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The Red Clay Strays accept the Top Country Duo/Group award at the 2024 Billboard Music Awards. The Red Clay Strays:Hey, everybody, we’re The Red Clay Strays. Just wanted to say thank you for this awesome award, Top Country Group. This is from Billboard, and it’s a huge honor. It’s all statistic based. So thank you […]
Jack Antonoff accepts the Top Hot 100 Producer award at the 2024 Billboard Music Awards. Jack Antonoff:Billboard. Thank you so much for this award. I love these records. I think everyone who listened to them and who got them to this crazy point that means a lot to me. And I’m at work right now, […]
Cece Winans accepts Top Gospel Artist and Top Gospel Song at the 2024 Billboard Music Awards. Cece Winans:“That’s My King,” what a powerful song. Thank you to all the writers of this song. It is so powerful. It is so much fun. Thank you to Kylie for bringing me this song, and I just thank […]
Only months after announcing the 2025 edition of Byron Bay’s enduring Bluesfest would be its last, festival director Peter Noble has changed his tune.
The long-running festival has become an institution on the Australian festivals calendar across its 35-year history. Names such as Bob Dylan, BB King, Paul Simon, John Mayer, Mary J Blige, and Kendrick Lamar, plus homegrown stars Cold Chisel, Midnight Oil and Crowded House, have all performed over the years, with the dizzying lineups also offering chances for rising stars to receive a vital platform.
In August, however, Noble explained that the festival – held annually across the Easter long weekend on Australia’s east coast – would come to a close after one final outing.
“To my Dear Bluesfest Family, and after more than 50 years in the music business, Bluesfest has been a labour of love, a celebration of music, community, and the resilient spirit of our fans,” Noble wrote in a statement.
“But after the 2025 festival, as much as it pains me to say this, it’s time to close this chapter,” he continued. “As I said earlier this year at Bluesfest 2024, next year’s festival will be happening and it definitely is, but it will be our last.”
News of the festival’s impending demise was another chapter in the ongoing story of the wider festival industry and its struggle to stay afloat. Noble’s announcement arrived only weeks after Splendour in the Grass – another Byron Bay festival and one of Australia’s most prominent musical events – was planned to hold its latest edition prior to an unexpected cancellation.
However, a new interview with Noble has revealed that the festival may be around for some time to come, explaining to IQ Magazine that the decision to call time on the event was an attempt to regain the support of the New South Wales state government.
“August was a time of great disappointment,” Noble told IQ. “We had said to the government ‘Look, we need investment at this time, the cost of living crisis is really affecting events and there are cancellations everywhere’.
“They sent me a Dear John letter saying we’ve decided not to invest in you. During the last 12 years, Bluesfest brought $1.1 billion to our state through inbound tourism. That is a tsunami of gold but it seemingly doesn’t count. The [state government] just wanted to put it in their coffers and not take responsibility for Australia’s great events.”
Noble also pointed to the Australian launch of South by Southwest in Sydney last year, which received sizeable investments from the state government across its first two events.
“So what do we have to do? Do we have to say it’s the last Bluesfest to get people to focus on us?” Noble asked. “Are we the long-suffering wife and South by Southwest is the mistress who gets the diamond rings?
“All we’ve asked our state to do is to show us that they care about the most highly awarded event in the history of Australian music. Regardless, I will always find a way for Bluesfest to go forward – that is my job.”
The 2025 edition of Bluesfest is scheduled to take place across the Easter long weekend in April 2025 and features a largely homegrown list of headliners, including Crowded House, Hilltop Hoods, and Vance Joy. A vast array of international names are also present, including Gary Clark Jr., George Thorogood & The Destroyers, Allison Russell, BJ The Chicago Kid, and more.
Per Noble’s claims, his clarion call will potentially result in the “most successful festival yet”.
“We’re on the path to selling out, with 89,000 passes sold and I’m sure we’ll go past 90,000 after [yesterday’s] artist announcement,” he explained. “We’re probably the best-selling festival in Australia at the moment. We’ve been shown that people care about events and culture.”
During its heyday, Bluesfest averaged 85,000 attendees. That figure swelled to 102,000 in 2022, when live music returned from the lockdown years. The most recent show, however, counted fewer than 65,000 attendees.
