Billboard Music Awards 2022 was held on May 15 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. The grandest night in the music industry was hosted by Sean Combs, honouring the artists from all genres whose music has gotten the greatest attention in the previous year. Awards were given out to performers who have achieved success through their album and song sales and streams, radio play, touring, and social engagement. However, there were stars who not only bagged most of the trophies but also they made history.
Olivia Rodrigo shot to stardom with the smash single Drivers License a year ago only and the teen pop star was the top winner at the 2022 Billboard Music Awards. Rodrigo took home seven awards, one of the strongest showings by a new artist in BBMA history. The R&B group Next won eight awards in 1998, as did R&B star Ashanti in 2002. Rodrigo’s haul included the top Billboard 200 album for her debut, Sour. This marks the third consecutive year that a debut album has received this top award.
Ye, who was formerly known as Kanye West, won six awards, more than any other male artist this year. He swept the gospel and Christian categories, taking top artists, top albums and top songs in both genres. This brings Ye’s career BBMA total to 17, which puts him in a tie with Eminem for seventh place on the all-time BBMA leaderboard. Meanwhile, the three artists with the most career BBMA honours each won multiple awards on the night, which allows them to retain their win, place and show rankings. Drake won five awards, upping his total to 34.
Taylor Swift won four, advancing her total to 29. Justin Bieber won five, hiking his total to 26. Bieber became the first singer in BBMA history to win the top Hot 100 song more than once. He won this year for Stay, his chart-busting collab with The Kid LAROI. He won four years ago for Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee’s genre-blending Despacito, on which he was featured. BTS won three awards, more than any other group or duo this year. The K-pop septet won top duo/group for the third time, putting them in a tie with another youthquake-starting band, One Direction, for most wins in the category.
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Lady Gaga won top dance/electronic artist for the third consecutive year while Bad Bunny won top Latin artist for a record third time. Karol G’s KGO516 won the top Latin album, making it the first winner by a female artist since Jenni Rivera’s La Misma Gran Señora in 2013. Meanwhile, Kali Uchis’ telepatía won the top Latin song, making it the first winner by a female artist since Shakira won a collab with Freshlyground in 2011. Dan + Shay won the top country duo/group for the third time. This allows them to pull ahead of Florida Georgia Line as the top winners in the history of the category, which originated in 2018.
Lil Nas X and Jack Harlow took the top rap song for Industry Baby, two years after Lil Nas X won in the category for Old Town Road (Remix), featuring Billy Ray Cyrus. LNX is just the second two-time winner in the category. Doja Cat won four awards, including top R&B artists. Doja is the fourth female artist to win in this category in the past decade, following Rihanna, Beyoncé and Ella Mai.
The Weeknd won one award, taking his total to 20 awards, which gives him sole ownership of fourth place on the all-time winners’ list. Two rock titans whose careers date back more than a half-century won 2022 BBMAs. Meanwhile, the biggest music icon, Elton John won the top dance/electronic song for his hit collab with Dua Lipa. The Rolling Stones took the top tour and top rock tour for their No Filter Tour. They are the first act that dates back to the 1960s to win a top tour.