[captionpix imgsrc=”http://images.radcity.net/5988/5177035.jpg” captiontext=”Adele”]
The 2016 Billboard Music Awards were handed out Sunday night on ABC, with The Weeknd coming out on top. The Canadian R&B star won eight awards throughout the evening, including Top Hot 100 Artist. Adele won five times, including the Top Artist award and Top Billboard 200 Album. She also debuted the music video for her new single “Send My Love (To Your New Lover).”
Other notable winners included Justin Bieber (Top Male Artist and Top Social Media Artist), Rihanna (the fan-voted Billboard Chart Achievement Award) and twenty one pilots (Top Rock Artist and Top Rock Album).
However, the evening centered around its all-star lineup of performers. The show began with Britney Spears performing a medley of her hits. Madonna paid tribute to Prince with a version of “Nothing Compares 2 U,” which segued into Stevie Wonder appearing to duet on “Purple Rain.” The Weeknd also dedicated his Top Hot 100 Artist win to the late music icon.
Celine Dion was honored with the Icon Award and sang a cover of Queen‘s “The Show Must Go On,” dedicated to her late husband René Angélil, who passed away in January.
And after a week of controversy over if she would be allowed to perform or not, Kesha sang a sparse, soulful cover of Bob Dylan‘s “It Ain’t Me Babe,” accompanied by her friend Ben Folds on piano.
Some of the other performances throughout the night included a fiery, high-wire act from P!nk, appearances from both Nick Jonas as well as Joe Jonas‘ band DNCE and a powerhouse vocal from Rihanna on her tune “Love on the Brain.”