Noble also revealed he was in the process of booking artists for the 2026 edition of Bluesfest. The fruits of his recent labor will ostensibly be revealed around August/September 2025, as is traditional for the festival’s first lineup announcement.
Taylor Swift was the top winner at the 2024 Billboard Music Awards — taking home 10 new prizes — and many other artists also scored multiple wins over the course of the two-hour show, which was broadcast on Fox on Thursday (Dec. 12).
Zach Bryan won five awards during the night, including two wins in country and two in rock, reflecting his genre-bridging appeal. (His fifth award was for Top Streaming Song.)
Morgan Wallen won four awards, bringing his career total to 19, just one shy of Garth Brooks’ record as the country artist with the most wins. Wallen won Top Country Artist for the third time, which allows him to tie Brooks and Swift for the most wins in this category. This was Wallen’s third win in four years in this key category. He was bested in 2022 by (wait for it) Swift.
Shaboozey, Bad Bunny, Drake and the Christian music group Elevation Worship each won three awards. This brings Drake’s career total to 42 wins, second only to Swift. It brings Bad Bunny’s career total to 16 wins. Drake’s wins include a record-extending sixth win for Top Rap Artist. Bunny’s wins include a record-extending fifth win, all consecutive, for Top Latin Artist. Elevation Worship’s wins include a second win as Top Christian Artist. They previously won in 2021. This puts the group in a tie with Chris Tomlin for second-most wins in the category. Lauren Daigle leads with four wins.
Other artists who are high on the all-time BBMAs leaderboard and who moved up this year include Beyoncé, who landed her 17th award in a category that would have seemed quite unlikely a year ago – Top Country Female Artist. Post Malone landed his 11th BBMA win for Top Collaboration for “I Had Some Help,” which he recorded with Wallen.
Benson Boone, CeCe Winans, Chandler Moore, Charli XCX, Fuerza Regida, Jung Kook, Kacey Musgraves, Linkin Park, SZA, Teddy Swims, Tommy Richman and Tyla each won two awards.
SZA won Top R&B Artist for the second year in a row. SZA is the first woman to win Top R&B Artist more than once. R. Kelly has the most wins in this category – four. Usher follows with three. 50 Cent and The Weeknd have also won twice.
The diverse nature of the music scene in 2024 was underscored in that a country singer, Wallen, won Top Male Artist for the second year in a row, while a regional Mexican band, Fuerza Regida, won Top Duo/Group for the second year in a row. (These are both all-genre categories.)
This is Wallen’s second win for Top Male Artist, which puts him in a tie with Justin Bieber for second-most wins in the category. Drake leads with three.
This is Fuerza Regida’s second win for Top Duo/Group, which puts them in a tie with Destiny’s Child and Imagine Dragons for second-most wins in this category. BTS and One Direction are tied for the lead, with three wins each.
The inroads that Black artists have made in country music are seen not only in Beyoncé’s win for Top Country Female Artist but also Shaboozey’s win for Top Country Song for “A Bar Song (Tipsy).” His crossover smash has topped Hot Country Songs for 25 weeks.
The blurring lines between country and rock were seen in that artists primarily known as country stars won in rock and hard rock categories. “I Remember Everything” by Zach Bryan featuring Kacey Musgraves won Top Rock Song. Falling in Reverse’s “All My Life” (featuring Jelly Roll, the 2023 CMA winner for new artist of the year) won Top Hard Rock Song.
Two artists managed to win both top album and top song in their respective genres. Jung Kook won Top K-pop Album for Golden and Top Global K-pop Song for “Standing Next to You.” Elevation Worship won Top Christian Album for Can You Imagine? and Top Christian Song for “Praise” featuring Brandon Lake and Chris Brown.
Fun fact: Two artists named Chris Brown were winners. The R&B star won Top R&B Album for 11:11. The Christian artist with the same name won Top Christian Song, as noted above.
Some artists’ wins mark real breakthroughs in their careers. Red Clay Strays won Top Country Duo/Group, beating Zac Brown Band and Treaty Oak Revival. Sleep Token’s Take Me Back to Eden won Top Hard Rock Album, beating Pearl Jam’s Dark Matter, among others. FloyyMenor & Cris MJ’s “Gata Only” won Top Latin Song, beating two hits by Bad Bunny and one by Karol G and Peso Pluma.
