Kanye West to Close 2015 BILLBOARD MUSIC AWARDS

Billboard and dick clark productions announced today superstar Kanye West will close this year's Billboard Music Awards. Recognized worldwide as one of the great live performers of his generation, this will mark Kanye's first ever performance on the BBMA stage. The "2015 Billboard Music Awards" will be hosted by Ludacris and Chrissy Teigen and broadcast LIVE from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on Sunday, May 17, on ABC from 8:00 PM-11:00 PM ET.

Talent fun facts include:

Five-time Billboard Music Award winner Kanye West has racked up an incredible run of hit singles and albums on Billboard's charts: He's earned six No. 1 albums on the Billboard 200 and nearly 70 hits on the Billboard Hot 100, including the No. 1 singles "Gold Digger" and "Stronger," and the top 10 smashes "FourFiveSeconds," "Heartless" and "All Falls Down." In 2015 alone, West has already notched five hits on the Hot 100, including three collaborations with Paul McCartney ("FourFiveSeconds," "Only One" and "All Day"). In addition to West's prolific chart history as an artist, he has also produced top 10 singles for the likes of Rihanna, Drake, Jay Z and Alicia Keys.

Kanye West, who yesterday received an honorary doctorate from the School Of The Art Institute of Chicago and was recently named by Time Magazine as one of THE 100 most influential people in the world, has sold over 32 million albums and over 85 million digital tracks worldwide. Over the course of his legendary career, he has had six consecutive #1 albums and seven #1 singles, along with scores of radio hits and millions of concert tickets sold worldwide. West has garnered 57 Grammy nominations and has won 21 Grammys, along with numerous other awards and accolades. He is among the most acclaimed artists of the past decade.

Billboard Music Awards finalists are based on key fan interactions with music, including album and digital songs sales, radio airplay, streaming, touring and social interactions on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, Spotify and other popular online destinations for music. These measurements are tracked year-round by Billboard and its data partners, including Nielsen Music and Next Big Sound. The awards are based on the reporting period of March 10, 2014 through March 8, 2015. Since 1940, the Billboard charts have been the go-to guide for ranking the popularity of songs and albums, and are the ultimate measure of a musician's success.

Tickets are now on sale at Ticketmaster.com. Fans can also choose from multiple VIP premium ticket packages which include limited edition BILLBOARD MUSIC AWARDS merchandise, an invitation to the official BILLBOARD MUSIC AWARDS post-party and so much more! VIP premium ticket packages are available at www.cidentertainment.com/events/billboard-music-awards/.

Fan voting for the 2015 Billboard Chart Achievement Award presented by Samsung will continue through the first hour of the awards show, ending at 9pm ET. To vote for finalists Taylor Swift, Iggy Azalea or Meghan Trainor go to BillboardMusicAwards.com/vote or the@OfficialBBMAs Twitter account. The special editorial award will be given to an innovative artist who has accomplished an outstanding and rare achievement on the Billboard music charts over the past year.

For additional information on the "2015 Billboard Music Awards" visit us atwww.billboardmusicawards.com or the Billboard HUB at www.billboard.com/bbma. The "2015 Billboard Music Awards" is produced by dick clark productions. Allen Shapiro, Mike Mahan, Mark Bracco, Barry Adelman and Robert Deaton are Executive Producers.

The 2015 BILLBOARD MUSIC AWARDS sponsors and partners include Cumulus Media, Kia Motors, Las Vegas, Music Choice, and Samsung Electronics America.

For the latest BILLBOARD MUSIC AWARDS (BBMAs) news, exclusive content and more, be sure to follow the BBMAs on social and join the conversation by using the official hashtag for the show, #BBMAs.

Facebook: FB.com/TheBBMAs
Twitter: @OfficialBBMAs
Instagram: officialbbmas
Tumblr: officialbbmas.tumblr.com
Snapchat: thebbmas
Vine: vine.co/Billboard.Music.Awards

ABOUT BILLBOARD
Billboard is the world's most influential music brand, built on the most complete and well-respected database of charts across all music genres. The Billboard charts define success in music. From the iconic Billboard magazine to Billboard.com which is the ultimate consumer-facing destination for millions of passionate music fans, to the industry's most elite conference series and influencer events including the Power 100 and Women in Music, ­ the Billboard brand has unmatched authority among fans, artists and the industry alike.

ABOUT "2015 BILLBOARD MUSIC AWARDS"
The "2015 Billboard Music Awards" are set to return to ABC and will be broadcast live from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on Sunday, May 17 at 8:00pm ET/PT. The show will showcase this year's hottest and biggest music stars. BILLBOARD MUSIC AWARDS finalists are based on key fan interactions with music, including album and digital songs sales, radio airplay, streaming, touring and social interactions on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, Spotify and other popular online destinations for music. These measurements are tracked year-round by Billboard and its data partners, including Nielsen Music and Next Big Sound. The awards are based on the reporting period of March 10, 2014 through March 8, 2015. The "2015 Billboard Music Awards" is produced by dick clark productions. Allen Shapiro, Mike Mahan, Mark Bracco, Barry Adelman and Robert Deaton are Executive Producers.

ABOUT dick clark productions
dick clark productions (dcp) is the world's largest producer and proprietor of televised live event entertainment programming with the "Academy of Country Music Awards," "American Country Countdown Awards," "American Music Awards," "Billboard Music Awards," "Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve with Ryan Seacrest," "Golden Globe Awards," "Hollywood Film Awards" and "The PEOPLE Magazine Awards." Weekly television programming includes "So You Think You Can Dance" from 19 Entertainment, a division of CORE Media Group, and dcp; "World's Funniest" from Jukin Media and dcp; as well as "Boom!" (FOX) from Keshet DCP, the joint venture BETWEEN Keshet International (KI), the global distribution and production arm of Keshet Media Group, and DC Media, the parent company of dcp. dcp also owns one of the world's most unique and extensive entertainment archive libraries with more than 55 years of award-winning shows, historic programs, specials, performances and legendary programming. For additional information, visit www.dickclark.com.

Photo: FB.com/TheBBMAs

To post a comment, you must register and login.