Billboard Music Award for Top Artist

Last updated
Billboard Music Awards for Top Artist
CountryUnited States
Presented by Billboard
First awarded1993
Currently held by Taylor Swift (2023)
Most awardsDrake and Taylor Swift (3)
Most nominationsTaylor Swift (9)
Website billboardmusicawards.com

This article lists the winners and nominees for the Billboard Music Award for Top Artist. The award was first given in 1993, entitled #1 World Artist. It was retired during the 1994 ceremony but returned again the following year under the title Artist of the Year. It was later renamed to its current title in 2011. Drake and Taylor Swift are the artists with the most win in this category, won the award three times for each. Swift is also the most nominated artist in this category with nine nominations.

Contents

The first artist to receive this honor was Whitney Houston in 1993 due to her massive success of The Bodyguard . Houston also took home a then record breaking 11 awards in one night.

Winners and nominees

Winners are listed first and highlighted in bold.

1990s

YearArtistRef
1993
Whitney Houston [ citation needed ]
1994
1995
TLC [ citation needed ]
Boyz II Men
Hootie & the Blowfish
Real McCoy
1996
Alanis Morissette [ citation needed ]
1997
LeAnn Rimes [ citation needed ]
Toni Braxton
Jewel
Spice Girls
1998
Usher [ citation needed ]
LeAnn Rimes
Savage Garden
Shania Twain
1999
Backstreet Boys [ citation needed ]
Britney Spears
TLC
Shania Twain

2000s

YearArtistRef
2000
Destiny's Child [ citation needed ]
2001
Destiny's Child
Jennifer Lopez
Nelly
Shaggy
2002
Nelly [ citation needed ]
Ashanti
Creed
Eminem
2003
50 Cent [ citation needed ]
R. Kelly
Sean Paul
Justin Timberlake
2004
Usher [ citation needed ]
Alicia Keys
Maroon 5
Outkast
2005
50 Cent [ citation needed ]
Mariah Carey
Kelly Clarkson
Green Day
2006
Chris Brown [ citation needed ]
Rascal Flatts
Nickelback
Sean Paul
2007 – 09

2010s

YearArtistRef
2010
2011
Eminem [ citation needed ]
Justin Bieber
Lady Gaga
Rihanna
Taylor Swift
2012
Adele [1]
Lady Gaga
Lil Wayne
Katy Perry
Rihanna
2013
Taylor Swift [2]
Justin Bieber
Maroon 5
One Direction
Rihanna
2014
Justin Timberlake [3]
Miley Cyrus
Imagine Dragons
Bruno Mars
Katy Perry
2015
Taylor Swift [4]
Ariana Grande
Katy Perry
One Direction
Sam Smith
2016
Adele [5]
Justin Bieber
Drake
Taylor Swift
The Weeknd
2017
Drake [6]
Adele
Beyoncé
Justin Bieber
The Chainsmokers
Ariana Grande
Shawn Mendes
Rihanna
Twenty One Pilots
The Weeknd
2018
Ed Sheeran [7]
Drake
Kendrick Lamar
Bruno Mars
Taylor Swift
2019
Drake [8]
Cardi B
Ariana Grande
Post Malone
Travis Scott

2020s

YearArtistRef
2020
Post Malone [9]
Billie Eilish
Jonas Brothers
Khalid
Taylor Swift
2021
The Weeknd [10]
Drake
Juice WRLD
Pop Smoke
Taylor Swift
2022
Drake [11]
Doja Cat
Olivia Rodrigo
Taylor Swift
The Weeknd
2023
Taylor Swift [12]
Drake
Luke Combs
SZA
Morgan Wallen

Multiple wins and nominations

Wins

3 wins

2 wins

Nominations

9 nominations

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References

  1. "Adele Wins 12 Gongs at Billboard Music Awards 2012". MTV. 21 May 2012. Retrieved 22 May 2012.
  2. "Billboard Music Awards 2013: The Complete Winners List". MTV. May 19, 2013.
  3. "Billboard Music Awards: Full Winners List". The Hollywood Reporter . May 18, 2014. Retrieved May 19, 2014.
  4. "2015 Billboard Music Awards". Variety . May 17, 2015. Retrieved October 1, 2016.
  5. "2016 Billboard Music Awards". Billboard.com . May 22, 2016. Retrieved October 1, 2016.
  6. "Here is the Complete List of Winners from the 2017 Billboard Music Awards". Billboard .
  7. "Here Are All the Winners From the 2018 Billboard Music Awards". Billboard. Retrieved 2019-05-02.
  8. "2019 Billboard Music Awards Winners: The Complete List". Billboard. Retrieved 2019-05-02.
  9. "Nominees Announced for the 2020 Billboard Music Awards". Billboard. September 22, 2020. Retrieved September 22, 2020.
  10. "The Weeknd Leads All Finalists for the 2021 Billboard Music Awards: See the Full List". Billboard. April 29, 2021. Retrieved April 29, 2021.
  11. "The Weeknd & Doja Cat Lead 2022 Billboard Music Awards Finalists: Full List". Billboard. April 8, 2022. Retrieved April 8, 2022.
  12. "Taylor Swift Leads Finalists for 2023 Billboard Music Awards: Full List". Billboard. October 26, 2023. Retrieved October 26, 2023.