Catch the 2018 Billboard Music Awards on May 21, 8AM on Blue Ant Entertainment featuring Big Time Nominees Kendrick Lamar, Ed Sheeran and Bruno Mars

Bruno Mars, Ed Sheeran and Kendrick Lamar all made it big at the 2018 Billboard Music Awards bagging 15 nominations each. See them nab trophies next on Monday, May 21 at 8AM on Blue Ant Entertainment!

SANTA MONICA, CA (April 17, 2018) – dick clark productions announced nominees for the “2018 Billboard Music Awards,” which will honor the year’s most successful artists in 57 categories of music. Kendrick Lamar, Bruno Mars and Ed Sheeran lead the pack with 15 nominations each, followed by Post Malone with 13, Imagine Dragons with 11, Drake with 9 and Justin Bieber and Cardi B with 8. The “2018 Billboard Music Awards” will broadcast LIVE from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, USA on Monday, 21 May at 8:00 AM (7:00AM JKT/BKK) on Blue Ant Entertainment.

The “2018 Billboard Music Awards” nominations include a cross section of artists with many seeing more nods than ever. Lamar, Mars and Sheeran received nominations for Top Artist, Top Male Artist, Top Hot 100 Artist, Top Hot 100 Song and Top Songs Sales Artist, among others. Post Malone received 13 nominations including Top Male Artist, Top Hot 100 Artist, Top Rap Artist, Top Billboard 200 Album, plus two nominations in the Top Streaming Song (Audio) category. Imagine Dragons received 11 nominations, including Top Duo/Group, Top Hot 100 Artist, Top Rock Artist, and two nominations in the Top Rock Song and Top Selling Song categories. Additional top nominees include Drake with 9, Justin Bieber and Cardi B with 8, and Daddy Yankee and Luis Fonsi with 7 nominations. In addition to Cardi B, other top female nominees include Taylor Swift with 5 and Camila Cabello with 4 nominations.

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.

2018 TOP NOMINEE CHART FACTS:

Justin Bieber

Even without a new album, 15-time Billboard Music Award winner Justin Bieber was a chart superstar in 2017 thanks to featured vocals on two of the year’s No. 1 Billboard Hot 100 hits. He teamed with DJ Khaled, Quavo, Chance the Rapper and Lil Wayne on “I’m the One,” which

became only the 28th song in the Hot 100’s history to debut in the top slot. The next week, Bieber replaced himself at No. 1 – for the second time in his career – with “Despacito,” his remixed smash with Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee. The trio conquered the Hot 100’s summit for a record- tying 16 weeks, matching Mariah Carey and Boyz II Men’s “One Sweet Day” (in 1995-96) for the longest reign at No. 1 ever on the chart.

Cardi B

Cardi B cashed in big in 2017, as she became only the third act ever, and the first rapper, to place her first three Billboard Hot 100 chart entries in the top 10 simultaneously, joining only The Beatles and Ashanti in achieving the feat. Cardi B’s debut hit, “Bodak Yellow (Money Moves),” spent three weeks at No. 1 on the Hot 100, also making her just the second female rapper to top the tally without any other billed artists, following Lauryn Hill, with “Doo Wop (That Thing)” in 1998. Following her “Bodak” breakthrough, Cardi B nabbed a No. 1 in early 2018 on the Hot R&B/Hip- Hop Songs chart with her Bruno Mars collaboration “Finesse.”

Daddy Yankee

Daddy Yankee’s team-up with Luis Fonsi on “Despacito” vaulted to history on the Billboard Hot 100, as the song, remixed with Justin Bieber, led for 16 weeks, equaling Mariah Carey and Boyz II Men’s “One Sweet Day” (in 1995-96) for the longest term on top in the chart’s history. “Despacito” also broke the No. 1 longevity record on Hot Latin Songs, besting “Bailando,” by Enrique Iglesias featuring Descemer Bueno and Gente de Zona (which led for 41 weeks in 2014- 15). “Despacito,” the first predominantly Spanish-language No. 1 on the Hot 100 since Los Del Rio’s “Macarena (Bayside Boys Mix)” in 1996, additionally became the longest-leading No. 1 on the all-genre Digital Song Sales (17 weeks) and Streaming Songs (16 weeks) charts.

