Billboard and dick clark productions announced today superstar duet performances by Nicki Minaj featuring David Guetta, Wiz Khalifa with Charlie Puth and Lindsey Stirling, and a special tribute performance by Imagine Dragons, have been added to the lineup at this year's Billboard Music Awards. Nicki Minaj will be performing her new single "The Night Is Still Young" and Billboard Hot Dance/Electronic Songs No. 1 hit "Hey Mama," featuring David Guetta, while Wiz Khalifa and Charlie Puth are set to sing their hit off of the "Fast and Furious 7" soundtrack, "See You Again." Imagine Dragons will perform "Stand By Me" in tribute to the soul and R&B legend, Ben E. King, who passed away earlier this year. These stars join previously announced musical performers Mariah Carey, Kelly Clarkson, Hozier, Nick Jonas, Tori Kelly, Ed Sheeran, Van Halen, along with special duet performance by "Empire" recording artists Jussie Smollett and Bryshere "Yazz" Gray with Estelle, Fall Out Boy featuring Wiz Khalifa, Little Big Town and Faith Hill, Britney Spears and Iggy Azalea and Meghan Trainor featuring John Legend. The show will also include a special moment with Molly Ringwald introducing Simple Minds who will pay tribute to the 30th anniversary of "The Breakfast Club" with their iconic song "Don't You (Forget About Me). 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:
Nicki Minaj has placed more songs (35) on Billboard's Hot Rap Songs chart than any other female. She leads runner-up Missy Elliott, with 15. The rapper has tallied the third-most entries (61) of any female artist in the Billboard Hot 100's 56-year history. Only
Aretha Franklin (73) and
Taylor Swift (69) boast more.
Wiz Khalifa's current Hot 100 leader, "See You Again" (featuring
Charlie Puth) scored one of
THE 20 greatest sales weeks of any song in the decade-plus that Nielsen Music has tracked digital sales. It led the April 25 Digital Songs chart with a hefty 464,000 downloads sold. Khalifa has placed 40 tracks on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, with "See You Again" currently sitting on top of the Billboard Hot 100.
With 18 charted titles to his credit on Billboard's Hot Dance/Electronic Songs chart,
David Guetta is reigning with his first No. 1: "Hey Mama," featuring
Nicki Minaj and Afrojack, which has led the list for three weeks. Guetta hit a milestone on the Billboard Artist 100 chart dated May 16: he entered the top 40, becoming one of only two DJs to have reached the region. (The chart ranks each week's top artists by a variety of metrics, including airplay, sales, streaming and social data.)
With
Charlie Puth's debut smash, "See You Again" (by lead artist
Wiz Khalifa; Puth sings the hook), the pop artist has blasted to No. 1 on multiple Billboard charts, including the Hot 100, Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, Hot Rap Songs, Digital Songs, Streaming Songs and Billboard + Twitter Top Tracks. Puth has made his own destiny on Billboard charts: he boldly played his song "
Marvin Gaye" for Meghan Trainor at a party. To his amazement, she loved it so much that she insisted on duetting on it with him, and the song is now No. 2 on the Billboard + Twitter Emerging Artists chart. He'll also open for her on her upcoming MTrain Tour.
Current
BILLBOARD MUSIC AWARDS finalist
Lindsey Stirling is one of the biggest artist development breakthrough stories in recent years with over 1 billion views on her
Youtube channel. She has seen both of her albums - her 2012 self-titled debut, which sold 450,000; and 2014's
Shatter Me, which sold 257,000 - debut at No. 1 on Billboard's Dance/Electronic Albums and Classical
Crossover Albums charts. The electronic violinist's
Shatter Me additionally debuted at No. 2 on the all-genre Billboard 200 chart, making her the highest-debuting violinist in history. The set finished 2014 as the biggest-selling album of the year in both the classical and dance/electronic music genres, according to Nielsen Music. This summer, Lindsey will embark on a massive headlining U.S. tour with an all new, revamped stage production.
