AC/DC, Miley Cyrus and Bruce Springsteen Up for Billboard Music Awards

2021-05-03

A eclectic array of artists are up for Top Rock Album honors at the Billboard Music Awards, including AC/DC, Miley Cyrus and Bruce Springsteen

The nominations for the 2021 Billboard Music Awards are in, and when it comes to rock, AC/DC and Bruce Springsteen find themselves going up against an eclectic array of artists.

The Australian rock band and “The Boss” are up for Top Rock Album honors for “Power Up” and “Letter to You,” respectively. They’re going up against Machine Gun Kelly’s “Tickets to My Downfall,” Glass Animals’ “Dreamland” and Miley Cyrus’ “Plastic Hearts” in the category. If Cyrus seems misplaced in the rock category, make note that her latest album features guest appearances by Joan Jett and Billy Idol, which gives it some rock credibility. AC/DC are also nominated for Top Rock Artist and Top Duo/Group.

The artist with the most Billboard nominations this year is The Weeknd, who is up for awards in 16 categories, including top artist, top male artist and top Hot 100 artist. DaBaby has the second most nominations, with 11 in nine categories. Gabby Barrett is the female artist with the most nominations, coming in an nine, including top new artist.

The coveted Top Artist award has five nominees, including Drake, Juice WRLD, Pop Smoke, Taylor Swift and The Weeknd. Musicians up for Top New Artist include the aforementioned Barrett, Doja Cat, Jack Harlow, Pop Smoke and Rod Wave.

The 2021 Billboard Music Awards will air live May 23 on NBC. Unlike many awards shows, which are selected by a body of voters, winners for the Billboard Music Awards are chosen based on Billboard chart data. For this year’s awards, the data includes album and song sales, streaming and radio airplay, taken from March 21, 2020 through April 3, 2021.

To see the full roster of Billboard Music Awards nominees, head to Billboard.com.

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Scarlett Hunter

Meet the expert - Scarlett Hunter is a trending news writer for Audio Ink Radio. She has written about alternative music for a variety of publications over the past 10 years. She covers alternative and rock for Audio Ink Radio. Hunter is a graduate of Ohio State University. Contact her at scarlett@audioinkradio.com.

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