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Taylor Swift Pays Tribute to All the Female Artists Who Inspire Her at the 2018 Billboard Music Awards


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.”

Watch her speech, below:

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.”

Related: Taylor Swift Just Quietly Made a Generous Donation to Sexual Assault Survivors





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2018 Billboard Music Awards: Janet Jackson Accepts the Icon Award With Powerful Performance and Speech


Anyone who has paid the slightest bit of attention to Janet Jackson’s nearly 40-year career already knows that she’s a bona fide icon: Her legacy spans television and music, earning her 35 awards, and she has sold more than 100 million records. At the 2018 Billboard Music Awards on Sunday night (May 20), she further cemented her status in music history by becoming the first black woman ever to accept the Icon Award and delivering an epic performance of some of her greatest hits. (This was her first television performance in nearly a decade, by the way.)

Taking the television stage for the first time in almost nine years, Jackson wowed the crowd with some of her most famous hits of all time. Opening with those famous three words—“Gimme a beat!”—the 52-year-old kicked things off with her legendary “Nasty,“ wearing a full-blown gold ensemble, complete with thigh-high, lace-up gold sneakers, and looking like she never left the stage. After hooking the crowd with “Nasty,” Jackson moved on to the less commercially successful but equally energetic song “Throb,” leaving the energy—and the sexual innuendo—at an all-time high.

If the crowd was at all disappointed that Jackson performed only two of her greatest hits, she made up for it with the triumphant return of Rhythm Nation. She wasted no time in launching into a dance break, proving that her moves are as sharp as ever. Naturally, the crowd and the greater Twitterverse were shook by Jackson’s killer moves, with everyone from Tyra Banks to Andy Cohen dancing out of their seats and tweets firing off at a rapid pace. Take a look:

But the goosebumps didn’t stop when the performance came to an end. Jackson went on to deliver a chills-inducing speech after accepting her award from Bruno Mars, who echoed all of our feelings when he bowed down in her presence.

“I’m deeply humbled and grateful for this award. I believe that for all the challenges, for all our challenges, we live at a glorious moment in history,” Jackson said. “It’s a moment when, at long last, women have made it clear that we will no longer be controlled, manipulated, or abused. I stand with those women—and with those men equally outraged by discrimination, who support us in heart and mind.”

“This is also a moment when our public discourse is loud and harsh,” she continued. “My prayer is that, weary of such noise, we turn back to the source of all calmness. That source, that source is God. Everything we lack, God has in abundance: compassion, sensitivity, patience, and a boundless love. So, again, I want to thank all of you for this honor, and I thank God for giving me the precious energy that lets me live my life as an artist who every single day seeks to expand my capacity to love. Thank you so much.”

Jackson left the stage to the crowd chanting her name. Neither her performance nor her speech will soon be forgotten. See a portion of it, below:

Related: Janet Jackson Appreciation Day Is Gloriously Trending on Twitter





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2018 Billboard Music Awards: Christina Aguilera and Demi Lovato Perform Together


In a meeting of pop-diva royalty, Christina Aguilera and Demi Lovato together debuted their new song, “Fall in Line,” with a performance at the 2018 Billboard Music Awards on Sunday night (May 20).

While the women belted out powerful lyrics—and, of course, their signature runs—they were surrounded by soldiers wearing helmets and marching around the stage. (The singers themselves wore matching black patent leather jackets.) After Aguilera finished singing the introduction, the soldiers walked her down the stage and carried her body around, perhaps alluding to some of the lyrics about control. For the big finale, a large screen in the background showed videos of little girls playing in fields while Aguilera and Lovato knelt together and embraced, touching their heads together in an emotional moment.

PHOTO: Kevin Mazur

2018 Billboard Music Awards - Show

PHOTO: Kevin Winter

2018 Billboard Music Awards - Show

PHOTO: John Shearer

2018 Billboard Music Awards - Show

PHOTO: Ethan Miller

The fiery duet, a soulful anthem that shows off both of their respective vocal powers, features lyrics like “Little girls, listen closely / No one told me, but you deserve to know / That in this world you are not beholden / You do not owe them your body and your soul,” and “I wasn’t made to fall in line.”

Watch their performance, below:

Not only were celebrities like Halsey and Tyra Banks—who mouthed “that was powerful” when the performance was over—living for the collaboration, fans collectively lost their minds for the song’s debut. “Xtina and Demi giving you VOCALS,” one Twitter user wrote. “I can’t believe we all just watched Demi Lovato’s dream come true,” another wrote.

