CARDI B LEADS THE “2019 BILLBOARD MUSIC AWARDS” NOMINATIONS WITH 21 NODS! Other Top Nominees InClude Drake and Post Malone with 17, Travis Scott with 12, XXXTENTACION with 10 and Ariana Grande with 9 Hosted by Kelly Clarkson, the “2019 Billboard MusiC Awards” Airs Wednesday, May 1 at 8 P.M. ET/PT on NBC [EDITOR’S NOTE]: For media assets, please click here | For digital assets, please click here To view the Nominations Launch Video, please click here SANTA MONICA, CA (April 4, 2019) – dick clark productions and NBC today announced nominees for the “2019 Billboard Music Awards,” which honors the year’s most successful artists in 56 categories across all genres of music. “2019 Billboard Music Awards” host Kelly Clarkson and chart-topping duo Dan + Shay, kicked oFF the nominations this morning, live on NBC’s “Today.” Last year’s Top Rap Female Artist winner, Cardi B, leads the pack with 21 nods, followed by Drake and Post Malone, each with 17. Other nominees and possible record-breakers include Ariana Grande, Taylor SwiFt, Travis Scott and XXXTENTACION. The “2019 Billboard Music Awards” will broadcast from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on Wednesday, May 1 at 8 p.m. ET / PT on NBC. Narrowly missing Drake and The Chainsmokers’ record of most nominations ever in a single year (both musicians received 22 nominations in 2017), Cardi B is also a double-nominee in three categories (Top Selling Song, Top Collaboration and Top Hot 100 Song). Drake and Post Malone tie For second-most nominations this year with 17 each, both nominated in many of the same categories, including Top Artist, Top Male Artist, Top Billboard 200 Artist and Top Hot 100 Artist. Travis Scott received 12 nominations, followed by the late XXXTENTACION with 10 and Ariana Grande with nine. Nominated For two awards this year, Taylor SwiFt still leads the pack For most wins of all time with 23, a record she could break again with a win this year. Voting For the Fan voted categories, Billboard Chart Achievement Award and Top Social Artist, will open in the coming weeks and additional details will be available soon. 2019 TOP NOMINEE CHART FACTS: • Cardi B Billboard Music Award-winner Cardi B has swiFtly rewritten the Billboard chart history books since she exploded onto the scene with “Bodak Yellow (Money Moves)” just a little under two years ago. She’s already notched three No. 1s on the all-genre Billboard Hot 100 chart (a record For a female rapper) and debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 albums chart with her debut studio efFort Invasion of Privacy (becoming only the fifth female rap artist with a No. 1 album). Further, Invasion launched with 202.6 million on-demand audio streams For its songs in its First week, according to Nielsen Music — the biggest streaming week ever for an artist’s debut studio album. All told, Cardi B’s catalog oF songs have tallied a whopping 5.8 billion on-demand streams in the U.S. • Drake 15-time Billboard Music Award-winner Drake continues to be a non-stop force on Billboard’s charts. In 2018, the superstar scored his eighth consecutive No. 1 album on the Billboard 200 chart with Scorpion, while all 25 of the album’s tracks hit the Billboard Hot 100 songs chart. And, thanks to Scorpion, Drake shattered a Hot 100 record set by The Beatles back in 1964 — he claimed seven simultaneous Hot 100 hits following Scorpion’s debut. In total, Drake has charted 193 songs on the Hot 100 chart — the most of any artist in the chart’s 60-year history. Further, Drake’s catalog of songs recently celebrated crossing the 30 billion on-demand streams mark in the U.S., according to Nielsen Music. • Post Malone After initially making waves with the Billboard Hot 100 hit “White Iverson” in late 2015, Post Malone has been dominating the chart in the last year-and-a-halF thanks to a string of hits, including three No. 1s: his Billboard Music Award-winning “Rockstar,” Featuring 21 Savage, “Psycho,” featuring Ty Dolla $ign, and “Sunflower (Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse),” Featuring Swae Lee. Post Malone’s second album, beerbongs & bentleys, debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart in May of 2018, and has yet to leave the weekly top 20 of the list since the album’s arrival on the chart 48 weeks ago. • Travis Scott Travis Scott’s monster Astroworld album opened at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart last August (marking his second leader on the list) and notched three weeks atop the tally. The set spawned the smash hit “Sicko Mode,” which garnered the rapper his First No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The album has gone on to earn over 2.5 million equivalent album units, while its songs have accumulated more than 2.8 billion on-demand audio streams, in the U.S., according to Nielsen Music. • XXXTENTACION