Ariana Grande Is Billboard's 2018 Woman of the Year
The singer will be honored at the Billboard Women in Music dinner and awards gala in New York on Dec. 6.
After an incredibly successful year and on the heels of her Billboard 200 chart-topping fourth album Sweetener, Ariana Grande has been named Billboard’s 2018 Woman of the Year.
The superstar singer, songwriter, actress and activist will be presented with the award Dec. 6 at the 13th annual Women in Music dinner and awards gala in New York. Grande joins a history of icons who have been previously honored as Woman of the Year, including Selena Gomez, Madonna, Lady GaGa and Taylor Swift.
“Ariana Grande is a star on her own terms, never bending to any particular musical trend or path in the industry,” says Ross Scarano, Billboard’s vp of content. “Certain in her convictions, she consistently stands up for herself and her decisions in a world that often isn’t hospitable to that sort of strength in young women. She’s got guts, she’s making some of the best music of her career, and she’s absolutely deserving of Woman of the Year.”
Over the course of her career, Grande has claimed the No. 1 spot on the Billboard 200 albums chart three times. Her latest chart-topper was August's Sweetener, home to the hits "No Tears Left to Cry" and "God Is a Woman" and scoring the largest streaming week ever for a pop album by a female artist upon its release.
Beyond music, Grande uses her platform and strength to support causes she believes in. She took part in March for Our Lives earlier this year in support of smarter gun control laws and is constantly advocating for mental health awareness, gender equality, LGBTQ rights and Black Lives Matter on her social media accounts. Following the tragic Manchester Arena bombing outside her concert last year, the songstress helped organize the One Love Manchester benefit concert, which raised more than $23 million to aid victims and their families.
The Women in Music event and red-carpet pre-show will broadcast live on Dec. 6 via Twitter from 7:00 to 10 p.m. ET. Sponsors include American Airlines, Honda Stage and Nielsen Music. Source: BillBoard
2016-10-20
Bruno Mars to Open 2016 American Music Awards
Bruno Mars will open the 2016 American Music Awards show, marking his first performance on the AMA stage. Mars, who won the Favorite Pop/Rock Male Artist award in 2011, has scored seven AMA nominations in the past. The singer/songwriter/producer has just scored his latest hit with "24K Magic," which debuted at NO. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100 this week, earning Mars his highest debut to date.
The 2015 American Music Awards will be broadcast live from the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles on Sunday, Nov. 20 at 8 p.m. ET on ABC. Drake broke a 32-year record for the most AMA nominations with 13 nods, beating Michael Jackson's previous high mark of 11 from 1984. The "Hotline Bling" rapper leads all 2016 American Music Awards nominees with nods in categories including Artist of the Year, Favorite Male Artist, Favorite Album, Favorite Rap Artist, Favorite Rap Song and Favorite R&B song, among others. If he wins in any of the categories it will make his first AMA win.
Rihanna is just behind Drizzy with seven nominations, with Adele and Justin Bieber picking up five nominations each, followed by four nods each for Beyonce and The Chainsmokers and three forBryson Tiller, Twenty One Pilots, Carrie Underwood, Fetty Wap and The Weeknd.
Drake will go up against Adele, Beyoncé, Bieber, Selena Gomez, Ariana Grande, Rihanna, Twenty One Pilots, Underwood and The Weeknd for Artist of the Year; the 10 nominees will be narrowed to five based on the votes received through Monday, November 14 at 8:59 a.m. PT. Voting for Artist of the Year will close on Thursday, November 17 at 8:59 p.m. PT.
The winner will be determined by the total votes received throughout the entire voting period. If Bieber wins the award he will tie current record hold Taylor Swift for the most wins (3). With eight past wins and this year's five nominations, Bieber needs just one win to become one of the top 10 AMA winners of all time.
Fans can vote for all category once per day, per platform in one or both of the below ways. For New Artist of the Year Un-leashed by T-Mobile, fans can vote 100 times per day, per platform at AMAvote.com or by posting a tweet that includes the nominee's Twitter handle, the category name and #AMAs within the post(s). The 2016 American Music Awards is produced by dick clark productions. Allen Shapiro and Mike Mahan are executive producers. Larry Klein, Barry Adelman and Mark Bracco are producers.
