Photo courtesy of Billboard
Story by Rachael Anne Keisling / Contributing Writer
The 2017 Billboard Music Awards was held in Las Vegas’ T-Mobile Arena last night. Highlights of the night include Drake sweeping the record from Adele for most wins in a single year with a whopping 13 awards won and Celine Dion celebrating the 20th anniversary of “Titanic” with a heart-felt performance of “My Heart Will Go On.”
First-time co-host Vanessa Hudgens joined Ludacris, who has helped host the BBMAs the past four years, kicked the night off with a not-so-easy-to-forget introduction that involved Hudgens showcasing her own hidden vocal talents. Not only did she rap, but the 28-year-old actress also proved to have quite the set of lungs as she teased the audience with songs to be performed later in the night.
Nicki Minaj delivered the award show’s opening performance with a medley of hits including “Starships” and “Anaconda.” Throughout her performance, Minaj shared the stage with Lil Wayne and David Guetta as the three performed their song “Light My Body Up” along with Jason Derulo during the performance of “Swalla.”
CJ Wallace, the late Notorious B.I.G.’s son, attended the event to celebrate what would have been his father’s 45th birthday. A small tribute was also made to the late Chris Cornell who died last Thurdsay.
Country music made its presence through artists Blake Shelton, Florida Georgia Line and MTSU alumni Sam Hunt. Shelton and FGL both won in their categories while Hunt merely performed his latest hit “Body Like A Back Road.” John Legend also teamed up with FGL in a collaboration of Legend’s “Surefire” and FGL’s “H.O.L.Y.”
Throughout the night, Hudgens made it her mission to wow the audience with her many wardrobe changes. Just before Cher took the stage, Hudgens sported a dazzling final outfit in Cher’s honor.
Immediately following Cher’s flashy performance of hits “Believe” and “Turn Back Time,” Gwen Stefani presented her with the 2017 Icon Award. Cher joins artist such as Celine Dion and Prince with the acceptance of this award.
Other notable performances of the night include “Young” by The Chainsmokers and “Gyalchester” by Drake, a performance he delivered while standing inside the Ballagio Fountain. Plus, Miley Cyrus not only debuted a performance of her new single “Malibu,” but she also re-introduced a quieter side of herself.
Despite the star-studded list of performers, the night seemed to drag on more than anything. Maybe it was all the slow songs performed, or maybe it was the all-too-many presenters that crowded the stage time and time again. Overall, the 2017 BBMAs proved to be a bore with a busy schedule.
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When it comes to musical award shows, one always expects the show to be very well-rounded like the Grammys, but that definitely wasn’t the case when it came to the Billboard Music Awards. There’s no question that the ceremony was nothing more than a highly star-studded event, many of music’s biggest names being in attendance. Among the stars were Nicki Minaj, Drake, P. Diddy, Cher as well as countless others who definitely had some of the biggest highlights and special moments of the night, helping hold the show together and keep people watching.
Highlights of the night included Nicki Minaj starting off the show with a high-energy performance, to P. Diddy and CJ Wallace (son of legendary hip-hop artist, Christopher Wallace, aka the Notorious B.I.G.) honoring the late rapper on what would’ve been his 45th birthday, Cher receiving the Billboard Icon Award, Celine Dion honoring the 20th anniversary of ‘Titanic’ by giving a beautiful performance of the iconic, ‘My Heart Will Go On,’ to Drake winning in one of the biggest categories of the night—beating out Adele’s previously held record.
Other than the show lasting for nearly three hours with what felt like an endless amount of presenters crowding the stage a little too many times, overall and as a whole, the BBMAs weren’t as bad as I thought they would be but could’ve been so much better than what they were. It’ll be interesting to see how next year’s show will turn out.