In December, XXXTENTACION’s posthumously released Skins became the artist’s second No. 1 album on the Billboard 200, Following his earlier set, ?, which was also released in 2018. In that year alone, 24 of his songs reached the Billboard Hot 100 chart, including his First No. 1, “Sad!,” which topped the chart following his death in June. XXXTENTACION’s collection of albums have earned over 4.7 million equivalent album units in the U.S., according to Nielsen Music, while his songs have claimed more than 10 billion on-demand streams. • Ariana Grande Ariana Grande wrapped 2018 in a big way, with her third No. 1 album on the Billboard 200, Sweetener, and her first No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 songs chart, “Thank U, Next.” But then, things got even bigger for the superstar, as she quickly claimed a second No. 1 on the Hot 100 with “7 Rings,” along with her Fourth No. 1 album on the Billboard 200: Thank U, Next. When the latter debuted at No. 1, it logged the largest streaming week ever For a pop album, and, any album by a woman (with its songs earning 307.1 million on-demand audio streams in its First week in the U.S., according to Nielsen Music). Further, when Thank U, Next opened at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, it happened just Five months and 22 days after Sweetener started at No. 1 – the shortest gap between new No. 1s on the chart for a woman since 1975. “Billboard Music Awards” nominees and winners are based on key fan interactions with music, including album and digital song sales, streaming, radio airplay, touring and social engagement, tracked by Billboard and its data partners, including Nielsen Music and Next Big Sound. The awards are based on the chart period of March 23, 2018 through March 7, 2019. Since 1940, the Billboard charts have been the go-to guide For ranking the popularity of artists, songs and albums, and are the ultimate measure of success in music. The “2019 Billboard Music Awards” is produced by dick clark productions. Mark Bracco, Barry Adelman, Kelly Clarkson and Robert Deaton are executive producers. The “2019 Billboard Music Awards” are sponsored by T-Mobile. To apply For media credentials to cover the “2019 Billboard Music Awards,” please click HERE and Fill out the online form. Credential application window closes Wednesday, April 17, 2019. Tickets For the “2019 Billboard Music Awards” are on-sale now. To purchase tickets online, fans should go to www.axs.com. For the latest news on the Billboard Music Awards (BBMAs), visit www.billboardmusicawards.com and www.billboard.com/bbma. For exclusive content and more, be sure to follow the BBMAs on social media and join the conversation by using the oFFicial hashtag For the show, #BBMAs. Twitter: @BBMAs Facebook: FB.com/TheBBMAs | Instagram: bbmas | Snapchat: thebbmas | YouTube: youtube.com/bbmas About diCk clark productions dick clark productions (dcp) is the world's largest producer and proprietor of televised live event entertainment programming with the "Academy oF Country Music Awards," "American Music Awards," "Billboard Music Awards," "Golden Globe Awards," "Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve with Ryan Seacrest" and the “Streamy Awards.” Weekly television programming includes "So You Think You Can Dance" From 19 Entertainment and dcp. dcp also owns one of the world's most unique and extensive entertainment archive libraries with over 60 years oF award-winning shows, historic programs, specials, performances and legendary programming. dcp is a division of Valence Media, a diversiFied media company with divisions and strategic investments in premium television, wide release Film, specialty Film, live events and digital media. For additional inFormation, visit www.dickclark.com. About Billboard Media Group Billboard is the world's largest voice in music, built on the most complete and well-respected database of charts across all music genres. The Billboard charts deFine success in music. From the iconic Billboard magazine to Billboard.com, the ultimate consumer-facing destination for millions of passionate music fans, to the industry's most elite conference series and influencer events including the Power 100 and Women in Music – the Billboard brand has unmatched authority among fans, artists and the industry alike. Billboard has a social media Footprint of 25.5M+ million social Followers across Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube, and creates more than 160M+ cross-platform video views per month. Billboard magazine has published major news-generating covers recently including Travis Scott, Janet Jackson, Lil Wayne, Demi Lovato, Cardi B, Christina Aguilera, Shakira, BTS, and more. In December 2018, the Billboard Women in Music ceremony, which honored Ariana Grande as Woman oF the Year, was live-streamed globally on Twitter.