary GRAMMY winners from New Jersey. Ranked in the Top 8 nationally by Pollstar, Billboard and Venues Today, Prudential Center is recognized as one of the premier venues in the United States, and hosts over 2 million guests annually. For more information about Prudential Center, visit PruCenter.com and follow the arena on Facebook,Twitter and Instagram @PruCenter. Prudential Center is a Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment property.
Drake at the 2019 Billboard Music Awards in Las Vegas (Photo by Todd Williamson/NBC)
The following is a press release from Dick Clark Productions and NBC:
Shattering the previous record of most all-time Billboard Music Awards wins, Drake took home 12 awards, including Top Artist – the most of the evening, bringing his total to 27, now the most of any artist ever! Airing this evening from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas at 8 pm ET/PT on NBC, the 2019 Billboard Music Awards opened with a spectacular world premiere performance by global superstar Taylor Swift and Brendon Urie, followed by a show-stopping medley of today’s biggest hits from show host, Kelly Clarkson. The night was full of legendary, nostalgic, and never-before-seen performances, celebrating this year’s biggest and best in music!
Cardi B followed Drake for most wins of the night, including Top Rap Female Artist, Top Hot 100 Song, Top Selling Song, Top Radio Song, Top Collaboration and Top Rap Song. Her “Girls Like You” collaborators, Maroon 5, took home four awards including Top Hot 100 Song, Top Selling Song, Top Radio Song, and Top Collaboration.
Other multi-category winners include: Ella Mai (Top R&B Artist, Top R&B Female Artist, Top R&B Song), Ozuna (Top Latin Artist, Top Latin Album, Top Latin Song), Luke Combs (Top Country Artist, Top Country Male Artist, Top Country Album), Bad Bunny (Top Rap Song, Top Latin Song), Panic! At the Disco (Top Rock Album, Top Rock Song), Beyoncé (Top R&B Tour, Top Rap Tour), Jay-Z (Top R&B Tour, Top Rap Tour), BTS (Top Duo/Group, Top Social Artist), and The Chainsmokers (Top Dance/Electronic Artist, Top Dance/Electronic Album).
Lauren Daigle was the only artist to sweep every category she was nominated for, which included Top Christian Artist, Top Christian Album and Top Christian Song.
The two fan-voted award winners were BTS for Top Social Artist and Ariana Grande for Billboard Chart Achievement Award.
The show had jaw dropping moments from beginning to end, starting with Taylor Swift and Brendon Urie’s grand opening of the show, with their new smash hit, “Me!” in an explosion of color, which included a drum line, aerialists and flying umbrellas. Returning host, Kelly Clarkson, then gave a hilarious opening monologue, filled with special surprise guests and of course a song or two.
Perhaps the most memorable was Madonna’s breathtaking performance with Maluma of their new song “Medellin,” with augmented reality technology.
ICON Award recipient Mariah Carey, showed off her pipes in a medley of her greatest hits, including “A No No,” “Always Be My Baby,” “Emotions,” “We Belong Together,” and “Hero.”
Host Kelly Clarkson took the stage later in the night again, to sing her latest song “Broken and Beautiful” from the new family movie “Ugly Dolls.”
Additional performances throughout the night included dance-inducing performances from K-Pop sensation BTS with Halsey, Ariana Grande, Ciara, and The Jonas Brothers, and soulful songs from Khalid Dan + Shay with Tori Kelly and Lauren Daigle.
Both Halsey and Panic! At the Disco took the stage twice in the night, performing solo and in collaborations with BTS and Taylor Swift, respectively.
Paula Abdul closed the show with a nostalgic performance, her first at an awards show in 29 years, of some of her biggest hits including “Straight Up,” “Way That You Love Me,” “Vibeology,” “Opposites Attract,” “Cold Hearted,” and “Forever Your Girl,” and proved she’s still got the moves 30 years after her debut album “Forever Your Girl”!
Presenters throughout the evening included Asher Angel, Becky G, Chrissy Metz & Justin Hartley, Cobie Smulders, Dave Bautista & Kumail Nanjiani, David Guetta, Erin & Sara Foster, Eva Longoria, Florida Georgia Line, Jennifer Hudson, Jesse Spencer, Julia Michaels, Julianne Hough, Kane Brown, Olivia Wilde, Beanie Feldstein & Kaitlyn Dever, Ralph Macchio, Rob Gronkowski, Ross Lynch & Kiernan Shipka, Sabrina Carpenter, Sophie Turner & Tye Sheridan, Terry Crews, and William Zabka.
