Billboard Music Award Nominations Announced
When the complete list of 2021 Billboard Music Award nominations came out, The Weeknd scored the most nominations with 16, with DaBaby and Pop Smoke trailing behind with 11 and 10, respectively. Access Hollywood’s Zuri Hall and comedian LaLa Milan announced the finalists through a live stream on Youtube.
Both Drake and Taylor Swift have a chance at making Billboard Music Award history. If Drake wins any of his six nominations, he will extend his lead as the artist with the most Billboard Music Awards. However, if he loses all six races and Taylor Swift sweeps her four nominations, she will tie Drake’s 27 wins. Moreover, Swift could lose her second-place spot if either Justin Beiber or The Weeknd will all of their categories.
Billboard does not implement a voting system to figure out the winners. Instead, winners are chosen after the company analyzes data like streaming numbers, sales, airplay, and social engagement. Billboard looked at chart data reflecting the period between March 21, 2020, and April 3.
The Dick Clark Productions studio barred controversial country singer Morgan Wallen from attending the award show despite the singer picking up six nominations. This news comes after the same studio did not allow Wallen to attend the Academy of Country Music Awards.
yall will never know how happy am i to see svt and blackpink earn their well deserved bbma nominations😭 #BBMAs
— timo (@ilikethatlisa) April 30, 2021
A statement from Dick Clark Productions illustrated the company’s decision to nominate Wallen while still excluding him from the ceremony. “Unique among awards shows, Billboard Music Awards (BBMA) finalists are determined by performance on the Billboard charts, and are not chosen by a voting committee or membership organization. BBMA finalists and winners are based on key fan interactions with music (including album and digital song sales, streaming, radio airplay, social engagement), tracked by Billboard and its data partners, including MRC Data.”
SB19, a Pinoy pop boy band based in the Philippines as the first South Asian act to ever receive a Billboard Music Award nomination. The group earned their nomination in the Top Social Artist category, one of the few categories not derived from Billboard chart impact but rather fan engagement on social media platforms.
The Weeknd is in almost every category of 2021 Billboard Music Awards, I hope he wins that much cos he’s sure deserving.
— Fred Rick (@kingfreddy__) April 29, 2021
Billboard has yet to link fans to vote in those categories despite the award ceremony taking place in less than a month. Last year, Billboard tabulated the voting results through the social media platform TikTok.
Billboard.com offers the official list of nominations in over 50 categories. Airing live from Los Angeles’ Microsoft Theatre on May 23, the 2021 Billboard Music Awards begins at 8 p.m. Eastern Standard Time on NBC.
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