The Chainsmokers, Drake each garner 22 Billboard Music Awards nominations
Nominees for the 2017 Billboard Music Awards honoring the year’s most successful artists in 52 categories of music were announced early this morning, and Steve Wynn’s new resident nightlife performers The Chainsmokers scored a record-breaking 22 nominations, tying with another Las Vegas regular artist, Drake.
The 2017 Billboard Music Awards air live from our T-Mobile Arena on May 21 at 8 p.m. ET and tape delayed on the West Coast. Producers Dick Clark Productions for ABC say that this year’s awards will showcase “big performances, unexpected collaborations and much-discussed pop culture moments.”
As part of today’s announcement, singer-songwriter Julia Michaels and Fall Out Boy musician Pete Wentz appeared in the 8 a.m. ET hour of ABC’s “Good Morning America” to announce the nominees in five categories: Top Artist, Top Male Artist, Top Female Artist, Top Billboard 200 Album and Top Hot 100 Song.
Billboard.com announced four categories, Top Billboard 200 Artist, Top Hot 100 Artist, Top R&B Song and Top Rock Song, post-broadcast. This year’s nominations include a cross-section of artists, with many seeing more nods than ever. Drake and The Chainsmokers lead the pack with 22 nominations each, tying the all-time record for most nominations in a single year.
The Chainsmokers’ nominations include double nods in six categories: Top Dance/Electronic Album, Top Hot 100 Song, Top Selling Song, Top Radio Song, Top Collaboration and Top Dance/Electronic Song, with single nominations in 10 other categories
Drake’s nominations include, among others, Top Artist, Top Male Artist, Top Hot 100 Artist and Top Billboard 200 Album. Twenty One Pilots received the third-most nominations, at 17, including Top Artist, Top Billboard 200 Artist and three nods in the Top Rock Song category.
Rihanna received the fourth-most nominations, 14, including Top Artist, Top Female Artist, Top Hot 100 Artist, Top Billboard 200 Album and a double nomination for Top R&B Song. 2016 winners who also received nods this year include Adele, Justin Bieber, Luke Bryan, Lauren Daigle, Drake, Kirk Franklin, Enrique Iglesias, Nicky Jam, Wiz Khalifa, Major Lazer, Rihanna, Chris Stapleton, The Weeknd, Twenty One Pilots and more.
Billboard Music Awards nominees are based on key fan interactions with music, including album and digital songs sales, streaming, radio airplay, touring and social engagement. These measurements are tracked year round by Billboard and its data partners who include Nielsen Music and Next Big Sound.
The 2017 Billboard Music Awards are based on the reporting period of March 18, 2016, through March 16, 2017. Since 1940, the Billboard charts have been the go-to guide for ranking the popularity of songs and albums and are a big measure of success in music.