The Weeknd, BTS sweep with top honours

Los Angeles: The Weeknd's ode to lost love 'Blinding Lights' did wonder for the singer as he topped 10 of the 16 categories, for which he was nominated in at the 2021 'Billboard Music Awards' (BBMA). The music award ceremony also saw Korean pop sensation 'BTS' expand their global reign with four wins.

The ceremony took place in front of a fully vaccinated, fully masked live audience in the plaza outside Los Angeles's 'Microsoft Theatre'. The winners entered the stage via an enclosed backstage area to accept their awards.

The ceremony, hosted by singer-actor Nick Jonas, saw some performances that took place live at the venue, including those by 'Twenty One Pilots', 'AJR', 'Glass Animals' and DJ Khaled with H.E.R. and Migos. The Weeknd bagged honours like 'Top Male Artist', 'Top Hot 100 Artist', 'Top Radio Songs Artist', 'Top R&B Artist' and many more. In the winners' list, he was followed by the late Pop Smoke with five trophies and 'BTS' and Bad Bunny with four awards each.

The posthumous wins of Bashar Barakah Jackson, also known as Pop Smoke, included 'Top Billboard 200 Album', 'Top New Artist', 'Top Rap Artist', 'Top Rap Male Artist' and 'Top Rap Album'. He was only 20 when he was killed in February 2020. His mother, Audrey Jackson, received the awards on his behalf and remembered him in a moving speech.

"Thank you for respecting his life and the spirit of my son. He created music for children who have to sleep four in the room and children who need to understand how to graduate and go to school every day to be proud of their mother. He did this, so the 14-year-old did not have to kill to prove who they were," she said referring to the unidentified teen charged with her son's murder.

'BTS', who joined the ceremony virtually from Seoul, South Korea, emerged winners in all the four categories they were nominated in.

The hit septet, comprising RM, V, Jin, Suga, J-Hope, Jimin and Jungkook took home the award for 'Top Selling Song' for their first English single 'Dynamite' and lit up the BBMA's stage with their debut performance on 'Butter', their second English single. The group also won awards for 'Top Duo/Group', 'Top Song Sales Artist' and the fan-voted 'Top Social Artist'.

"We became 'Top Social Artist' for the fifth consecutive time. Thank you ARMY and BBMAs for such an incredible title," J-Hope said in a video shared by the BBMA's 'Twitter' handle.

Drake received the 'Artist of the Decade' award for his triumphs in the 2010s.

"I rarely celebrate anything. And just for anyone watching this, that is wondering how this happened and that is the answer - being so unsure how you are getting it done that you just kind of keep going in the hopes of figuring out the formula. I just know that I have spent an incalculable amount of hours trying to analyze all the things I did wrong, but for once I'm sure we did something right," he said.