The Billboard Music Awards are one of the most prestigious music awards shows that honor outstanding chart performances. The awards are given annually by Billboard magazine. Fans can vote for their favorite artists and songs in different categories online. Here is a guide on how to vote for Billboard awards.
When are the Billboard Awards Held?
The Billboard Music Awards are held every year in May. The award ceremony is broadcast live from Las Vegas. In 2023, the Billboard Music Awards will be held on May 15th at 8pm ET on NBC.
Who Can Vote for Billboard Awards?
Voting for Billboard awards is open to the general public. Anyone can vote for their favorite artists by visiting the Billboard website or Billboard’s Twitter account. There is no age limit or geographic restriction to vote. You just need an internet connection to cast your votes.
How Does the Voting Work?
Billboard allows the public to vote in several categories including Top Artist, Top Female Artist, Top Latin Artist, Top Billboard 200 Album, and Top Selling Song. Voting typically begins in early April every year. There are two ways fans can vote:
- Online voting – Fans can visit the Billboard website during the voting period and select their favorite nominee in each category. The website requires you to login using Facebook or email to submit your votes.
- Twitter voting – During the voting period, fans need to tweet using a category-specific hashtag and the nominee’s Twitter handle. For example, to vote for @ArianaGrande for Top Female Artist, you need to tweet “#ArianaGrande #BBMAsTopFemale” during voting.
Billboard limits the number of votes from a single Twitter account or email address. Online and Twitter votes are calculated together to determine the finalists and winners in each category.
When Does Voting Open and Close?
Voting for Billboard awards typically begins in early April every year. Here are the key dates for Billboard voting:
- Voting opens: April 4, 2023
- Voting closes: April 23, 2023
- Finalists Announced: April 26, 2023
- Billboard Awards: May 15, 2023
Voting is open for about 3 weeks until late April. Make sure to cast your votes during this period to support your favorite artist. After voting closes, Billboard announces the finalists who get to move on to the final award selections.
How Many Times Can You Vote?
For the online voting on Billboard’s website, each fan can vote 10 times per category per day. This limit resets at 12am ET the next day, allowing you to vote up to 10 times again. For Twitter voting, there is a limit of casting 50 tweets per category per day.
Here is an example of the daily voting limits:
- Online votes per category: Maximum 10 votes
- Twitter votes per category: Maximum 50 tweets
Utilize both voting methods each day to maximize your support for chosen artists. Coordinate online and Twitter votes with other fans to improve their chances of winning.
Which Artists are Nominated?
Billboard nominations are based on artist chart performances during the eligibility period. The nominations list includes artists who have placed highly on the Billboard charts for albums and songs. Some of the top artists nominated for 2023 Billboard awards include:
Artist | Categories Nominated |
---|---|
Beyonce | Top Artist, Top Female Artist |
Harry Styles | Top Male Artist |
Taylor Swift | Top Artist, Top Female Artist, Top Selling Song |
Bad Bunny | Top Latin Artist |
Other nominees include artists like Drake, The Weeknd, Doja Cat, Ed Sheeran, and Imagine Dragons. The full list of 2023 Billboard nominations will be revealed later in April once voting opens.
Can Fans Vote on All Categories?
Billboard restricts fan voting to only certain award categories. The categories open for fan voting include:
- Top Artist
- Top New Artist
- Top Male Artist
- Top Female Artist
- Top Duo/Group
- Top Billboard 200 Album
- Top Selling Song
- Top Radio Song
- Top Collaboration
- Top R&B Artist
- Top Rap Artist
- Top Rock Artist
- Top Latin Artist
- Top Dance/Electronic Artist
- Top Christian Artist
Certain awards like Top Streaming Song, Top Touring Artist, and Billboard Chart Achievement Award are not open to fan voting. Those winners are determined by Billboard based on objective data measures.
What Happens After Voting Closes?
After online and Twitter voting concludes on April 23rd, the finalists are announced on April 26th. These finalists are chosen based on a combination of fan votes and Billboard chart data.
In the next stage, winners are determined from the finalist rankings. Fan voting comprising online and Twitter votes accounts for 50% of the criteria. The remaining 50% is based on Billboard chart data such as album and song sales, streaming, radio airplay etc. during the eligibility period.
Weighing fan votes and chart data evenly allows both fan preferences and objective performance measures to determine the winners in each category.
How are Winners Chosen for Non-Voted Categories?
For Billboard award categories not open to fan voting, winners are solely determined based on chart performance from Billboard chart data. The awards team analyzes historical Billboard charts from the eligibility period to assign winners based on metrics like:
- Album sales
- Song downloads
- Radio airplay
- Streaming numbers
- Social media engagement
- Touring revenue
Data for assigned categories like Top Billboard 200 Album and Top Selling Song rely on sales and streaming data. Top Touring Artist and Top Social Artist are based on concert ticket sales and social media activity respectively.
Where Can You Watch the Award Show?
The Billboard Music Awards air live on NBC every year in May at 8pm ET. The 3 hour award ceremony is also streamed online on NBC.com and the NBC app. You can watch the Billboard awards show from home by tuning into NBC on your television.
If you don’t have access to NBC on TV, use your cable provider login credentials to stream the awards on NBC.com. Without cable access, subscribe to a live TV streaming service like YouTube TV, Hulu + Live TV, FuboTV, or DirecTV Stream to view the Billboard awards.
How to Get Involved and Show Your Support
Here are some tips to participate and support your favorite artists and nominees:
- Vote daily during the voting period – Take advantage of the 10 daily online votes and 50 Twitter votes per category.
- Encourage friends and fans to vote – Share voting links and reminders on social media so more people vote.
- Use artist hashtags – Include supportive artist hashtags like #HarryStylesBBMAs in your tweets.
- Watch award show livestreams – Tune in to watch Billboard award performances and winners revealed.
- Comment on social media – Post reactions and congratulatory messages for your favorite artists.
Voting for the 2023 Billboard Music Awards opens on April 4th. Be sure to make your voice heard and support outstanding artists by voting as many times as you can during the voting period.
Conclusion
The Billboard Music Awards offer fans the opportunity to directly influence winners by voting online and on Twitter. During the 3 week voting window in April, you can cast votes across multiple categories for your preferred nominees. Combining fan voting and Billboard chart data allows both public opinion and objective performance to determine the winners.
Check the Billboard website for 2023 nomination announcements and voting links when voting opens on April 4th. Vote daily leading up to the April 23rd cut-off to support your favorite artists. Tune into the Billboard Music Awards on May 15th to see which nominees take home the awards.