Britney Spears kicked off Sunday night’s Billboard Music Awards in Las Vegas on a high note with a super sexy performance that set the bar high for the rest of the night.
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Revisit the night’s most noteworthy events.
Dion sang Queen’s “The Show Must Go On” in strong form, sporting a shiny dress and backed by a powerful orchestra. Kesha gave an emotional performance of “It Ain’t Me, Babe”, which earned her a standing ovation from the crowd. Her opinion is that capable, successful artists should be awarded as soon as possible as no one knows how long they have.
Four months after losing her husband Rene Angelil and her brother Daniel Dion to cancer, Dion made her live TV comeback on Sunday night to accept the BBMAs Icon Award.
But Roots drummer Questlove, who introduced Madonna’s performance, defended her on Twitter, pleading for fans to “not get ugly” wondering what Prince would approve of.
Entering solo on a velvet purple throne clad in a lavender paisley suit, she began with a drum machine-assisted take on Nothing Compares 2 U, with somber footage projected on the background.
Stevie Wonder joined her on a rousing “Purple Rain” duet.
“Most of all, thank you Prince Rogers Nelson for all that you’ve given us”, Madonna said after the performance.
Starting to choke up, The Weeknd continued, “And you know I didn’t know him, but he was very close – and he will always be an inspiration and of course help me push the envelope forever, and every artist I know”.
Adele – who did not attend the ceremony as she continues her world tour – won five awards including Top Artist as she beat Justin Bieber, Drake, Taylor Swift and The Weeknd in the category.
During her performance of her 2015 hit Cool for the Summer, which winks at sexual fluidity, Lovato wore a bedazzled black shirt with the gender inclusivity symbol, depicting half a man and half a woman.
Bieber sees himself as more of a free-range pop-star then we must assume, although the photo of these free-roaming sheep he posted to Instagram alongside his awards show rant might be more of a jab at the music industry’s lack of individuality.
“When it came to her dancing, there was no choreography, per se”, he added.
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“Sure there are people truly proud of others so I don’t want to knock them I’m just looking at the vast majority”. She danced and gyrated across multiple stages to the soundtrack of her greatest hits, such as “Slave for U”, and “Toxic”.
