The Billboard Music Awards were deeply forgettable — except for these 3 moments
“Facts and industry things.”
That’s how Blake Shelton, standing onstage at Sunday’s
So let’s not bother ourselves too much with who took home what from this year’s show, broadcast live on ABC from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, and focus instead on the consistently amazing performances.
PHOTOS: Billboard Music Awards 2017 >>
Except, oh wait — most of those were pretty forgettable too.
Here are three moments that managed to stand out.
Drake
If we’re going to discuss any of the evening’s winners, I suppose it should be Drake. The Canadian rapper walked away Sunday with 13 awards — including top artist, top male artist, top rap artist and top Billboard 200 album for “Views” — beating Adele’s 12 to set a new record for the most wins in a single Billboard ceremony.
You could tell he was in touch with his swagger too: To accept several of those prizes, Drake casually made his way to the stage (from his highly visible front-row seat) wearing a collared sweater that made him look like Jack Nicklaus — clearly a style icon whose time has come.
Unfortunately, the rapper changed clothes for his Billboard performance, slipping into a more conventional white tracksuit and matching white sneakers. But maybe that was just so he could be more easily seen from the Strip as he ran through his song “Gyalchester” while standing on a platform floating in the lagoon outside the Bellagio.
Cher
Speaking of outfits! Cher, who had been lured to Las Vegas with the promise of receiving the Billboard Icon Award, wore a silver wig and heart-shaped nipple patch to do “Believe,” then revived her classic fishnet-and-leather look for a strutting rendition of “If I Could Turn Back Time.” The latter in particular sounded great — a deeply out-of-fashion, pop-metal jam that nonetheless inspired an arena full of twentysomethings to sing along like they were watching Taylor Swift.
In her Icon Award acceptance speech, Cher proudly boasted that she had turned 71 the day before. “And I can do a five-minute plank,” she added. “Just saying.” She insisted she’s been doing what she wants for her entire career but also fondly recalled her early days when she had less control, like the year she said she spent working for the legendary producer Phil Spector — and made 25 bucks to show for it.
Celine Dion
Cher wasn’t the only old-school pop diva on Sunday’s show. Celine Dion also turned up, dressed more or less as a cloud, to perform “My Heart Will Go On,” the grand-scale power ballad from “Titanic” that turns 20 this year.
Standing on a small secondary stage as scenes from the movie played behind her, Dion took an unexpectedly low-key approach to her signature song — at least until the end, when she busted out a dramatic vocal run that seemed to surprise even herself.
Twitter: @mikaelwood
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