Billboard Music Awards


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

Awards process

Unlike other awards, such as the Grammy Award, which determine nominations as a result of the highest votes received by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, the Billboard Music Awards finalists are based on album and digital songs sales, streaming, radio airplay, touring, and social engagement. These measurements are tracked year-round by Billboard and its data partners, including MRC Data and Next Big Sound. The 2018 awards were based on the reporting period of April 8, 2017 through March 31, 2018. Awards are given for the top album, artist and single in a number of different music genres.

Awards

Categories

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

Current categories

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

General

  • Top Artist
  • Top New Artist
  • Top Male Artist
  • Top Female Artist
  • Top Duo/Group
  • Top Billboard 200 Artist
  • Top Billboard 200 Album
  • Top Hot 100 Artist
  • Top Hot 100 Song
  • Top Hot 100 Songwriter
  • Top Hot 100 Producer
  • Top Billboard Global 200 Artist
  • Top Billboard Global Artist
  • Top Billboard Global 200 Song
  • Top Billboard Global Song
  • Top Touring Artist
  • Top Song Sales Artist
  • Top Selling Album
  • Top Selling Song
  • Top Radio Songs Artist
  • Top Radio Song
  • Top Streaming Songs Artist
  • Top Streaming Song
  • Top Streaming Song

    R&B

  • Top R&B Artist
  • Top R&B Male Artist
  • Top R&B Female Artist
  • Top R&B Album
  • Top R&B Song
  • Top R&B Tour

    Rap

  • Top Rap Artist
  • Top Rap Male Artist
  • Top Rap Female Artist
  • Top Rap Album
  • Top Rap Song
  • Top Rap Tour

    Country

  • Top Country Artist
  • Top Country Male Artist
  • Top Country Female Artist
  • Top Country Duo/Group Artist
  • Top Country Album
  • Top Country Song
  • Top Country Tour

    Rock

  • Top Rock Artist
  • Top Rock Album
  • Top Rock Song
  • Top Rock Tour

    Latin

  • Top Latin Artist
  • Top Latin Male Artist
  • Top Latin Female Artist
  • Top Latin Duo/Group
  • Top Latin Album
  • Top Latin Song
  • Top Latin Touring Artist

    K-Pop

  • Top Global K-Pop Artist
  • Top Global K-Pop Song
  • Top K-Pop Album
  • Top K-Pop Touring Artist

    Dance/Electronic

  • Top Dance/Electronic Artist
  • Top Dance/Electronic Album
  • Top Dance/Electronic Song

    Christian

  • Top Christian Artist
  • Top Christian Album
  • Top Christian Song

    Gospel

  • Top Gospel Artist
  • Top Gospel Album
  • Top Gospel Song

    Others genres

  • Top Soundtrack
  • Top Social Artist
  • Billboard Chart Achievement
  • Top Collaboration

    Retired categories (1990–2022)

  • Top Alternative Album
  • Top Alternative Artist
  • Top Alternative Song
  • Top Classical Crossover Artist
  • Top Classical Crossover Album
  • Top Country Collaboration
  • Top Dance Artist
  • Top Dance Album
  • Top Dance Song
  • Top Digital Media Artist
  • Top Digital Songs Artist
  • Top Digital Song
  • Top EDM Artist
  • Top EDM Album
  • Top EDM Song
  • Top Independent Artists
  • Top Independent Album
  • Top Modern Rock Artist
  • Top Modern Rock Track
  • Top New Male Artist
  • Top New Female Artist
  • Top New Group/Band
  • Top New Song
  • Top Pop Song
  • Top Pop Album
  • Top Pop Artist
  • Top Pop Punk Artist
  • Top R&B Collaboration
  • Top Rap Collaboration
  • Top Rhythmic Top 40 Title
  • Top Selling Single
  • Top Soundtrack Single of the Year
  • Milestone Award

    Special awards

Artist Achievement Award

The record for most Billboard Music Awards won by an artist is held by Taylor Swift, earning 49 awards. The record for most Billboard Music Awards won by a group is held by BTS who have won 12 awards.
RankArtistNumber of awards
1Taylor Swift49
2Drake41
3Beyoncé28
4Justin Bieber26
5The Weeknd22
6Garth Brooks19
7Adele18
7Morgan Wallen18
7Usher18
7Kanye West18
11Eminem17
12Bad Bunny16
12Whitney Houston16
14Mariah Carey14
1550 Cent13
16BTS12
16Carrie Underwood12
16George Michael12
16Rihanna12
16R.Kelly12
16T.I.12
22Destiny's Child11
22Janet Jackson11
22Mary J. Blige11
22Post Malone11
26Imagine Dragons10
26Lady Gaga10

Most Wins in a single ceremony
RankArtistMost wins
1Drake13
2Adele12
3Whitney Houston11

Performances

Broadcast

Since its inception, the BMAs had been telecast on the Fox network; however due to contractual expirations and other unforeseen circumstances, the awards were cancelled for 2007. Plans for a new version of the BMAs in 2008 fell through and were not held until 2011.
On February 17, 2011, Billboard announced that the BMAs would return to television, moving from its original home on Fox to its new network, ABC, on May 22. A new award statuette was created by New York firm Society Awards. Dick Clark Productions, which is co-owned with Billboard, began producing the ceremony in 2014. On November 28, 2017, it was announced that the Billboard Music Awards would move from ABC to NBC beginning in 2018 under a multi-year contract.
The 2020 ceremony, originally scheduled for April 29, was postponed indefinitely on March 17 due to coronavirus-related public assembly concerns. On August 14, 2020, it was announced that the 2020 ceremony had been rescheduled to October 14.
On November 25, 2024, it was announced that the BMAs would return to Fox with a pre-recorded special on December 12. It also streamed live on Amazon Fire TV Channels and on-demand on Paramount+.