Imagine Dragons holds two key chart records: its smash "Radioactive" has spent the most time (87 weeks) of any song ever on the Hot 100. It also topped Hot Rock Songs for 23 weeks, sharing the mark for most time totaled atop the ranking. In March, the group scored its first Billboard 200 No. 1, Smoke + Mirrors. The coronation bested the peak of Imagine Dragons' debut album, Night Visions, which peaked at No. 2 in a monstrous 139-week run (and counting).
Grammy Award-nominated superstar,
Nicki Minaj, continues to break records and impact pop culture at large. Her critically lauded third full-length album, The Pinkprint arrived at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 and No. 1 on the Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, cementing her as rap's reigning queen. Minaj recently made history, simultaneously occupying four top 10 spots on the Mainstream R&B/Hip-Hop airplay chart and becoming the first female artist to achieve the feat. Minaj also stands at the top of the pop vanguard. The double-platinum "Anaconda" set the record for most VEVO views in 24 hours.
Outside of music, she has starred in films including Ice Age:
Continental Drift and The Other Woman in addition to judging American Idol.
It was in 2009 that
David Guetta, a successful DJ and dance-music producer with three albums and a residency in Ibiza, became a pop trailblazer. He did it by fusing dance music with urban on his fourth album - his first in terms of mainstream success - One Love. By teaming up with some of the biggest names in hip-hop and R&B, and reinventing their sound for the dancefloor, Guetta created pop alchemy. The ensuing hits - such as "I Gotta Feeling" (recorded by the
Black Eyed Peas) and "When Love Takes Over" (with
Kelly Rowland) and "Sexy Bitch" (featuring Akon) - propelled him to superstardom. They also set a new template for the sound of commercial radio, especially in the US. This was instrumental in turning EDM into the biggest youth-quake since hip-hop. In 2011, Guetta's fifth album,
Nothing but the Beat, scaled even greater heights - with 576,000 sold in the U.S. to date, according to Nielsen Music, and another avalanche of hits, including the top 10 Billboard Hot 100 single "Titanium" (featuring Sia), with its dark theme of alienation and exclusion. His sixth studio album "LISTEN" was released in November 2014 and hit No. 1 on Billboard's Top Dance/Electronic Albums chart. Guetta will be performing his first Billboard Hot Dance/Electronic Songs No. 1 "Hey Mama" with
Nicki Minaj. The two time Billboard Music Award winner's track is currently at No. 14 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Multi-platinum-selling recording artist - current Billboard Hot 100 leader -
Wiz Khalifa burst on the scene with mainstream success with the release of his first major label debut, Rolling Papers, in March 2011, which spawned the No. 1 Billboard Hot 100 smash "Black and Yellow," plus "Roll Up" and "No Sleep." He has earned a career total of seven Grammy nominations, including this year's nods for Best Rap Song ("We Dem Boyz") and Best Rap Album (BLACC HOLLYWOOD). Other nominated tracks include the chart-topping "Black and Yellow," 2012's RIAA Platinum-certified "Remember You (featuring The Weeknd)," 2011's "Young, Wild & Free (featuring
Bruno Mars)," Wiz's 3x Platinum-certified, top 10 smash partnership with
Snoop Dogg (featured on their 2011 collaborative soundtrack, Mac & Devin Go to High School), and
Maroon 5's 2012 worldwide hit, "Payphone (Feat.
Wiz Khalifa)."
Wiz Khalifa's most recent album, Blacc Hollywood, debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 albums chart. His current hit, "See You Again," off the Furious 7 soundtrack, and featuring
Charlie Puth, currently rules the Hot 100 for a fourth week.
