Taylor Swift received an early birthday present on December 12 and won ten Billboard Music Awards – including Top Artist and Top Female Artist – for her work in 2024.
With the new trophies, she surpassed Drake to become the top Billboard Music Awards winner in history. She has a total of 49 awards in her career. Drake, her closest competitor, has 42.
Fresh off her ‘Eras Tour’ and a beat for herself — and to return the favor, visiting a children’s hospital with boyfriend Travis Kelce in Kansas City this week — Swift didn’t attend the BBMAs, which were pre-recorded anyway . She shared a pre-recorded message thanking Swifties for elevating her music to the level it has reached.
Swift said she considered the trophies “as fan-voted awards” because they are based on the charts.
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“It means the world to me that you guys have embraced the stuff that I’ve made, you know, and the fact that you cared so much about my music,” Department of Martyred Poets Singer said.
She also called it “the best early birthday present you could have given me,” as she turns 35 on December 13. “It’s exactly what I wanted.”
The BBMAs are certainly not the Grammys, which are just around the corner on February 2, 2025. The show was hosted by comedian and actress Michelle Buteau, but fully previewed. The performances took place in various locations around the world, such as Coldplay in Australia, and were packaged together. There was no red carpet.
That said, there were still memorable performances. Linkin Park, back together after the death of Chester Bennington and featuring controversial new singer Emily Park, gave an energetic performance of “The Emptiness Machine” from their album From scratch. Their fans felt it and sang along.
They also won the award for Top Rock Duo/Group & Top Hard Rock Artist.
Coldplay performed their new hit ‘All My Love’ from Down Under, where they are on their ‘Spheres World Tour’. Their fans also sang along and lights illuminated the arena as Chris Martin tapped the keys and sang the moving lyrics. (The video for the song, starring Dick Van Dyke, was released on December 13.)
The group also gave a funny acceptance speech for Top Rock Touring Artist, with Martin joking that they are the “handsomest old man band in the world.”
Jelly Roll seems to be everywhere right now – and we’re more than okay with that. He sang his song “I Am Not Ok” on the Billboards. Beautifully broken and the lyrics clearly resonated with fans.
Shaboozey was also a highlight when he performed his hit “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” at an elaborate ballroom party set. The song and the fun he brought to the performance made for a fun napkin-waving time.
Other notable moments: Beyoncé won her first-ever country music award by taking Top Country Female Artist.
Zach Bryan earned five awards, including Top Rock Artist, Top Country Touring Artist and Top Country Touring Album.
Morgan Wallen was also a winner, receiving four trophies including Top Male Artist and Top Country Artist. It was a better end to his day than the beginning. Before the pre-taped awards show aired on Fox, he was sentenced to seven days in a DUI education center and two years of supervised probation for throwing a chair from the roof of a six-story bar in Nashville in April.