See below for a full list of winners:
*Designates Winner
ARTIST AWARDS
Top Artist
Cardi B Drake*
Ariana Grande
Post Malone
Travis Scott
Top New Artist
Bazzi Juice WRLD*
Lil Baby
Dua Lipa
Ella Mai
Billboard Chart Achievement Award
Dan + Shay
Drake Ariana Grande*
Lady Gaga & Bradley Cooper
Dua Lipa
Top Male Artist Drake*
Post Malone
Travis Scott
Ed Sheeran
XXXTENTACION
Top Female Artist
Cardi B Ariana Grande*
Halsey
Ella Mai
Taylor Swift
Top Duo/Group: BTS*
Dan + Shay
Imagine Dragons
Maroon 5
Panic! At The Disco
Top Billboard 200 Artist Drake*
Ariana Grande
Post Malone
Travis Scott
XXXTENTACION
Top Hot 100 Artist
Cardi B Drake*
Ariana Grande
Juice WRLD
Post Malone
Top Streaming Songs Artist
Cardi B Drake*
Ariana Grande
Post Malone
XXXTENTACION
Top Song Sales Artist Drake*
Ariana Grande
Imagine Dragons
Lady Gaga
Post Malone
Top Radio Songs Artist
Cardi B Drake*
Ariana Grande
Maroon 5
Post Malone
Top Social Artist BTS*
EXO
GOT7
Ariana Grande
Louis Tomlinson
Top Touring Artist
Beyoncé & JAY-Z
Bruno Mars Ed Sheeran*
Taylor Swift
Justin Timberlake
Top R&B Artist
H.E.R.
Khalid Ella Mai*
The Weeknd
XXXTENTACION
Top R&B Male Artist
Khalid
The Weeknd*
XXXTENTACION
Top R&B Female Artist
H.E.R.
Ella Mai*
Queen Naija
Top R&B Tour Beyoncé & JAY-Z*
Childish Gambino
Bruno Mars
Top Rap Artist
Cardi B Drake*
Juice WRLD
Post Malone
Travis Scott
Top Rap Male Artist Drake*
Post Malone
Travis Scott
Top Rap Female Artist Cardi B*
City Girls
Nicki Minaj
Top Rap Tour Beyoncé & JAY-Z*
Drake
Travis Scott
Top Country Artist
Jason Aldean
Kane Brown Luke Combs*
Dan + Shay
Florida Georgia Line
Top Country Male Artist
Jason Aldean
Kane Brown Luke Combs*
Top Country Female Artist
Maren Morris
Kacey Musgraves Carrie Underwood*
Top Country Duo/Group Artist Dan + Shay*
Florida Georgia Line
Old Dominion
Top Country Tour
Luke Bryan Kenny Chesney*
Shania Twain
Top Rock Artist Imagine Dragons*
lovelytheband
Panic! At The Disco
Queen
twenty one pilots
Top Rock Tour Elton John*
The Rolling Stones
U2
Top Latin Artist
Anuel AA
Bad Bunny
J Balvin Ozuna*
Romeo Santos
Top Dance/Electronic Artist
Calvin Harris
Kygo
Marshmello
ODESZA The Chainsmokers*
Top Christian Artist
Cory Asbury Lauren Daigle*
for KING & COUNTRY
Hillsong Worship
MercyMe
Top Gospel Artist
Kirk Franklin
Koryn Hawthorne
Tori Kelly Tasha Cobbs Leonard*
Marvin Sapp
ALBUM AWARDS
Top Billboard 200 Album
Cardi B “Invasion of Privacy” Drake “Scorpion”*
Post Malone “beerbongs & bentleys”
Travis Scott “ASTROWORLD”
XXXTENTACION “?”
Top Soundtrack
“13 Reasons Why: Season 2”
“A Star is Born” by Lady Gaga & Bradley Cooper
“Bohemian Rhapsody” by Queen
“Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse” “The Greatest Showman”*
Top R&B Album
Ella Mai “Ella Mai”
H.E.R. “H.E.R.”
