ARIANA GRANDE SHOT BY SIMON STROEM ARIANA GRANDE, BLAKE SHELTON & GWEN STEFANI TO PERFORM ON THE
ARIANA GRANDE, BLAKE SHELTON & GWEN STEFANI TO PERFORM ON THE “2016 BILLBOARD MUSIC AWARDS”Ludacris & Ciara to Host the Award Show Live from T-Mobile Arena on SUNDAY, MAY 22nd at 8:00 p.m. ET / 5:00 p.m. PT on ABC
Billboard and dick clark productions announced today that Ariana Grande, Blake Shelton, and Gwen Stefani have been added to the star-studded lineup of performers at the “2016 Billboard Music Awards.” Grande is set to perform new music, and Shelton and Stefani will take to the stage for the awards show debut of “Go Ahead And Break My Heart,” a song they wrote and perform on Shelton’s new album If I’m Honest. The “2016 Billboard Music Awards” will broadcast LIVE from T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Sunday, May 22 at 8:00 p.m. ET / 5:00 p.m. PT on ABC. For the first time in Billboard Music Awards history, viewers on the West Coast will watch the show live along with fellow fans on the East Coast. This year’s show, which will be hosted by hip-hop artist Ludacris and international music sensation Ciara, will showcase big performances, unexpected collaborations and much-discussed pop culture moments. These artists join previously announced performers Justin Bieber, Celine Dion, DNCE, The Go-Go’s, Demi Lovato, Shawn Mendes, P!nk, “Kia’s One to Watch” Troye Sivan, Britney Spears, and collaborations with Fifth Harmony featuring Ty Dolla $ign, and Nick Jonas with Tove Lo, and Madonna will pay tribute to Prince.
Within less than a year, Ariana Grande captured No. 1 on the Billboard 200 twice—first with her Republic Records debut Yours Truly and also with its 2014 follow-up My Everything. Yours Truly yielded the game-changing pop smash “The Way” featuring Mac Miller, which went triple-platinum, landed in the top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100, and seized #1 on the iTunes Overall Top Songs chart. Meanwhile, the platinum-selling My Everything garnered a Grammy Award nomination for “Best Pop Vocal Album” and spawned the six times-platinum hit “Problem.” Upon the single’s release, Ariana became “the youngest woman to debut with over 400K sold first-week,” while the song ranked as the 5th “highest digital song debut for a female artist” and 9th highest ever. Moreover, it debuted at #1 in 85 countries, topping the iTunes Overall Top Songs and Pop Songs charts for four weeks. During release week, My Everything was No. 1 on Spotify as Ariana personally rose to #1 on the Billboard‘s Artists 100 chart. She also became the first woman in history and the first artist since Michael Jackson to simultaneously have three songs—”Problem,” “Break Free” featuring Zedd, and “Bang Bang” with Nicki Minaj and Jessie J—in the Top 6 of the Digital Songs Chart. “Bang Bang” went platinum and was Grammy-nominated for “Best Pop Duo/Group Performance.” By the end of the year, she landed four songs in the top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100, the most of any artist in 2014. In total, Ariana has enjoyed seven top 10 smashes on the Billboard Hot 100.
In 2013, she was named “Best New Artist” at the American Music Awards. Other accolades followed with Ariana winning “Favorite Breakout Artist” at the People’s Choice Awards 2014, the “Young Influencer Award” at the iHeartRadio Music Awards, the “Radio Disney Chart Topper Award,” “Choice Female Artist” and “Choice Single” “Problem” at the 2014 Teen Choice Awards, and more. At the 2014 MTV VMAS, “Problem” was named “Best Pop Video” as well. In November, Ariana took home the award for “Favorite Female Artist – Pop/Rock” at the 2015 American Music Awards. 2016 sees her release her mega-anticipated third full-length album, Dangerous Woman, driven by the title track which captured No. 1 on both iTunes Overall Top Songs Chart and Top Pop Songs Chart minutes after release. “Dangerous Woman” also debuted in the top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100 earning her the distinction of becoming the first artist to debut in the top 10 with the lead single from each of her first three albums.