Jack Antonoff won Hot 100 Producer. This should give him some consolation for being unexpectedly passed over for a Grammy nod for producer of the year, non-classical.
Luis Miguel won Top Latin Touring Artist, impressively beating Bad Bunny (who won Top Latin Artist and Top Latin Male Artist) and Karol G (who won Top Latin Female Artist).
There are some surprises on the winners list. Teddy Swims’ “Lose Control,” which topped the Hot 100 for a single week in March, won Top Hot 100 Single, beating Shaboozey’s “A Bar Song (Tipsy),” which topped the chart for a record-tying 19 weeks. How is that possible? “Lose Control” was in its 10th week on the Hot 100 on Oct. 28, 2023, the first week of the tracking period. But it had yet to climb above No. 58, so it didn’t lose out on many points. By contrast, “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” entered the chart on April 27, 2024, at which point half of the tracking year was over. A sleeper hit that was on the chart for the entire tracking period beat an instant smash that was on the chart for only half of the tracking period.
Trolls: Band Together won Top Soundtrack, beating Hazbin Hotel: Season One and Twisters, among others. Trolls: Band Together debuted on the Soundtracks chart dated Nov. 4, 2023, a week after the chart year began, and was on the chart every week of the chart year. Hazbin Hotel debuted in February and Twisters in August. Trolls prevailed because of its sustained consistent chart performance over a long period, versus soundtracks with a shorter burst of big activity.
Sabrina Carpenter, who was a finalist for nine awards, didn’t happen to win any, nor did Billie Eilish, Future, Jack Harlow, Luke Combs, Metro Boomin or The Weeknd, each of whom were finalists for four awards.
The tracking period for the 2024 Billboard Music Awards was Oct. 13, 2023, through Oct. 10, 2024, which corresponds to Billboard chart dates from Oct. 28, 2023, through Oct. 19, 2024.
The Billboard Music Awards are produced by Dick Clark Productions, which is owned by Penske Media Corporation. PMC is also the parent company of Billboard.
For the fifth consecutive year, Bad Bunny won Top Latin Artist at the Billboard Music Awards, which aired its 2024 edition Thursday night (Dec. 12).
The Puerto Rican superstar also got the Top Latin Male Artist and Top Latin Album honors, the latter for Nadie Sabe Lo Que Va a Pasar Mañana, which debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 and led the Top Latin Albums chart for 10 weeks since its debut in October 2023.
Following with two awards is Fuerza Regida, which not only won in Top Latin Duo/Group, but also the general Top Duo/Group category, beating international stars such as Blink-182, Coldplay, Linkin Park and K-pop sensation Stray Kids. The San Bernardino, Calif., group placed three titles in the Top Latin Albums top 10 during the eligibility period (Oct. 28, 2023, to Oct. 19, 2024) for this year’s BBMAs, including Pa Las Baby’s Y Belikeada, which peaked at No. 1 and led for three weeks; Dolido Pero No Arrepentido (EP), which reached No. 5; and Pero No Te Enamores, which reached No. 2.
“First of all, we wanna thank all the fans, thank you guys very much, we really appreciate you guys,” said JOP, the band’s leader, accepting both awards during the ceremony. “You know, we’re making history together. We’re the best group right now in the world,” he added, also thanking their label Street Mob Records.
Karol G won Top Latin Female Artist for the third consecutive year. The Colombian superstar triumphed this year on the charts with the merengue hit “Si Antes Te Hubiera Conocido,” which led her to become the first artist since 2014 to dominate the Hot Latin Songs, Latin Airplay and Tropical Airplay charts simultaneously, achieving 22 weeks so far at No. 1 on the latter.
Meanwhile, Luis Miguel won the Top Latin Touring Artist award for his historic 2023-2024 world tour. The trek, which ends Dec. 17 in Buenos Aires, Argentina, was declared the highest grossing Latin tour of all time in September, making more than $300 million in its first 146 concerts.
Newcomer FloyyMenor earned his first BBMA thanks to his mega-hit with Cris MJ, “Gata Only,” the first song by a Chilean artist in 25 years to reach No. 1 on the Hot Latin Songs chart, where it remained at the top for 14 weeks.