Khalid “American Teen”
The Weeknd “My Dear Melancholy,” XXXTENTACION “17”*
Top Rap Album
Cardi B “Invasion of Privacy” Drake “Scorpion”*
Post Malone “beerbongs & bentleys”
Travis Scott “ASTROWORLD”
XXXTENTACION “?”
Top Country Album
Jason Aldean “Rearview Town”
Kane Brown “Kane Brown” Luke Combs “This One’s For You”*
Dan + Shay “Dan + Shay”
Carrie Underwood “Cry Pretty”
Top Rock Album
Dave Matthews Band “Come Tomorrow”
Imagine Dragons “Origins”
Mumford & Sons “Delta” Panic! At The Disco “Pray for the Wicked”*
twenty one pilots “Trench”
Top Latin Album
Anuel AA “Real Hasta la Muerte”
Bad Bunny “X 100PRE”
J Balvin “Vibras”
Maluma “F.A.M.E.” Ozuna “Aura”*
Top Dance/Electronic Album
Clean Bandit “What Is Love?”
David Guetta “7”
Kygo “Kids in Love”
Major Lazer “Major Lazer Essentials” The Chainsmokers “Sick Boy”*
Top Christian Album
Cory Asbury “Reckless Love” Lauren Daigle “Look Up Child”*
for KING & COUNTRY “Burn The Ships”
Hillsong Worship “There Is More”
Zach Williams “Chain Breaker”
Top Gospel Album
Snoop Dogg & Various Artists “Snoop Dogg Presents Bible of Love”
Aretha Franklin “Gospel Greats”
Koryn Hawthorne “Unstoppable” Tori Kelly “Hiding Place”*
Jonathan McReynolds “Make Room”
SONG AWARDS
Top Hot 100 Song
Cardi B, Bad Bunny & J Balvin “I Like It”
Juice WRLD “Lucid Dreams” Maroon 5 ft. Cardi B “Girls Like You”*
Post Malone “Better Now”
Travis Scott “SICKO MODE”
Top Streaming Song (Audio):
Cardi B, Bad Bunny & J Balvin “I Like It”
Juice WRLD “Lucid Dreams”
Post Malone “Better Now” Travis Scott “SICKO MODE”*
XXXTENTACION “SAD!”
Top Streaming Song (Video): Drake “In My Feelings”*
Juice WRLD “Lucid Dreams”
Maroon 5 ft. Cardi B “Girls Like You”
Travis Scott “SICKO MODE”
XXXTENTACION “SAD!”
Top Selling Song
Cardi B, Bad Bunny & J Balvin “I Like It”
Drake “In My Feelings”
Halsey “Without Me”
Lady Gaga & Bradley Cooper “Shallow” Maroon 5 ft. Cardi B “Girls Like You”*
Top Radio Song
Khalid & Normani “Love Lies” Maroon 5 ft. Cardi B “Girls Like You”*
Post Malone “Better Now”
Bebe Rexha & Florida Georgia Line “Meant to Be”
Zedd, Maren Morris & Grey “The Middle”
Top Collaboration
Cardi B, Bad Bunny & J Balvin “I Like It”
Khalid & Normani “Love Lies” Maroon 5 ft. Cardi B “Girls Like You”*
Marshmello & Bastille “Happier”
Post Malone ft. Ty Dolla $ign “Psycho”
Top R&B Song
DJ Khaled ft. Justin Bieber, Chance The Rapper & Quavo “No Brainer” Ella Mai “Boo’d Up”*
Ella Mai “Trip”
Khalid “Better”
Lil Dicky ft. Chris Brown “Freaky Friday”
Top Rap Song Cardi B, Bad Bunny & J Balvin “I Like It”*
Drake “In My Feelings”
Juice WRLD “Lucid Dreams”
Post Malone “Better Now”
Travis Scott “SICKO MODE”
Top Country Song
Kane Brown “Heaven”
Luke Combs “She Got the Best of Me”
Dan + Shay “Speechless”
Dan + Shay “Tequila” Bebe Rexha featuring Florida Georgia Line “Meant to Be”*
Top Rock Song
Foster the People “Sit Next to Me”
Imagine Dragons “Natural”
Imagine Dragons “Whatever It Takes”
lovelytheband “broken” Panic! At The Disco “High Hopes”*
Top Latin Song
Bad Bunny ft. Drake “Mia”
Daddy Yankee “Dura”
DJ Snake ft. Selena Gomez, Ozuna & Cardi B “Taki Taki”
Nicky Jam & J Balvin “X” Casper Magico, Nio Garcia, Darell, Nicky Jam, Bad Bunny & Ozuna “Te Bote”*
Top Dance/Electronic Song
DJ Snake ft. Selena Gomez, Ozuna & Cardi B “Taki Taki”
Calvin Harris & Dua Lipa “One Kiss”
Marshmello & Bastille “Happier”
Tiësto & Dzeko ft. Preme & Post Malone “Jackie Chan” Zedd, Maren Morris & Grey “The Middle”*
Top Christian Song
Cory Asbury “Reckless Love” Lauren Daigle “You Say”*
for KING & COUNTRY “joy.”
