2013 BBMA Nominations

With Tracy Morgan of 30 Rock fame as host, the 2013 Billboard Music Awards, set to take place on May 19 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, will feature a host of collaborative acts as part of the entertainment lineup. A special surprise guest will join Christina Aguilera and Pitbull to perform Feel This Moment; Pitbull and Jennifer Lopez will join forces on Live It Up; Justin Bieber and Will.I.Am will collaborate on The Power; Ne-Yo, David Guetta and Akon will perform Play Hard; and Lil Wayne and Nicki Minaj will team up on High School.

Solo performers in the lineup include Taylor Swift, Justin Bieber, Miguel, Chris Brown, Selena Gomez, Icona Pop, Kacey Musgraves, The Band Perry, Ed Sheeran and Bruno Mars. As well as performing at the show, Prince will be receiving the Billboard Icon Award, while Madonna is being awarded the Top Touring Artist award for the highest-grossing tour of the year. Presenters for the evening include PSY, Shania Twain, Miley Cyrus, Ke$ha, and Hayden Panettiere.

BBMA Top Artist finalists include Justin Bieber, Maroon 5, One Direction, Taylor Swift and Rihanna. Top Hot 100 Song finalists are Fun with Some Nights, Gotye feat. Kimbra with Somebody That I Used to Know, Carly Rae Jepsen with Call Me Maybe, Maroon 5 with One More Night and Maroon 5 feat Wiz Khalifa with Payphone. Top Billboard 200 Album finalists are Adele with 21, Mumford & Sons with Babel, One Direction with Take Me Home, One Direction with Up All Night, and Taylor Swift with Red. Coldplay, Fun, Maroon 5, Mumford & Sons and One Direction are finalists for Top Duo/Group.

Organized by Billboard magazine, the inaugural Billboard Music Awards (BBMA) took place in 1989 followed by annual events until 2007. The awards reappeared in May 2011 and have once again become an annual event. George Michael was named Artist of the Year at the 1989 awards, with the most recent winner (2012) being Adele. The Icon Award was introduced in 2011 with Neil Diamond receiving the honor in that year. Stevie Wonder received the 2012 Icon Award and Prince has been selected as the 2013 winner.