Drake

Seemingly, only one person can break a Drake chart record … Drake. The superstar rewrote his Billboard Hot 100 record for the most entries by an artist in a single week, as his More Life album release propelled him to 24 simultaneous titles, three more than his then-record set in 2016. More Life’s arrival also pushed Drake ahead of label mate and frequent collaborator Lil Wayne for the most Hot 100 entries by any solo artist. In 2018, the prolific MC, whose 13 Billboard Music Award wins in 2017 set a single-night record, has added jewels to his chart crown. “God’s Plan” joined his 2016 smash “One Dance” (featuring WizKid and Kyla) with double-digit weeks atop the Hot 100, making him the first male soloist with at least two songs (with lead-artist billing on both) that have each led for at least 10 weeks.

Luis Fonsi

Luis Fonsi made history on the Billboard Hot 100 when his Daddy Yankee collaboration “Despacito,” remixed with Justin Bieber, surged to a 16-week domination, tying Mariah Carey and Boyz II Men’s “One Sweet Day” (in 1995-96) for the longest stay at No. 1 ever on the chart. On Hot Latin Songs, “Despacito” also broke barriers, passing prior record-holder “Bailando,” by Enrique Iglesias featuring Descemer Bueno and Gente de Zona (41 weeks at No. 1 in 2014-15) for the longest command since the list’s 1986 launch. “Despacito” became the first predominantly Spanish-language No. 1 on the Hot 100 since Los Del Rio’s “Macarena (Bayside Boys Mix)” in 1996, as well as the longest-ruling leader on the all-genre Digital Song Sales (17 weeks) and Streaming Songs (16 weeks) surveys.

Imagine Dragons

Five-time Billboard Music Award winners Imagine Dragons returned in a big way in the past year, as the band’s album Evolve debuted at No. 1 on the Top Rock Albums chart. The set has generated three No. 1s on the Alternative Songs airplay chart (“Believer,” “Thunder” and “Whatever It Takes”), making it the first album to achieve the triple-threat feat this decade. Evolve also marked the band’s first album with two top five-charting hits on the all-genre Billboard Hot 100 chart (“Believer” and “Thunder”).

Kendrick Lamar

It’s been a DAMN. fine year for Kendrick Lamar, as the hip-hop superstar clocked his third consecutive No. 1 on the Billboard 200 albums chart with DAMN. The album spent four weeks atop the tally and saw all 14 of its tracks reach the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The set also yielded Lamar’s first Hot 100 No. 1, “Humble.” Following his success with DAMN., Lamar returned as the curator and producer of Black Panther: The Album, which generated two more Hot 100 top 10s for him: “All the Stars,” with SZA, and “Pray for Me,” with The Weeknd.

Bruno Mars

Almost everything that Bruno Mars touches on the charts turns to gold, a flair that continued thanks to his third LP, 24K Magic. As the set produced top 10 hits on the Billboard Hot 100 in the No. 4-peaking title cut, the No. 1 “That’s What I Like” and, in early 2018, “Finesse,” remixed with Cardi B, Mars became the first male to pull at least three Hot 100 top 10s from each of his first three proper LPs in over 30 years (since Lionel Richie in 1982-86). “Finesse” also topped the Pop Songs airplay chart, earning Mars a record-breaking honor: the track became his ninth No. 1 on the list, pushing him past Justin Timberlake for the most leaders among males in the chart’s 25- year history.

Post Malone

On the heels of his 2016 debut set Stoney, Post Malone erupted in mainstream popularity and accomplished two career firsts in rapid succession. The rapper/singer earned his first top 10 song on the Billboard Hot 100 in July 2017 with “Congratulations,” featuring Quavo. He followed with “rockstar,” featuring 21 Savage, which debuted at No. 2 and, in October, became his first No. 1, as it eventually ruled for eight weeks. Post Malone’s next new release, the Ty Dolla $ign-assisted “Psycho,” matched “rockstar” with a No. 2 opening on the Hot 100 in March, making the Texas native one of only nine artists, and two rappers (joining Eminem), to have debuted multiple songs in the chart’s top two spots.

Ed Sheeran

Ed Sheeran muscled to the best shape of career so far with his third LP, ÷ (Divide). The set debuted as his second No. 1 on the Billboard 200 albums chart, while lead single “Shape of You” launched as the pop singer-songwriter’s first No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. The song went on to rule the Hot 100 for 12 weeks and log 33 total weeks in the top 10, the most for any title in the chart’s history. In December, the album’s third single, “Perfect,” remixed with Beyoncé, began a six-week Hot 100 rule. Notably, thanks to the ballad, the superstars combined for the first Hot 100 No. 1 of the 2010s credited equally to a solo male and female.

“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. 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 “2018 Billboard Music Awards” is produced by dick clark productions. Allen Shapiro, Mike Mahan, Mark Bracco, Barry Adelman and Robert Deaton are Executive Producers.

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