Hillsong Worship “Who You Say I Am”
Tauren Wells “Known”
Top Gospel Song
Todd Dulaney “Your Great Name” Koryn Hawthorne “Won’t He Do It”*
Tori Kelly ft. Kirk Franklin “Never Alone”
Jason Nelson “Forever”
Brian Courtney Wilson “A Great Work”
“Billboard Music Awards” nominees and winners are based on key fan interactions with music, including album and digital song sales, streaming, radio airplay, touring and social engagement, tracked by Billboard and its data partners, including Nielsen Music and Next Big Sound. The awards are based on the chart period of March 23, 2018 through March 7, 2019. Since 1940, the Billboard charts have been the go-to guide for ranking the popularity of artists, songs and albums, and are the ultimate measure of success in music.
The “2019 Billboard Music Awards” is produced by Dick Clark Productions. Mark Bracco, Barry Adelman, Kelly Clarkson and Robert Deaton are executive producers.
The “2019 Billboard Music Awards” are sponsored by T-Mobile.
For the latest news on the Billboard Music Awards (BBMAs) visit www.billboardmusicawards.com and www.billboard.com/bbma. For exclusive content and more, be sure to follow the BBMAs on social media and join the conversation by using the official hashtag for the show, #BBMAs. Twitter:@BBMAs Facebook:FB.com/TheBBMAs | Instagram: bbmas | Snapchat: thebbmas | YouTube: youtube.com/bbmas
About Dick Clark Productions
Dick Clark Productions (DCP) is the world’s largest producer and proprietor of televised live event entertainment programming with the “Academy of Country Music Awards,” “American Music Awards,” “Billboard Music Awards,” “Golden Globe Awards,” “Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest” and the “Streamy Awards.” Weekly television programming includes “So You Think You Can Dance” from 19 Entertainment and DCP. DCP also owns one of the world’s most unique and extensive entertainment archive libraries with over 60 years of award-winning shows, historic programs, specials, performances and legendary programming. DCP is a division of Valence Media, a diversified media company with divisions and strategic investments in premium television, wide release film, specialty film, live events and digital media. For additional information, visit www.dickclark.com.
About Billboard Media Group
Billboardis the world’s largest voice in music, built on the most complete and well-respected database of charts across all music genres. The Billboard charts define success in music. From the iconic Billboard magazine to Billboard.com, the ultimate consumer-facing destination for millions of passionate music fans, to the industry’s most elite conference series and influencer events including the Power 100 and Women in Music – the Billboard brand has unmatched authority among fans, artists and the industry alike. Billboard has a social media footprint of 25.5M+ million social followers across Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube, and creates more than 160M+ cross-platform video views per month. Billboard magazine has published major news-generating covers recently including Travis Scott, Janet Jackson, Lil Wayne, Demi Lovato, Cardi B, Christina Aguilera, Shakira, BTS, and more. In December 2018, the Billboard Women in Music ceremony, which honored Ariana Grande as Woman of the Year, was live-streamed globally on Twitter. In 2016, The Hollywood Reporter-Billboard Media Group acquired Spin Media’s storied music assets Spin, Vibe, and Stereogum, establishing the world’s largest music brand by digital traffic, social reach, and audience share. The combined entity of music and entertainment properties now reaches 41 Million + unique visitors and more than 20% of U.S. millennials.
