It’s been a minute since we’ve had a red carpet worth obsessing over. That’s why so many eyes are on the 2019 Billboard Music Awards, taking place in Las Vegas. Yes, Taylor Swift will be performing her new single, “ME!” for the first time. Yes, Kelly Clarkson is set to host. Yes, artists like Cardi B, Ariana Grande, and Lady Gaga are up for awards. But really, we’re just excited for some good old red carpet fashion. And your favorites—including Clarkson, Ciara, and Sabrina Carpenter—delivered. It wasn’t just music stars serving some serious looks on the red carpet: Olivia Wilde, Beanie Feldstein, Chrissy Metz, and even all three J Sisters were in attendance, and their outfits can’t be missed.
Ahead, catch up on all the best fashion moments from the 2019 Billboard Music Awards.
The aesthetic of Taylor Swift’s new era is crystal clear: She’s all about pastel colors, sparkles, and having F-U-N. Those elements were certainly front and center in her performance of “ME!”, which kicked off the Billboard Music Awards 2019 on May 1.
Earlier in the night, Swift walked the red carpet in a ruffled Raisa Vanesa number (again, very Taylor Swift New Era—down to the butterfly ring):
For the performance of “ME!”, though, she changed into a sequin one-shoulder dress and powder blue boots. But that wasn’t the only lewk on stage: Swift brought along a full marching band dressed in pink, dancers in colorful suits and briefcases (like in the song’s music video), and Panic! at the Disco’s Brendon Urie in a suit so gorgeous I could see Villanelle wearing it on Killing Eve. See for yourself, below:
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The whole thing felt very similar in tone to the music video, with one exception: Swift notably changed “spelling is fun!” to “Vegas is fun!” (The Billboard Music Awards took place in Las Vegas.) Like I said, New Taylor is all about having fun. Here’s a clip:
That said, not everyone was feeling Swift’s performance—or, more specifically, her use of that marching band. Beyoncé fans took to Twitter to complain that Swift had copied Bey’s 2018 Coachella set which was featured in the behind-the-scenes documentary Homecoming.
Others, however, felt the performances are two different things and shouldn’t be compared.
“It’s been so much fun and putting out this song and video has been really, really exciting and just a really joyful experience,” Swift recently told Zane Lowe on Beats 1 on Apple Music about this chapter of her career. “And it’s been like, you know the video’s like a magical-like, whimsical, mystical world. So it’s kind of been amazing to see the fans pick out little Easter eggs. And I just feel really grateful.”
She continued, “This new music is much more playful and actually inward facing. Like when you get into this album, it’s much more about me as a person, no pun intended with the song title.”
This post has been updated to include the Twitter debate around Swift’s performance.
We have to say, the Kardashian-Jenners aren’t exactly known for their subtlety when it comes to gift-giving, especially on birthdays. Cases in point: the infrared sauna Kendall Jenner got from her sisters, the $250,00 Ferrari Kylie Jenner reportedly gifted momager Kris. And Kylie went all-out again for her boyfriend Travis Scott’s upcoming birthday. The rapper turns 28 on Tuesday, and Kylie celebrated early by scrapping the normal birthday card and getting him a massive billboard instead, which is currently displayed at the intersection of Santa Monica and La Cienega—one of the busiest parts of West Hollywood, naturally.
The sign features a photo of the couple’s 1-year-old daughter, Stormi Webster, and includes a message from both the baby and Kylie. “Happy birthday Daddy,” the text on the billboard reads. “Love, Mommy and Stormi XO.”
Photo by gotpap/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images
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This is, after all, the woman who basically built an entire theme park for Stormi’s first birthday. “Elaborate” doesn’t even begin to describe that party: Kylie commissioned hot air balloons, a butterfly rainbow forest, a live Baby Shark performance, a gift shop stocked with Stormi World merch, and a giant inflatable replica of the baby’s head.
But the billboard isn’t all she got Scott: Earlier in the week, Kylie had thrown an Avengers: Endgame screening party that seemed to double as another b-day bash for Scott. She reportedly decorated the Thousand Oaks Cinépolis Luxury Cinema in balloons with the word “husband” on them, and also got the whole family into their best Avengers costumes for the occasion. She even got a cake with a picture of Scott dressed as Iron Man. “oh you didn’t catch iron flame and captain lip kit in the credits? sucks 4 you,” she captioned photos of she and Scott in their Avengers get-ups.
It already feels like she went pretty hard with the planning, but there are still three days left until Scott’s actual birthday, so there might be more to come.
What kind of things do you like to do with your grandma—bake cookies, share stories, maybe hit some holiday sales? Well, when you’re Ariana Grande hanging out with her gran, things apparently get kicked up a notch.