Taylor Swift Label Head Shoots Down October Album Rumors
Though rumors have been spending that Taylor Swift's sixth studio album will come in October, her label boss Scott Borchetta says this simply is not true.
Borchetta, President and CEO of the Big Machine Label Group, replied to a fan's request for comment on the rumors Tuesday (Aug. 9), shutting things down with a one word response: "NOPE."
Since wrapping her 1989 World Tour late last year, Swift has been said to be taking a break. Source: BillBoard
2016-07-27
Watch Kim Kardashian Rap Along to Kanye West's "Famous" Amid Taylor Swift Feud
Kim Kardashian is doing a pretty good job of keeping her feud with Taylor Swift alive. This time, the reality TV star has shared a Snapchat of herself rapping along to the now-infamous Swift-referencing line of Kanye West’s song “Famous.”
Kardashian posted a video of herself and friend Carla DiBello singing and dancing to “Famous” while partying at the Las Vegas nightclub Hakkasan Friday night (July 22), People reports. She chose one line of the song in particular to share with her followers.
"I feel like me and Taylor might still have sex," West raps, referring to the pop star. “Why? I made that bitch famous. I made that bitch famous."
Watch here. Source: BillBoard
2014-05-28
Taylor Swift Calls Off Bangkok Show After Coup
Taylor Swift is sending love to her fans in Thailand after cancelling a sold-out concert next month following the country's military takeover.
Concert promoter BEC-Tero said on its website that the concert on June 9 was cancelled "due to recent events in Thailand".
It didn't elaborate but called the move "a difficult decision for all parties".
The country is under a night-time curfew which is currently being lightly enforced.
"I'm sending my love to the fans in Thailand," Swift tweeted." I'm so sad about the concert being cancelled."
The American singer-songwriter has other performances throughout Asia during her current Red Tour.
On Monday the King of Thailand has formally appointed the country's army chief to lead the nation.
King Bhumibol Adulyadej, 86, officially endorsed General Prayuth Chan-ocha to run the country under the National Council for Peace and Order until new elections can be held. Source: Ananova
2013-05-24
Billboard Awards: Miguel Kicks Fans With Leap
American pop artist Miguel accidentally kicked two women in the head when he tried to jump over a "catwalk" at the Billboard Awards.
He was singing his hit "Adorn" when he attempted to leap over the audience to another part of the stage.
But he misjudged the jump and landed short on top of two fans watching his act at the show at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.
Both women appeared to be dazed by the mishap and held their heads as they walked away.
Referring to the accident on Twitter, Miguel later posted a message saying he got "caught up in the moment".
The women were reported to be OK and one was later spotted backstage with Miguel, holding an ice pack.
Justin Bieber, who performed twice and won three awards, including top male artist and social artist, was booed when he collected the fan-voted milestone award.
But he hit back, saying: "I'm 19 years old. I think I'm doing a pretty good job.
"And basically from my heart I really just want to say it should really be about the music, it should be about the craft that I'm making.
"This is not a gimmick. I'm an artist and I should be taken seriously and all this other b******* should not be spoken."
But the evening belonged to singer-songwriter Taylor Swift, who won eight awards, including top artist and top Billboard 200 album for Red.
She told the crowd: "You are the longest and best relationship I ever had."
The singer delighted the audience with a performance of her hit 22, which she started backstage before working her way to the main stage on the back of a bike accompanied by background dancers and a flurry of red balloons.
Honours also went to lass=vlin href=/vcat.phtml?action=va&singer=79>Madonna, who took three awards, including top touring artist for her MDNA tour, and Prince, who closed the show after taking the icon award in recognition of his career. Source: Ananova
2013-04-02
Taylor Swift almost impaled by Ed Sheeran's Hobbit sword
Ed Sheeran almost had Taylor Swift's blood on his hands after a sword gifted to him by "The Hobbit" director Peter Jackson slipped and nearly stabbed the country superstar.
