Tonight’s 2022 Billboard Music Awards promise a diverse lineup of performances, from soul throwbacks Silk Sonic to Latin pop star Becky G to onetime country pariah Morgan Wallen.
This year’s edition of the show, hosted by Sean “Diddy” Combs and beamed in from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, will bring stage turns from Florence + The Machine, Latto, Megan Thee Stallion, Ed Sheeran (joining from his concert in Belfast, Northern Ireland) and, making his first award show appearance since the Astroworld tragedy last fall, Travis Scott.
Unlike its celebratory peers, the Billboard Music Awards aren’t based on subjective voting by music industry insiders or even fans, but are grounded in hard numbers – specifically, performance on the Billboard charts, including album and digital song sales, streaming and radio airplay .
Now, about those performances:
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Megan Thee Stallion, ‘Plan B’ and ‘Sweetest Pie’
Looking sexy in a black leotard that showcased her sleek figure, Megan Thee Stallion self-censored herself as she unspooled her female empowerment anthem, “Plan B.” To support her lyrical theme, she turned her nearly bare booty toward the crowd while grinning over her shoulder. Megan Thee Stallion propelled her rhymes into overdrive for “Sweetest Pie,” which included a pack of dancers, fireworks and the rapper flicking her long black hair off her shoulder as she pitched an unspoken attitude from the stage.
Morgan Wallen, ‘Don’t Think Jesus’ and ‘Wasted on You’
Set up on a square stage in the middle of the arena, Wallen – seemingly forgiven for getting caught uttering a racial slur on video in 2021 – opted for a stripped-down approach and a lyrically pointed first song. Surrounded by his four-piece band, Wallen strummed an acoustic guitar and turned up the twang as he belted the chorus of “Don’t Think Jesus,” which includes the lyrics, “World likes to rear back and throw a few stones / So boy wants to throw a few stones of his own / But Lord knows I ain’t perfect.” Wallen leaned into the gritty qualities of his voice for his second offering, “Wasted on You,” a double-platinum hit from his “Dangerous: The Double Album,” which has led Billboard’s top country albums chart for a record-breaking 55 weeks.
Latto, ‘Big Energy’
A noteworthy export from the hip-hop mecca of Atlanta, Latto, joined by a sextet of dancers, rap-sung her Tom Tom club-sampling No. 1 R&B-hip-hop hit with snarling attitude. But there was no denying how much fun Latto was having as she twerked and twisted, headbanging her wavy mane of hair in rhythm with the pyro popping behind her. For those unfamiliar with the upstart born Alyssa Stephens, it was a star-making performance.
Miranda Lambert and Elle King, ‘Drunk (And I Don’t Wanna Go Home)’
The primal drumbeat that fuels this scorcher from a couple of vocal powerhouses set the tone, and Lambert and King rode its strutting force. Their performance survived a wobbly opening verse, but by the chorus, both women – coordinated in black pantsuits decorated in blue fringe, flames and stars – fell into the spirit of the song, singing full throttle like it was 2 am in a grimy pool hall .
Florence + The Machine, ‘My Love’
The always enigmatic Florence Welch stepped onstage shrouded in dry ice, her waist-length auburn hair and flowing cream-colored dress as captivating as her dramatic unveiling of “My Love.” Twirling across a stage dotted with pieces of paper that looked like letters (love notes, perhaps?), Welch was a striking vision under a halo of red lighting as she performed a slightly rootsier version of the disco-inflected song from new album “Dance fever.”
Rauw Alejandro, ‘Cúrame’ / ‘Museo’ / ‘Todo De Ti’
The Puerto Rican hitmaker known as the “king of modern reggaeton” eased into his trio of songs, sitting pensively during the ballad “Cúrame” in front of a tree with a lighted trunk. But within moments, a phalanx of dancers joined him to nimbly step through “Museo” and “Todo De Ti” around a jungle gym of steel cubes. Alejandro, who performed on the BBMAs for the first time, is not only a smooth singer, but also an impressively lithe dancer.
Silk Sonic, ‘Love’s Train’
In their now-trademark wide-lapel, rust-colored suits, Bruno Mars, Anderson .Paak and the rest of Silk Sonic made their BBMAs debut with pelvic thrusts and Temptations-styled dancing with their backup singers. “Love’s Train” is another comfortable submission from their throwback project, filled with finger snaps, smooth grooves and enough room for Mars to engage in fist-clenching reaches for the sky – and his splendid high notes from him.
Diddy featuring Bryson Tiller and Jack Harlow, ‘She Don’t Want It’ / ‘First Class’ / ‘Mo Money, Mo Problems’
The opening segment featured host Diddy dancing on the main stage before clearing the way for Bryson Tiller gliding through “She Don’t Want It.” The R&B star shared a few verses and ceded the stage to Jack Harlow, who took over the spotlight with “First Class,” his latest single from new album “Come Home the Kids Miss You.” But Diddy isn’t one to stay on the sidelines and soon reappeared in the middle of the MGM Grand Garden Arena to bust a few lines of “Mo Money, Mo Problems,” the 1997 smash popularized by the late Notorious BIG, who would have turned 50 on May 21.
