Morgan Wallen leads with 11 wins

Dick Clark Productions and Billboard celebrated the hottest names in music with the 2023 Billboard Music Awards (BBMAs) Presented by Marriott Bonvoy. The reimagined awards show entertained fans with a celebration of music’s greatest achievements featuring bespoke performances by the world’s biggest chart-topping artists performing at unique locations across the globe, winner celebrations, and surprise moments. The show rolled out across BBMAs and Billboard social channels, as well as via BBMAs.watch.

Taylor Swift took home the coveted Top Artist award and a total of 10 trophies – bringing her career total to 39 wins. She now ties Drake as the most decorated BBMA winner of all time. In Swift’s acceptance speech, she said, “The fact that you guys have given me 10 Billboard Awards… I’m talking to the fans specifically, none of this happens without you. Billboard base(s) everything off of what you are listening to and what you are passionate about, and I am so honored that this year you made “The Eras Tour” so magical. You went and saw the movie, you cared about my re-recordings…I love you so much, I feel like the luckiest person in the world to have you in my corner and caring about the music that I make, so thank you, thank you, thank you, 10 million times.”

Morgan Wallen took home the most trophies of the night with 11 wins – including Top Male Artist, Top Hot 100 Artist, Top Billboard 200 Album, Top Hot 100 Song, and more.

It was also a big night for Drake with five wins; Sza and Zach Bryan with four wins, and 21 Savage, Bad Bunny, Beyoncé, and Miley Cyrus each with three wins. Plus, Anne Wilson, Arctic Monkeys, Blackpink, Burna Boy, CeCe Winans, Fuerza Regida, Joey Moi, Latto, Metro Boomin, NewJeans, Peso Pluma, Rema, Selena Gomez, and Stray Kids all received their first-ever win. In addition to performing, the Queen of Christmas and music icon Mariah Carey was honored with the Billboard Chart Achievement Award for the chart-topping holiday classic “All I Want For Christmas Is You,” which was presented to her by her children Roc and Roe.

This year’s show was an epic celebration of the fans who propelled their favorite artists to the top of the Billboard charts. In a first-of-its-kind collaboration, BBMAs partnered with Spotify’s Fans First program, which used Spotify listener data to identify the performers’ most loyal fans and invited them to attend the intimate BBMA performances.

Carey performed and was honored with the Chart Achievement Award for her record-breaking single “All I Want For Christmas Is You.” After dropping into the stage via a ski lift, the Queen of Christmas transported fans into a winter wonderland that featured dancers on skates and backup singers including her children, Roc and Roe. Directed by the legendary Debbie Allen, this marked the first time in history the iconic holiday anthem was performed on an award show. Carey’s children presented her with the award and addressed her fans saying, “I kinda have to admit that some of the most memorable times in my career have been connected to Billboard and the BBMAs. This award is particularly special to me because the song itself changed my entire life.” To her fans’ amusement she jokes, “When I first sat down to write “All I Want For Christmas Is You,” I never could have imagined that I would be standing here three months later accepting this special award. Thank you to everyone who let this song become part of their holiday soundtrack each year.”

The top male winner of the night Morgan Wallen performed a hometown rendition of “‘98 Braves” at the Atlanta Braves’ current MLB home field, Truist Park, in Atlanta, Georgia. The energy in the audience was electric as former ‘98 Braves players were in attendance alongside many of Wallen’s biggest fans to watch the performance of the bittersweet ode. Wallen was presented his 11 BBMA trophies by former ‘98 Braves pitchers, Tom Glavine and John Smoltz. In his emotional speech, Wallen shared, “You know like the song says, ‘You win some you lose some,’ the last award show I went to we came home empty-handed and this one – I don’t have enough hands for ‘em all.” Wallen ended with, “You took a boy from East Tennessee driving a two-door Toyota Tacoma and turned me into one of Billboard’s top artists so God Bless y’all.”

Global Superstar Karol G was the first featured performer who delivered a medley of “Ojos Ferrari” from her chart-topping Mañana Será Bonito album and “QLONA” from her latest album Mañana Será Bonito (Bichota Season) and “Labios Mordidos” which releases on November 23. Surrounded by fans from Spotify’s Fans First program, Karol G delivered a sultry, soaking wet performance with her team of dancers on a custom-built immersive water-filled stage under the creative direction of Parris Goebel. Following her performance Karol G was presented with her awards for Top Latin Female Artist and Top Latin Touring Artist.

Set in an industrial power plant, Bebe Rexha performed a powerhouse rendition of the BBMA Top Dance/Electric Song “I’m Good (Blue)” accompanied by a live string quartet. Rexha then made her way outside and joined David Guetta and her dancers for an electrifying performance of their latest collaboration “One in a Million,” while fans danced and sang along.

K-pop group NewJeans made their US award show debut on the BBMAs, performing from a colorful and vibrant stage as fans sang along energetically to two of their chart-topping singles, “Super Shy” and “OMG.” The breakout K-Pop group also took home the trophy for Top Global K-Pop Artist.

Breakout pop sensation Tate McRae made her Billboard Music Awards debut with a performance of her chart-topping single “Greedy” from her forthcoming sophomore album Think Later. McRae’s performance was filmed at the Moxy Hotel Downtown Los Angeles, a part of the Marriott Bonvoy portfolio of hotel brands. A select group of Marriott Bonvoy Members got to experience McRae’s performance first-hand by redeeming their points for access via Marriott Bonvoy Moments, Marriott Bonvoy’s experiences platform.

Música Mexicana singer-songwriter and first-time BBMA winner Peso Pluma performed “Rubicon” with his band in a boxing ring in front of his fans. Boxing legend Mike Tyson made a special appearance and presented Peso Pluma with his first-ever BBMA trophy for Top Latin Song for the chart-topping “Ella Baila Sola.”

International K-Pop superstars Stray Kids also made their Billboard Music Awards debut with an action-packed performance from South Korea of their hit single “S-Class” and the award show debut of “LALALALA,” from the group’s newly released EP ROCK-STAR. Performing in front of their biggest fans on an elevated stage, Stray Kids delivered an energetic performance complete with pyrotechnics and dynamic choreography. Following their performance the group accepted their first BBMA win for Top K-Pop Album for 5-Star.

In celebration of 50 years of hip-hop, the BBMAs featured exclusive one-on-one interviews with Ludacris, TI and Jermaine Dupri. The hip-hop legends talked about their personal achievements and their respective top 100, top 10, and top No. 1 hits.

For nearly 30 years, the Billboard Music Awards has showcased spectacular performances, unexpected collaborations, and buzzworthy pop culture moments. Unique among music award shows, winners are determined by year-end performance metrics on the Billboard charts, the music industry’s ultimate authority and data-driven measure of success. The eligibility dates for this year’s awards are aligned with Billboard’s Year-End Charts tracking period, which measures music consumption from the charts dated November 19, 2022, through October 21, 2023.