The "A Team" star was travelling on a private plane with his tour mate Swift last month and had taken the prized prop with him as they headed to Nashville, Tennessee - but the sharp object almost ended up stabbing the Love Story hitmaker during take-off.
Sheeran tells MTV.com, "It's like a real sword. I got it shipped over, shipped over to Omaha (Nebraska), so I was bringing it back to Nashville and I think (Swift) and her crew were weirded (freaked) out by it anyway. They were just like, 'Why does Ed have a sword?'
"As the plane started to take off, it was on the table and it (started to shift). The plane is kind of taking off and (the sword) started sliding down (towards Swift) and I was like, 'No!' It was just about to impale Taylor."
Sheeran recently revealed he was handed the one-of-a-kind souvenir from Jackson himself after paying him a visit at his production studio in New Zealand. Source: Ananova
2012-11-20
Taylor Swift went straight to video shoot after AMAs win
Taylor Swift had no time to celebrate her American Music Awards win on Sunday - she headed straight from the ceremony to a night shoot for her new video.
"The Love Story" hitmaker was named the Favorite Female Country Artist at the Los Angeles prizegiving, where she performed her latest single "I Knew You Were Trouble", but rather than head out on the town after the bash, Swift went back to work to record the promo for the song.
In a post on her Twitter.com page in the early hours of Monday morning, she writes, "Thank you so much for the AMA! You're unreal. I went straight from the awards to a night video shoot. Long day but so worth it." Source: Ananova
2010-08-05
Swift rushed release after online leak
Taylor Swift has been forced to rush the release of her new single after the track leaked online.
The country star was due to release "Mine", the first song from her upcoming third album "Speak Now", later this month, but an unauthorised version of the tune emerged on the internet this week.
Executives at the singer's Big Machine Records label have moved swiftly to counteract the leak - moving the track's release date forward by 12 days and handing it to radio stations early.
A statement from the label claimed the leaked copy was "low quality" and insisted fans should hear the record in its proper form.
"Speak Now" is due in stores on 25 October. Source: Ananova
2010-08-04
Lady Gaga receives record VMA nods
Lady GaGa is set to dominate the upcoming MTV Video Music Awards (VMAs) - the pop star has landed a record-breaking 13 nominations.
The "Poker Face" hitmaker haul marks the most ever VMA nominations scored by one artist in a single year.
Gaga has received nods in a string of different categories including Best Pop Video, Best Dance Music Video, Best Female Video, Best Choreography and Best Collaboration.
The delighted singer says, "I'm so honoured for all the little monsters (fans) and self-professed freaks of the universe to have more VMA nominations in a single year than any artist in MTV history. Ironically, I'm even more proud it's an unlucky number - 13.
"A long time ago the world told me and my little monsters we would never be heard, together we changed the rules. God put me on Earth for three reasons: To make loud music, gay videos and cause a damn raucous (sic). Thank you, MTV!"
Gaga will compete against herself in for Best Pop Video, Best Female Video and the Video of the Year - her Video Phone collaboration with Beyonce will go head-to-head with Bad Romance in all three categories.
"Tik Tok" by Ke$ha, "California Gurls" by Katy Perry and Taylor Swift's "Fifteen" will also compete for the Best Female Video award, while "California Gurls", "Tik Tok" and "Nothin' On You" by B.O.B. featuring Bruno Mars will also fight for the Best Pop Video honour.
Rap superstar Eminem, who landed eight nominations, will challenge Gaga for the coveted Video of the Year title with his single "Not Afraid", while the song will also battle for Best Male Video and Best Hip-Hop Video. Drake's star-studded "Forever", which features Eminem alongside Kanye West and Lil Wayne, is also a contender for Best Hip-Hop Video.
Meanwhile, Ke$ha's hit track has also scored the pop star a nod for the Best New Artist prize, going up against Justin Bieber ("Baby"), Jason Derulo ("In My Head"), Nicki Minaj ("Massive Attack") and Broken Bells ("The Ghost Inside").
The 2010 MTV Video Music Awards will air live from Los Angeles' Nokia Theatre on 12 September. Source: Ananova