But Nonna? This was her first time, and Ariana documented the trip on her Instagram Stories. The Grande matriarch was so chill about the whole thing: She opted for a very sweet tribute to her late husband Frank and had his nickname “Ciccio” tattooed onto her left ring finger (ouch). When the singer asked Nonna how she was feeling about the process, she calmly replied, “I feel fine. I’ve had a little bit more excitement than this.” At one point she even joked, “You don’t know what pain is!”
Fans on social media went nuts for for the bonding moment.
“Ariana holding nonna’s hand while she’s getting her first tattoo is the sweetest thing ever please,” one wrote. “Also I CANT BELIEVE NONNA GOT A TATTOO OMG but it’s so cute and i love it,” said another.
Ariana also got some new ink that night on the top of her hand. New York tattoo artist Mira Mariah shared a photograph of the celestial art on her own Instagram writing, “☀️? for the woman of the year.”
As far as whether Nonna’s caught the tattoo bug…we’ll definitely keep you posted if she and Ariana head out for matching ink sometime soon.
Can you think of another artist who’s had a year filled with more ups and downs—professionally and personally—than Ariana Grande? Because I certainly can’t. From the record-breaking success of “Thank U, Next” to her whirlwind romance with Pete Davidson, the singer has been through it. But at least she’s closing the year out on a high—with a Woman of the Year award at Billboard’s Women In Music event, which she accepted tonight (December 6).
Grande didn’t hold back her signature candor in her speech, either. After thanking her team, she went on to open up about what this honor means to her. “I find it interesting that this has been one of the best years of my career and the worst of my life,” she said as she took the stage. “I’m not saying that for sympathy. I’m just saying that because I feel like a lot of people would look at someone in my position right now, I guess…an artist that could be at her peak…and think, ‘She’s really got her shit together, you know? She’s really on it. She’s got it all.’ And I do, but as far as my personal life goes, I really have no idea what the fuck I’m doing.”
PHOTO: Kevin Mazur
She continued, “It’s been a very conflicting one, and I just want to say that if you’re someone out there who has no idea what this next chapter is going to bring, you’re not alone in that.”
Grande may not know her next chapter yet, but she’s feeling hopeful about it. “I’m really looking forward to embracing whatever happens and whatever comes my way,” she said. “I’m really grateful for my friends and family, I love you guys so much. I’m really grateful for music.”
And true to the message of “Thank U, Next,” Grande wants to keep putting herself—not the men she dates—first. “I look forward to hopefully learning to give some of the love and forgiveness that I’ve given away so frivolously and easily to men in the past to myself, hopefully, this year,” she said. “I have everything I’ve ever dreamt of having, and as of late I’ve discovered that it’s the things I’ve always had and the people I’ve always had that still make me the happiest.”
Taylor Swift has been missing in action from the awards show scene in recent years, so her surprise appearance at the 2018 Billboard Music Awards was noteworthy in and of itself. And as soon as she took her seat in the front row (in between bestie Camila Cabello and Shawn Mendes), it was as if she never left: Swift resumed her corny dance moves, shameless lip-synching, and award-winning habits in no time—and delivered a moving speech that honored female artists both past and present. All in a night’s work.
When Swift took the stage to accept the Billboard Music Award for Top Female Artist—her 22nd BBMA, the most in Billboard history—she used the opportunity to honor her fellow female artists rather than her own successes.
“I haven’t been to an awards show in a few years and it is so nice to be here tonight,” Swift began her acceptance speech. “And it is so nice to receive female artist. I’m on an all-female artist stadium tour right now, so I have to start out by saying thank you to my tour mates Charli XCX and Camila Cabello.” (Insert sweet bestie moment with Cabello standing, cheering, and waving for her “Reputation” tour mate.)
Swift then went on to pay tribute to the women artists of the past, present, and future, thanking them for trailblazing a path and providing inspiration for herself and countless others. “I want to thank all the artists, all the female artists who paved the way for us to get to do what we do, the way we get to do it,” she said. “All the new artists, the new female artists, who are killing it right now—we are so inspired by you. And shoutout to the future female artists who just picked up a guitar and learned how to play piano.”
Later in the night, after she won Top Selling Album, Taylor thanked her fans. “You guys, when I started writing songs when I was 12, I started writing songs because it made me feel more understood,” she said. “When I was making Reputation, this album, for a while there I was feeling really misunderstood by a lot of people. So I want to say to the fans, thank you for continuing to show up. We just started our tour last week and the ways that you’ve cared about me and the ways that you’ve treated me—thank you for making me feel understood again.”
