A Billboard award means something else entirely to the recipient, and the recipient is chosen in a decidedly different capacity as well.
The nominees and winners are chosen based off of fan interaction with a certain artist. A few things that are taken into consideration are album and song sales, streaming services, radio airplays, and social media interaction on Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, etc.
This year's hosts are Ciara and Ludacris. These two are lifelong pals as they’ve created some pretty cool music together over the years including, “Oh!” and “Ride,” both songs sung by Ciara and featuring Ludacris.
Slated to open the show: None other than Britney Spears herself, who will be receiving the Billboard Millennium Award. Expect a medley of her greatest hits, and also a taste of her newest single.
Also on tap to perform: Perhaps the most talked-about performance for this year's awards - even more so than Ms. Spears - is Madonna's tribute to the late Prince.
That said, both Celine Dion fans and Pink fans have something to look forward to, too. Dion will be performing for the first time since the deaths of her husband of 21 years, René Angélil, and her brother, Daniel Dion, both to cancer and within two days of each other in January. She will be singing - fittingly - the Queen hit "The Show Must Go On."
As for Pink, her top-secret performance of "Just Like Fire" is reportedly "so ambitious that she's rehearsing it off-site for five days." Having seen Pink in concert myself, I can assure you that there will be spectacle to accompany the considerable vocals.
The competition for Top R&B Album is considerable too. Here are the nominees:
Chris Brown for "Royalty," as well as Rihanna's for "Anti". Bryson Tiller got a nod for his "Trap Soul" project and Tyrese got one for "Black Rose." And lastly, The Weekend's "Beauty Behind The Madness" was nominated.
Ordinarily I would tell you that Brown and Rihanna will split the difference, their rivalry still too raw for anyone to pick between the two. But this is Billboard and, as mentioned, they do it differently. That makes this one a toss-up, with my money going to Brown, whose fans think time has come. They're probably right.
Top artist nominees include Adele, Justin Bieber (I know, right?), Drake, Taylor Swift and The Weeknd. Again, this being Billboard, and largely sales and fan-interaction-based, it's hard not to see Swiftees swooping in and grabbing Taylor another trophy. With Biebs fans right behind them.
The Weeknd boasts a whopping 19 nominations across 16 categories, followed by Justin Bieber with 12 nominations across 11 categories. Drake and Fetty Wap are both nominated 11 times, in 10 categories. Taylor Swift and Adele are competing with each other with 8 nominations each.
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