Ariana Grande at the Songwriters Hall of Fame 49th Annual Induction and Awards Dinner at New York Marriott Marquis Hotel in New York City on June 14, 2018. (Photo by Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for Songwriters Hall of Fame)
Taylor Swift attends the iHeartRadio Music Awards at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles on March 14, 2019. (Photo by Scott Kirkland/FOX/PictureGroup)
Paula Abdul at the iHeartRadio Music Festival at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on September 21, 2018. (Photo by Gabe Ginsberg/Getty Images for iHeartMedia)
The following is a press release from Dick Clark Productions and NBC:
Dick Clark Productions and NBC announced today that multi-platinum, record-breaking superstar Ariana Grande is partnering with T-Mobile for a special performance of her hit single “7 Rings” from her sold-out tour stop as part of the “2019 Billboard Music Awards.” The pop songstress, whose song spent six weeks at No. 1 on Billboard’s Pop Songs Airplay chart, marks her fourth No. 1 hit since July – the fastest any artist has collected that many No. 1 singles in the chart’s history.
Global superstar Taylor Swift will open the “2019 Billboard Music Awards” with the worldwide premiere performance of her smash hit new song “ME!” featuring Brendon Urie of Panic! At The Disco.
The “2019 Billboard Music Awards,” with returning host Kelly Clarkson, will air from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on Wednesday, May 1 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on NBC and will feature this year’s hottest musical acts, unexpected collaborations and buzzworthy moments.
Singer, dancer, choreographer and Billboard record-holder Paula Abdul will hit the ”2019 Billboard Music Awards” stage to perform a medley of her biggest record-breaking hits as the show’s “2019 Billboard Music Awards” Throwback moment.
They join previously announced performers BTS featuring Halsey, Ciara, Kelly Clarkson, Lauren Daigle, Dan + Shay, Halsey, Jonas Brothers, Tori Kelly, Khalid, Madonna and Maluma, Panic! At The Disco, plus a special performance by 2019 ICON Award recipient Mariah Carey.
Always a fan favorite, the Billboard Music Awards create a nostalgic moment each year with performances and musicians of our pop culture past for the Billboard Music Awards Throwback. Past Throwback’s include Salt-N-Pepa’s 2018 performance to commemorate the 30th anniversary of becoming the first female rappers to crack the Top 20 on the Billboard Hot 100, Celine Dion’s moving 2017 performance of the Oscar-winning song, “My Heart Will Go On” to mark the 20th anniversary of the film Titanic, the Go-Go’s 2016 performance of their smash hit “We Got The Beat” to celebrate the song’s 35th anniversary, and in 2015 Molly Ringwald introducing the band Simple Minds who performed their hit single “Don’t You (Forget About Me)” on the 30th anniversary of the film The Breakfast Club.
Talent Billboard Chart Facts:
Ariana Grande wrapped 2018 in a big way, with her third No. 1 album on the Billboard 200, Sweetener, and her first No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 songs chart, “Thank U, Next.” But then, things got even bigger for the superstar, as she quickly claimed a second No. 1 on the Hot 100 with “7 Rings,” along with her fourth No. 1 album on the Billboard 200: Thank U, Next. When the latter debuted at No. 1, it logged the largest streaming week ever for a pop album, and, any album by a woman (with its songs earning 307.1 million on demand audio streams in its first week in the U.S., according to Nielsen Music). Also, when Thank U, Next opened at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, it happened just five months and 22 days after Sweetener started at No. 1 – the shortest gap between new No. 1s on the chart for a woman since 1975.
Taylor Swift holds the record for the most Billboard Music Award wins, with 23. In 2018, her massive Reputation Stadium Tour made history as the highest-grossing U.S. tour ever, according to Billboard Boxscore. Swift has achieved five No. 1 albums on the Billboard 200 chart — all with her previous five studio albums. Her last album, 2017’s Billboard 200 #1 reputation, sold 1.22 million copies in its first week in the U.S., making Swift the only artist to have four consecutive million-selling release weeks in Nielsen Music history. Additionally, Swift has earned 22 top 10 hits on the Billboard Hot 100 songs chart, with five of those reaching No. 1. In total, Swift’s catalog of albums and songs have sold more than 150 million copies in the U.S.
