2015 BILLBOARD MUSIC AWARDS ANNOUNCE WINNERS
AT STAR-STUDDED EVENT HONORING MUSIC’S BEST AND BRIGHTEST
Taylor Swift Opened the Show with World Premiere of Her Music Video “Bad Blood”
And Was The Night’s Big Winner, Along With Sam Smith, Iggy Azalea and Pharrell Williams
Taylor Swift was the night’s big winner, taking home 8 awards including Top Artist, Top Female Artist, Top Billboard 200 Artist, Top Hot 100 Artist, Top Digital Songs Artist, Top Billboard 200 Album ("1989"), Top Streaming Song (Video) ("Shake It Off") and the fan voted Billboard Chart Achievement Award sponsored by Samsung. Swift also opened the show with the world debut of her highly anticipated music video for “Bad Blood,” the next single off her album “1989.” The video, directed by Joseph Kahn and produced by Taylor Swift, included cameos from some of Swift’s best friends including Jessica Alba, Lily Aldridge, Cindy Crawford, Cara Delevingne, Lena Dunham, Selena Gomez, Ellie Goulding, Gigi Hadid, Mariska Hargitay, Martha Hunt, Karlie Kloss, Kendrick Lamar, Ellen Pompeo, Serayah, Hailee Steinfeld, Hayley Williams, and Zendaya. Swift was on hand to then introduce legendary rock band, Van Halen, who performed their iconic hit “Panama,” marking the band’s first-ever performance on an awards show with Eddie, Alex, Wolfgang Van Halen and David Lee Roth. Van Halen started the night’s performances off with a bang, getting the crowd on their feet and rocking out!
Performance duo Meghan Trainor and John Legend earned two trophies each. Legend received two awards for his love ballad “All of Me” (Top Radio Song, Top Streaming Song [Audio]), while Trainor received two for her feel-good hit “All About That Bass” (Top Hot 100 Song, Top Digital Song). Jason Aldean, Hozier, Enrique Iglesias and One Direction all took home two trophies as well.
Returning to the Billboard Music Awards performance stage after 17 years, Mariah Carey brought the audience to their feet with a medley of her classic debut single -- and first Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 hit -- “Vision of Love” and new single “Infinity.” And Carey wasn’t the only singer bringing a sense of nostalgia to the stage. Simple Minds, in honor of the 30th anniversary of “The Breakfast Club” performed their No. 1 Hot 100 hit “Don’t You (Forget About Me),” which has become synonymous with the film itself and topped the chart exactly 30 years ago this week. John Hughes darling and “The Breakfast Club” star Molly Ringwald was on-hand to welcome the band to the stage. Another '80s throwback came in the form of an explosive, neon-hued performance from music superstars Britney Spears and Iggy Azalea who brought their new single “Pretty Girls” to the stage for the first time ever.
Jussie Smollet, Bryshere “Yazz” Gray, and Estelle delivered a powerful rendition of stand-out song
