Multi Platinum-Selling Artist Ariana Grande Set to Open the 2018 Billboard Music Awards Live on NBC

dick clark productions and NBC announced today that multiplatinum, record-breaking superstar Ariana Grande will open the "2018 Billboard Music Awards" with a show-stopping performance from her upcoming LP. Grande revealed the big news, exclusively, last night on "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon."

The pop songstress, who's new single "No Tears Left to Cry" hit No. 1 on iTunes in 85+ markets and No. 1 on U.S. iTunes for seven consecutive days in its debut week, will join previously announced performers BTS, Camila Cabello, Dua Lipa and Shawn Mendes on a night filled with music's biggest names.

Hosted by "The Voice" coach Kelly Clarkson, the "2018 Billboard Music Awards" will broadcast live from MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on Sunday, May 20 at 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT on NBC. The three-hour telecast will feature performances from this year's hottest musical acts, unexpected collaborations and buzzworthy moments that celebrate 60 years of the Billboard Hot 100.

Ariana Grande Billboard chart facts:

With three full-length albums to her name at just 24 years old, Ariana Grande has been a reliable hitmaker since her 2013 breakthrough hit "The Way," featuring Mac Miller. The singer has earned 25 entries on the Billboard Hot 100, including nine Top 10s and 12 Top 40 hits. She made history in 2014 by becoming just the second woman to land three songs in the Hot 100's Top 10 as a lead artist, joining Adele. Two of her studio albums have hit No. 1 on the Billboard 200, while her entire catalog of songs have generated 4.6 billion on-demand streams in the U.S., according to Nielsen Music. With the release of "No Tears Left to Cry," Grande is the only artist to have the first single from each of her first four LPs debut in the Top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100.

With her powerful vocals and astonishing range, Ariana Grande has emerged as one of the most magnetic and massively successful performers in pop music today. At age 24 she's delivered three platinum-selling albums and surpassed 18 billion streams, in addition to nabbing four Grammy Award nominations and landing eight hits in the Top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. With her most recent album - 2016's critically acclaimed Dangerous Woman - Grande both boldly defies expectation and reveals the full force of her voice (recently hailed as an "extraordinary, versatile, limitless instrument" upon Grande's appearance on Time's magazine's "100 Most Influential People" list).

Since making her full-length debut with 2013's "Yours Truly" (featuring the game-changing, triple-platinum smash single "The Way"), Grande has brought her striking vocal presence to a genre-blurring breed of pop, taking on R&B, soul and electronic music with equal nuance and assurance. Arriving in 2014, her sophomore effort, "My Everything," garnered a Grammy nomination for Best Pop Vocal Album and spawned the 6x-platinum hits "Problem" and "Bang Bang" (a Grammy nominee for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance). Through the years, the longtime actress and former Broadway star has proven the scope of her talent by appearing on "Scream Queens" and "Hairspray Live!" and showcased her comedic chops by hosting "Saturday Night Live." With her social media following now surging past 200 million, Grande has also earned numerous accolades from the MTV Video Music Awards, iHeartRadio Music Awards and American Music Awards (including the highly coveted Artist of the Year prize).

The first artist in music history to see the lead single from her first three albums debut on the Billboard Hot 100, Grande embraced a more uncompromising vision than ever before in the making of "Dangerous Woman." With People magazine noting that the album "celebrates feminine might," Entertainment Weekly praised Grande for "having something meaningful to say with that jaw-dropping voice - one of the most exquisite in pop today." Grande wrapped up her widely lauded "Dangerous Woman Tour" in support of the album, performing 85 arena shows worldwide.

Ariana Grande's BBMA Giphy stickers are now available! These stickers can be found within Instagram Stories by clicking the GIF button and searching for "BBMAs."
Nominations for the "2018 Billboard Music Awards" were announced earlier this month on NBC's "Today" and on a livestream from Billboard's New York office. Kendrick Lamar, Bruno Mars and Ed Sheeran tie for the most nominations this year with 15 each.

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

"Billboard Music Awards" nominees 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 finalists and award winners are determined using data reflecting a 12-month tracking period. The awards are based on the reporting period of April 8, 2017 through March 31, 2018. 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.

Tickets for the "2018 Billboard Music Awards" are on-sale now. To purchase tickets online, fans should go to www.axs.com.

For additional information on the "2018 Billboard Music Awards," visit us at www.billboardmusicawards.com or check out the Billboard hub at www.billboard.com/bbma.

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About Billboard
Billboard is the world's largest voice in music, 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, 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. Billboard has a social media footprint of 16.4 million social followers across Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube, and creates more than 200M cross-platform video views per month. Billboard magazine has published major news-generating covers recently including Travis Scott, Zayn, Lorde, Marshmello, Demi Lovato, Cardi B, Selena Gomez, Eminem, DJ Khaled, Charlie Puth, and an open letter to Congress signed by 180+ of the music industry's biggest stars and executives. In December 2017, the Billboard Women in Music ceremony, which honored Selena Gomez as Woman of the Year, was live-streamed globally on Twitter. In 2016, The Hollywood Reporter-Billboard Media Group acquired SpinMedia's storied music assets Spin, Vibe, and Stereogum, establishing the world's largest music brand by digital traffic, social reach, and audience share. The combined entity of music and entertainment properties now reaches 47 million unique visitors and one in every three U.S. millennials.

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 Music Awards," "Billboard Music Awards," "Golden Globe Awards," "Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve with Ryan Seacrest" and the "Streamy Awards." Weekly television programming includes "So You Think You Can Dance" from 19 Entertainment and dcp. dcp also owns one of the world's most unique and extensive entertainment archive libraries with over 60 years of award-winning shows, historic programs, specials, performances and legendary programming. dcp is a division of Valence Media, a diversified media company with divisions and strategic investments in premium television, wide release film, specialty film, live events and digital media. For additional information, visit www.dickclark.com.

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