Charlie Puth is a singer, songwriter, and producer who has written and produced songs for an array of A-list pop and urban artists, including
Jason Derulo,
Stevie Wonder, Meghan Trainor and
Trey Songz among others. In 2011, Ellen DeGeneres tapped Puth and a friend to appear on her show after a cover they did of Adele's "Someone Like You" for a
Perez Hilton covers
CONTEST went viral. Puth appeared on the show twice and watched his international fanbase grow. Most recently, Puth co-wrote, co-produced and sings the hook on
Wiz Khalifa's chart-topping anthem "See You Again," which plays in the final scene of the motion picture Furious 7 and is a highlight of the soundtrack. "See You Again" has reached No. 1 in over 90 countries across the globe including the U.S., with the coveted No. 1 position on the Billboard Hot 100. Now the New Jersey-born and bred Puth is ready to step out as an artist in his own right with his self-produced debut single "
Marvin Gaye," with Meghan Trainor, a sultry blend of Motown-influenced pop and hip-hop-flavored beats that feels like an instant classic. He will also join Trainor as support on her Mtrain Tour this summer.
Lindsey Stirling is one of the biggest artist development breakthrough stories in recent years. An electronic violinist from Gilbert, AZ, Lindsey has entered a futurist world of electronic big beats and animation, leaping through the music industry with over 6.5 million
Youtube subscribers, over 1 billion views on her
Youtube channel, Billboard chart-topping hits and sold out tours worldwide. Lindsey's self-titled debut album featured the viral smash "Crystallize," which has racked up over 118 million
Youtube views. The album earned her a 2014 Billboard Music Award nomination for "Top Dance/Electronic Album," has sold 450,000 copies in the US without the backing of a major label, and has gone platinum in Germany and gold in Poland and Switzerland. The album reached No. 1 on Billboard's Dance/Electronic Chart and Classical Album Chart and peaked at No. 23 on the Billboard Top 200. In 2014 Lindsey released her sophomore album
Shatter Me which debuted at No. 2 on Billboard's Top 200 album chart and has sold over 257,000 copies to date in the US alone. The album includes a collaboration with Halestorm lead singer Lzzy Hale on her smash single "Shatter Me," which has over 30 million views on YouTube. On November 28, 2014, Lindsey released the deluxe album
Shatter Me: The
Complete Experience Zinepak which includes 13 songs and a full-color 48-page magazine with exclusive interviews and photos, plus word magnets. The album was most recently nominated for two 2015
BILLBOARD MUSIC AWARDS for "Top Dance/Electronic Album" and "Top Dance/Electronic Artist."
Formed in 2009 and featuring lead vocalist
Dan Reynolds, guitarist
Wayne Sermon, bassist
Ben McKee, and drummer
Daniel Platzman,
Imagine Dragons earned a grassroots following by independently releasing a series of EPs. After Alex Da Kid signed them to his KIDinaKORNER/Interscope label, the band made its major-label debut with the release of Continued Silence, a 2012 EP featuring the 2x platinum breakthrough single "It's Time." Night
Visions arrived later that year and
Imagine Dragons found themselves on a skyward trajectory that saw the album debut at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 albums chart, and sold nearly four million copies worldwide. Night Visions' second single, the 9x-Platinum "Radioactive," spent a record 23 weeks at No. 1 on Billboard's Hot Rock Songs chart (a mark later tied by Hozier's "Take Me to Church") and set the record for the most weeks - 87 - spent on the Billboard Hot 100 of any song in the chart's more-than five-decade history. It earned the band a 2014 Grammy for Best Rock Performance and is the best-selling rock song in U.S. digital history, according to Nielsen Music. The third single, "Demons," hit No. 1 on Billboard's Pop Songs chart and has sold more than 4 million copies in the U.S., according to Nielsen Music, while the band has sold more than 20 million tracks in the U.S. The band's latest release, Smoke + Mirrors, debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 albums chart.
Imagine Dragons hit the road this summer on their 2015 SMOKE + MIRRORS TOUR. The tour kicks off in Portland, Oregon on June 3rd.
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 at
www.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
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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.
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