On May 20th, the annual Billboard Music Awards aired live at 8:00 pm Eastern Time. The awards were held at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, and were broadcasted on NBC.

This renowned event was hosted by pop sensation, Kelly Clarkson and many A-list celebs such as Taylor Swift, Shawn Mendes, BTS, and BBMA Icon Award winner Janet Jackson were also in attendance. Clarkson kicked off the show with a powerful call to action on gun violence after the recent Santa Fe, Texas middle school shooting. 

During her speech she said, “I’m so sick of moments of silence. It’s not working. Obviously. So why don’t we do a moment of action. Why don’t we do a moment of change.”

Later she performed a medley of pop songs including music by Ed Sheeran, Kendrick Lamar, Shawn Mendes, and more. The night was not only filled with music, but politics as well when the artists used their platform to comment on the controversial issues in our country. 

The night was brimming with awards who went to various artists such as Ed Sheeran, Post Malone, Bruno Mars, The Chainsmokers, Justin Bieber, and more. Many of the award winners performed at the Awards in a star-studded lineup. 

Performances included songs from Khalid, Janet Jackson, BTS, Ariana Grande, Zedd, and more. 

An especially powerful performance featured Khalid, Shawn Mendes, and the Marjory Stoneman Douglas Choir. Together they sang Khalid and Mendes’s new song, “Youth”. 

Shawn Mendes said, “Obviously our hearts go with everyone affected by what happened. We’re very, very overdue for a change and I felt like tonight was super impactful and I was just super honored to be able to do that with them. I’ve never experienced goosebumps like that on stage before. It was really, really special.” 

Later in the night Macklemore and Kesha performed their famous song, “Good Old Days,” Maren Morris performed “The Middle” with Zedd, and Camila Cabello sang a mashup of “Havana”and “Sangria Wine.”

The numerous awards were presented by Hailey Baldwin, Tyra Banks, Halsey, Nick Jonas, Mila Kunis, French Montana, Ne-Yo, Grace VanderWaal, Rebel Wilson and many more. 

Going into the show, Ed Sheeran, Bruno Mars and Kendrick Lamar were tied for most BBMA nominations with 15 a person. The three went head-to-head in the night’s Top Artist category. 

Next up was Post Malone with 13 nominations, followed by Imagine Dragons with 11. 

Ed Sheeran swept the awards ceremony, leaving with 6 awards, including Top Artist. Bruno Mars took 4 awards, and Kendrick Lamar ended with a grand total of 6.

This year’s Billboard Music Awards was both powerful and mesmerizing. Viewers everywhere loved the annual show and next year has a tough bar to top!