Disgraced country star sweeps Billboard awards. Taylor Swift was the night’s other main winner
Country singer Morgan Wallen was the big winner at Sunday night’s Billboard Music Awards, two years after being suspended by his record label for using a racial slur.
The musician won 11 awards, including top male artist and album and single of the year.
In 2021, Wallen was suspended by his record label after being filmed using the N-word following a night out with friends.
The star apologised and, reunited with his record label, topped the US charts for 16 weeks this year with the double album One Thing At A Time.
Despite that success, he was frozen out of the Grammy Award nominations this month, an indication that the wider record industry has not forgiven him.
By contrast, the Billboard Awards are based purely on sales figures, meaning Wallen went into the ceremony with a good chance of dominating the main categories.
His tally of 11 awards also included top country artist, top streaming songs artist and top country touring artist.
“Last awards show I went to we came home empty-handed and this one I don’t have enough hands for them all,” Wallen said.
Taylor Swift was the night’s other main winner, picking up 10 prizes, including the coveted trophies for top artist and and top-selling song for the hit single Anti-Hero.
“Well this is unreal,” said the star in a pre-recorded acceptance speech.
“Billboard bases everything off of what you are listening to and what you’re pᴀssionate about… I feel like the luckiest girl to have you in my corner and caring about the music I make.”
Swift’s victory came after she was forced to postpone a concert in Rio de Janeiro amidst an extreme heatwave that has triggered health alerts across Brazil.
On Friday, one fan died while waiting to watch her show. In a statement on Instagram, the pop star said she her heart was “shattered” by 23-year-old Ana Clara Benevides Machado’s death, adding: “She was so incredibly beautiful and far too young.”
The Queen of Christmas Mariah Carey won a chart achievement award in recognition of her perennial smash All I Want For Christmas Is You.
She was presented with the trophy by her twin children Monroe and Moroccan.
After joking that she “doesn’t acknowledge” the pᴀssing of time, Carey added: “When I first sat down to write All I Want For Christmas Is You, I never could have imagined I would have been standing here three months later accepting this special award for it.”
She also performed the song at the ceremony, external – arriving on stage aboard a ski lift, while surrounded by dancers on ice skates
The quintet – Danielle, Haerin, Hyein, Hanni and Minji – performed a medley of the songs during the ceremony, recreating the viral dance moves of their videos in a futuristic, colour-coded set framed by pulsating lights.
Intricate choreography was a theme of the night.
Canadian star Tate McRae gave an aerobic performance of her smash hit Greedy, while Karol G whipped up a tsunami while singing a medley of Qlona, Labios Mordidos and Ojos Ferrari from a giant pool of water.
K-pop boyband Stray Kids arrived in military uniform, performing a punchy and intricate routine to the single S-Clᴀss and LALALALA while pyrotechnics exploded around them.