“I want to thank my family, my wife, my work team and my brother Cris MJ who couldn’t come, but I send him a big shout-out and a hug,” FloyyMenor said after receiving the trophy. “I feel proud to be Chilean and to represent my country. We’re going to continue carrying the Chilean flag high.” He added that fans can expect an album from him in 2025.
The 2024 Billboard Music Awards were produced by Dick Clark Productions, which is owned by Penske Media Corporation. PMC is also the parent company of Billboard.
Check out the 2024 Billboard Music Awards’ Latin winners (highlighted among the finalists) in the list below.
Top Duo/Group
Blink-182
Coldplay
Fuerza Regida – WINNER
Linkin Park
Stray Kids
Top Latin Artist
Bad Bunny – WINNER
Fuerza Regida
Junior H
Karol G
Peso Pluma
Top Latin Male Artist
Bad Bunny – WINNER
Junior H
Peso Pluma
Top Latin Female Artist
Karol G – WINNER
Shakira
Kali Uchis
Top Latin Duo/Group
Eslabon Armado
Fuerza Regida – WINNER
Grupo Frontera
Top Latin Touring Artist
Bad Bunny
Karol G
Luis Miguel – WINNER
Top Latin Album
Bad Bunny, Nadie Sabe Lo Que Va a Pasar Mañana – WINNER
Fuerza Regida, Pa Las Baby’s Y Belikeada
Grupo Frontera, El Comienzo
Junior H, $ad Boyz 4 Life II
Karol G, Mañana Será Bonito (Bichota Season)
Top Latin Song
Bad Bunny, “Monaco”
Bad Bunny & Feid, “Perro Negro”
FloyyMenor & Cris MJ, “Gata Only” – WINNER
Karol G & Peso Pluma, “QLONA”
Xavi, “La Diabla”
Taylor Swift is turning 35 on Friday (Dec. 13), but she got to celebrate her birthday a little early during the Billboard Music Awards on Thursday night (Dec. 12), when she collected 10 awards. Swift took home the trophies for Top Artist, Top Female Artist, Top Billboard 200 Artist, Top Hot 100 Artist, Top Hot […]
Linkin Park accepts the Top Rock Duo/Group and Top Hard Rock Artist awards at the 2024 Billboard Music Awards. Linkin Park:Top Rock Duo or Group, Top Hard Rock Artist. Thank you so much. We have too many people to thank: our friends, our family, all of our teams and everyone we worked with on this […]
The 2024 Billboard Music Awards took over Fox on Thursday night (Dec. 12), celebrating the music that defined the year.Taylor Swift was the top winner at the 2024 Billboard Music Awards, with 10 wins — bringing her all-time total up to a record-breaking 29 awards. Zach Bryan won five awards during the night, including two wins in country and two in rock, while Morgan Wallen won four awards, bringing his career total to 19.
Bad Bunny, Fuerza Regida and Karol G were big winners in the Latin music realm, winning three, two and one BBMA at this year’s show, respectively.
First-time BBMAs finalists include Teddy Swims, Shaboozey, Benson Boone, Tyla, Tommy Richman, Falling in Reverse, Forest Frank, Junior H, Chappell Roan, ENHYPEN, Muni Long and The Red Clay Strays.
This year’s star-studded performance lineup includes Linkin Pink, Jelly Roll, Megan Moroney, Coldplay, SEVENTEEN, Stray Kids, Shaboozey, Tyla, Swims and Fuerza Regida.
The BBMAs is a celebration of this year’s biggest artists, albums, songs, producers and songwriters across genres, determined by year-end performance metrics on the Billboard charts. The 2024 Billboard Music Awards is presented by Marriott Bonvoy, Marriott International’s travel program and portfolio of more than 30 hotel brands. For more information, visit MarriottBonvoy.com
To celebrate the 2024 Billboard Music Awards, check out some of the best performance and backstage photos from the event below.
The Billboard Music Awards are produced by Dick Clark Productions, which is owned by Penske Media Corporation. PMC is also the parent company of Billboard.
Capping off an enormous comeback year, Linkin Park tore through their hit single “The Emptiness Machine” at the 2024 Billboard Music Awards, which aired on Thursday (Dec. 12) night. The band’s Mike Shinoda and new co-vocalist Emily Armstrong led a sprawling crowd through a sing-along of “The Emptiness Machine,” which Linkin Park debuted on Sept. […]