B.B. King, Ben E. King remembered at Billboard Music Awards — PHOTOS
While the Billboard Music Awards is all about honoring the year’s best pop, rap, rock and country music, the evening took a few moments to pay tribute to legendary artists who died recently, including soul singer Ben E. King and legendary guitarist B.B. King.
“This week, we lost a king,” said Ludacris, the host of the awards ceremony, referring to B.B. King, who died in his Las Vegas home Thursday at age 89. “Not just any king. But the king of blues.”
The main tribute for Ben E. King came from Las Vegas-based band Imagine Dragons, who performed one of his most famous songs “Stand by Me.”
Sunday’s broadcast of the 2015 Billboard Music Awards at the MGM Grand Garden, which was shown on six continents and 172 countries, featured performances from the top artists in the industry.
Though the evening was full of celebration, dancing and cheers, for a brief moment when Kanye West took the stage for the final performance, mostly boos were heard echoing through the crowd.
Along with the B.B. King and Ben E. King tributes, Paul Walker, the star of “Furious 7” who died in 2013, was honored in the Wiz Khalifa song “See You Again featuring Charlie Puth” — it was featured in Walker’s final movie.
Not all of the tributes were to people who have died.
Celebrating the 30th anniversary of “The Breakfast Club,” Simple Minds — introduced by ’80s teen sensation and “The Breakfast Club” star Molly Ringwald — got the audience to its feet with “Don’t You Forget About Me.”
The evening also included a performance from Mariah Carey, who began her show “Mariah #1 to Infinity” at the Colosseum at Caesars Palace on May 6.
She began her set with “Vision of Love” and ended with her newer hit, “Infinity.”
“This is her first performance at the Billboard Music Awards in 17 years,” Ludacris said.
Britney Spears, who hosts a show at Planet Hollywood, opted out of a performance at the MGM. Instead, she performed her new single “Pretty Girls” with Iggy Azalea via satellite from the comfort of the Axis Theater.
Aside from Las Vegas-featured artists, musicians ranging from Hozier and Ed Sheeran to Van Halen took the stage in the three-hour event.
It was the second year Ludacris hosted the Billboard Music Awards. This year, he was joined by Chrissy Teigen.
As the evening kicked off, Ludacris laid out a list of reasons why him hosting would make sense, including his music from his new movie “Furious 7.”
“And I just banged a musician,” Teigen added pointing to her husband, John Legend, in the front row.
Other notable presenters included other Las Vegas faces such as Celine Dion, who presented for the top male artists, and Jennifer Lopez, who introduced Pitbull and Chris Brown’s song “Fun” — Lopez recently announced her upcoming residency at Caesars Palace.
Some of the top winners included Taylor Swift, who won eight awards, One Direction and John Legend.
Sam Smith, who was initially supposed to perform at Rock in Rio in Las Vegas this past weekend but dropped out because vocal surgery, accepted his award for top male artist via satellite. Holding a poster board, Smith wrote out his speech that not only apologized for his absent but requested Swift put $100 on black for him.
Contact reporter Michael Lyle at mlyle@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5201. Follow @mjlyle on Twitter.