Having been a force in the music industry since her debut album Forever Your Girl hit the charts in 1988, Paula Abdul is the first female to ever receive four No. 1 Billboard Hot 100 singles off a debut album. One of those singles, and arguably Abdul’s most recognized hit, “Straight Up,” is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year. After first making her mark as a Los Angeles Lakers cheerleader and choreographer, Abdul has long courted success on Billboard‘s charts. Her debut album, Forever Your Girl, hit No. 1 on the Billboard 200 in 1989, completing a record 64-week climb to the top spot. The set also generated four No. 1 Billboard Hot 100 singles in 1989-90, a first for a debut. Her 1991 LP, Spellbound, also topped the Billboard 200 and spun off two more Hot 100 No. 1s. As she gained a new generation of fans as a judge on American Idol, she added a No. 2 hit, “Dance Like There’s No Tomorrow,” on the Dance Club Songs chart in 2008 with then-fellow judge Randy Jackson. In Abdul’s 30-plus year career, she has earned six No. 1 songs, eight Top 10, and 15 hits on the Billboard Hot 100.
“Billboard Music Awards” nominees and winners are based on key fan interactions with music, including album and digital song sales, streaming, radio airplay, touring and social engagement, tracked by Billboard and its data partners, including Nielsen Music and Next Big Sound. The awards are based on the chart period of March 23, 2018 through March 7, 2019. Since 1940, the Billboard charts have been the go-to guide for ranking the popularity of artists, songs and albums, and are the ultimate measure of success in music.
The “2019 Billboard Music Awards” is produced by Dick Clark Productions. Mark Bracco, Barry Adelman, Kelly Clarkson and Robert Deaton are executive producers.
The “2019 Billboard Music Awards” are sponsored by T-Mobile.
T-Mobile will give fans more of the music they love from the BBMAs including exclusive, behind-the-scenes content and more! #BBMAsWithUs throughout the evening and follow T-Mobile on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.
For the latest news on the Billboard Music Awards (BBMAs) visit www.billboardmusicawards.com and www.billboard.com/bbma. For exclusive content and more, be sure to follow the BBMAs on social media and join the conversation by using the official hashtag for the show, #BBMAs. Twitter:@BBMAs Facebook:FB.com/TheBBMAs | Instagram: bbmas | Snapchat: thebbmas | YouTube: youtube.com/bbmas
About Dick Clark Productions
Dick Clark Productions (DCP) is the world’s largest producer and proprietor of televised live event entertainment programming with the “Academy of Country Music Awards,” “American Music Awards,” “Billboard Music Awards,” “Golden Globe Awards,” “Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest” and the “Streamy Awards.” Weekly television programming includes “So You Think You Can Dance” from 19 Entertainment and DCP. DCP also owns one of the world’s most unique and extensive entertainment archive libraries with over 60 years of award-winning shows, historic programs, specials, performances and legendary programming. DCP is a division of Valence Media, a diversified media company with divisions and strategic investments in premium television, wide release film, specialty film, live events and digital media. For additional information, visit www.dickclark.com.
About Billboard Media Group Billboard is the world’s largest voice in music, built on the most complete and well-respected database of charts across all music genres. The Billboard charts define success in music. From the iconic Billboard magazine to Billboard.com, the ultimate consumer-facing destination for millions of passionate music fans, to the industry’s most elite conference series and influencer events including the Power 100 and Women in Music – the Billboard brand has unmatched authority among fans, artists and the industry alike. Billboard has a social media footprint of 25.5M+ million social followers across Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube, and creates more than 160M+ cross-platform video views per month. Billboard magazine has published major news-generating covers recently including Travis Scott, Janet Jackson, Lil Wayne, Demi Lovato, Cardi B, Christina Aguilera, Shakira, BTS, and more. In December 2018, the Billboard Women in Music ceremony, which honored Ariana Grande as Woman of the Year, was live-streamed globally on Twitter. In 2016, The Hollywood Reporter-Billboard Media Group acquired Spin Media’s storied music assets Spin, Vibe, and Stereogum, establishing the world’s largest music brand by digital traffic, social reach, and audience share. The combined entity of music and entertainment properties now reaches 41 Million + unique visitors and more than 20% of U.S. millennials.
