Cardi B Leads the 2019 BILLBOARD MUSIC AWARDS Nominations

Dick Clark productions and NBC today announced nominees for the "2019 Billboard Music Awards," which honors the year's most successful artists in 56 categories across all genres of music. "2019 Billboard Music Awards" host Kelly Clarkson and chart-topping duo Dan + Shay, kicked off the nominations this morning, live on NBC's "Today." Last year's Top Rap Female Artist winner, Cardi B, leads the pack with 21 nods, followed by Drake and Post Malone, each with 17. Other nominees and possible record-breakers include Ariana Grande, Taylor Swift, Travis Scott and xxTENTACION.

The "2019 Billboard Music Awards" will broadcast from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on Wednesday, May 1 at 8 p.m. ET / PT on NBC.

Narrowly missing Drake and The Chainsmokers' record of most nominations ever in a single year (both musicians received 22 nominations in 2017), Cardi B is also a double-nominee in three categories (Top Selling Song, Top Collaboration and Top Hot 100 Song). Drake and Post Malone tie for second-most nominations this year with 17 each, both nominated in many of the same categories, including Top Artist, Top Male Artist, Top Billboard 200 Artist and Top Hot 100 Artist. Travis Scott received 12 nominations, followed by the late xxTENTACION with 10 and Ariana Grande with nine. Nominated for two awards this year, Taylor Swift still leads the pack for most wins of all time with 23, a record she could break again with a win this year.

Voting for the fan voted categories, Billboard Chart Achievement Award and Top Social Artist, will open in the coming weeks and additional details will be available soon.

2019 TOP NOMINEE CHART FACTS:

• Cardi B

Billboard Music Award-winner Cardi B has swiftly rewritten the Billboard chart history books since she exploded onto the scene with "Bodak Yellow (Money Moves)" just a little under two years ago. She's already notched three No. 1s on the all-genre Billboard Hot 100 chart (a record for a female rapper) and debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 albums chart with her debut studio effort Invasion of Privacy (becoming only the fifth female rap artist with a No. 1 album). Further, Invasion launched with 202.6 million on-demand audio streams for its songs in its first week, according to Nielsen Music - the biggest streaming week ever for an artist's debut studio album. All told, Cardi B's catalog of songs have tallied a whopping 5.8 billion on-demand streams in the U.S.

• Drake

15-time Billboard Music Award-winner Drake continues to be a non-stop force on Billboard's charts. In 2018, the superstar scored his eighth consecutive No. 1 album on the Billboard 200 chart with Scorpion, while all 25 of the album's tracks hit the Billboard Hot 100 songs chart. And, thanks to Scorpion, Drake SHATTERED a Hot 100 record set by The Beatles back in 1964 - he claimed seven simultaneous Hot 100 hits following Scorpion's debut. In total, Drake has charted 193 songs on the Hot 100 chart - the most of any artist in the chart's 60-year history. Further, Drake's catalog of songs recently celebrated crossing the 30 billion on-demand streams mark in the U.S., according to Nielsen Music.

• Post Malone

After initially making waves with the Billboard Hot 100 hit "White Iverson" in late 2015, Post Malone has been dominating the chart in the last year-and-a-half thanks to a string of hits, including three No. 1s: his Billboard Music Award-winning "Rockstar," featuring 21 Savage, "Psycho," featuring Ty Dolla $ign, and "Sunflower (Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse)," featuring Swae Lee. Post Malone's second album, beerbongs & bentleys, debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart in May of 2018, and has yet to leave the weekly top 20 of the list since the album's arrival on the chart 48 weeks ago.

• Travis Scott

Travis Scott's monster Astroworld album opened at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart last August (marking his second leader on the list) and notched three weeks atop the tally. The set spawned the smash hit "Sicko Mode," which garnered the rapper his first No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The album has gone on to earn over 2.5 million equivalent album units, while its songs have accumulated more than 2.8 billion on-demand audio streams, in the U.S., according to Nielsen Music.

• xxTENTACION

In December, xxTENTACION's posthumously released Skins became the artist's second No. 1 album on the Billboard 200, following his earlier set, ?, which was also released in 2018. In that year alone, 24 of his songs reached the Billboard Hot 100 chart, including his first No. 1, "Sad!," which topped the chart following his death in June. xxTENTACION's collection of albums have earned over 4.7 million equivalent album units in the U.S., according to Nielsen Music, while his songs have claimed more than 10 billion on-demand streams.

• Ariana Grande

started at No. 1 - the shortest gap between new No. 1s on the chart for a woman since 1975.Sweetener opened at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, it happened just five months and 22 days after Thank U, Next. When the latter debuted at No. 1, it logged the largest streaming week ever for a Pop album, and, any album by a woman (with its songs earning 307.1 million on-demand audio streams in its first week in the U.S., according to Nielsen Music). Further, when Thank U, Next, and her first No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 songs chart, "Thank U, Next." But then, things got even bigger for the superstar, as she quickly claimed a second No. 1 on the Hot 100 with "7 Rings," along with her fourth No. 1 album on the Billboard 200: SweetenerAriana Grande wrapped 2018 in a big way, with her third No. 1 album on the Billboard 200,

"Billboard Music Awards" nominees and winners are based on key fan interactions with music, including album and digital song sales, streaming, radio airplay, touring and social engagement, tracked by Billboard and its data partners, including Nielsen Music and Next Big Sound. The awards are based on the chart period of March 23, 2018 through March 7, 2019. Since 1940, the Billboard charts have been the go-to guide for ranking the popularity of artists, songs and albums, and are the ultimate measure of success in music.

The "2019 Billboard Music Awards" is produced by Dick Clark productions. Mark Bracco, BARRY Adelman, Kelly Clarkson and Robert Deaton are executive producers.

The "2019 Billboard Music Awards" are sponsored by T-Mobile.

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