The collaboration, which is featured on Aguilera’s forthcoming album, has been heavily anticipated by fans who know that Lovato has been a huge admirer of Aguilera for years. The song is part of Aguilera’s new album, Liberation, which is due out on June 15. The 37-year-old singer released her first song in six years, “Accelerate,” earlier this month as the first single from the album.

Related: Christina Aguilera Goes Makeup-Free for ‘Paper’ Magazine





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Kelly Clarkson Calls for a 'Moment of Action' for Santa Fe Shooting Victims at Billboard Music Awards


Host Kelly Clarkson kicked off Sunday night’s 2018 Billboard Music Awards on an extremely emotional note. Instead of diving right into the night’s celebration of music and musicians, the singer first called attention to the tragedy of Friday’s school shooting in Santa Fe, Texas, asking the audience and viewers to take action against gun violence instead of simply sending “thoughts and prayers.”

“There’s something I’d like to say about the tragedy Friday at Santa Fe High School,” Kelly said, apologizing for tearing up. “I’m a Texas girl, and my home state has had so much heartbreak over this past year. And once again, y’all, we’re grieving for more kids that have died for just absolutely no reason at all. Tonight, they wanted me to say that, obviously, we want to pray for all the victims and pray for their families. But they also wanted me to do a moment of silence.”

But that’s not enough, Kelly said. “I’m so sick of moments of silence. It’s not working. Like, obviously,” she said. “So why don’t we not do a moment of silence? Why don’t we do a moment of action? Why don’t we do a moment of change? Why don’t we change what’s happening? Because it’s horrible.” She continued, “Mamas and daddies should be able to send their kids to school, to church, to movie theaters, to clubs. You should be able to live your life without that kind of fear.”

“We need to do better,” she continued. “As people, we are failing our children, we’re failing our communities, we’re failing their families. I can’t imagine—I have four children. I cannot imagine getting that phone call or that knock on the door. So instead of a moment of silence, I want to respect them and honor them tonight, y’all. In your community where you live, your friends, everybody, let’s have a moment of action. Let’s have a moment of change.”

On Friday morning, a student opened fire at Santa Fe High School. Nine students and one teacher were killed, and 10 more people were injured in the gunfire. If you want to support the victims and survivors of the shooting, check out a guide to taking action here.





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Billboard Music Awards 2018: Best Looks From the Red Carpet


Any red carpet with a Jennifer Lopez appearance is one worth looking forward to. Now, one where J.Lo, Ariana Grande, Kelly Clarkson, Demi Lovato, and Christina Aguilera are all on the guest list? And Taylor Swift shows up as a surprise? That’s one you can expect to be talking about for days. Such is the case for the 2018 Billboard Music Awards, where all the aforementioned celebrities, plus other very stylish favorites like Dua Lipa and Camila Cabello, served a whole lot of look on Sunday, May 20. (This is Vegas, after all.) From Ciara to Jenna Dewan, catch up on all the best outfits from this year’s Billboard Music Awards red carpet.

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Carrie Underwood Just Dropped the Powerful Music Video for 'Cry Pretty'


Carrie Underwood fans, rejoice: On Sunday night, the singer released the music video for her new single “Cry Pretty.” It’s the second clip she’s put out since injuring her face and wrists. The first one was “The Champions,” which featured vintage footage of Underwood interspersed with images of real-life champions. In “Cry Pretty,” however, Underwood is up front and center.

Cutting between the country star’s public and private lives, the “Cry Pretty” video shows Underwood alone at home crying in her shower and bedroom before going onstage to perform a triumphant rendition of the song in glitter tears. “You can pretty lie and say it’s okay / You can pretty smile and just walk away / Pretty much fake your way through anything / But you can’t cry pretty,” she sings in the video.

Underwood debuted the song in April before performing it at the 2018 ACM Awards—her first public performance since the aforementioned accident. During the awards, her performance garnered a standing ovation, and later on in the evening, she won Vocal Event of the Year with Keith Urban.

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In December, Underwood revealed in a blog post to her fan club that she’d injured her wrist and severely cut her face during a fall outside her home, requiring surgery and “between 40 and 50 stitches” on her face.

“There is also another part of the story that I haven’t been ready to talk about since I have still been living it and there has been much uncertainty as to how things will end up,” she wrote in the post, per People. “It’s crazy how a freak random accident can change your life.”

She also made some promises to her fans in the post. “I am determined to make 2018 amazing and I want to share things with you along the way,” she wrote, per People. It looks like she’s doing that in spades.

Related:

Take an Exclusive Peek at the Work That Goes Into Carrie Underwood’s Tour Wardrobe



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