Billboard Music Awards 2023 Teams Up With Spotify For First-of-Its-Kind Experience

The 2023 Billboard Music Awards is bringing a different kind of party this year! 

On Thursday, Dick Clark Productions and Billboard announced that this year’s annual awards show will be a first-of-its-kind collaboration with Spotify Fans First, aiming to bring fans up close and personal with their favorite artists. According to a press release, the reimagined show will give fans a fresh award show concept that promises to “entertain fans with hours of music and exclusive content, including winner celebrations, behind-the-scenes moments, and performances created by the world’s biggest chart-topping artists.”

When the festivities kick off on Sunday, Nov. 19, the BBMAs will roll out performances and awards across BBMAs and Billboard social channels, as well as via BBMAs.watch. Performances and award celebrations will take place in global locations, in the midst of sold-out tours, and in custom venues – all with bespoke BBMAs creative. 

Celebrities won’t be the only ones getting the star treatment that night. The collaboration between Billboard and Spotify will introduce a “golden ticket” given to fans who have consumed the most hours of music over the past year and helped drive their favorite artists to the top spots on the Billboard charts. These golden tickets will earn fans access to attend a once-in-a-lifetime performance curated by their favorite artists, expressly for the BBMAs.

“We’ve heard the fans loud and clear, and we’re excited to meet them where they are, and everywhere they want to consume music and content,” said Maddy Mesevage, SVP, Marketing. “This year’s show is an epic celebration of the fans who propelled their favorite artists to the top of the Billboard charts. To thank them, we are thrilled to work with Spotify and the artists themselves to offer their most loyal fans an experience they’ll never forget.”

Finalists and performers for this year’s BBMAs will be revealed in the coming weeks.

Last year, the BBMAs lit up the MGM Grand Garden Arena as some of the biggest names in music came together for a performance-filled night of fun and celebration.

Sean “Diddy” Combs took over hosting duties for the show, and charismatically led a fun show filled with impressive musical numbers, stirring acceptance speeches and some truly unexpected surprises.

Some of the night’s most memorable moments include Diddy kicking things off with a star-packed musical medley featuring himself, his son Justin Combs, Bryson Tiller, Jack Harlow, Teyana Taylor and her daughter, Junie.

Megan Thee Stallion wowed the Billboard audience with her fiery performance of “Plan B,” and gave fans a taste of her and Dua Lipa’s hit, “Sweetest Pie.”

Mary J. Blige was honored with the prestigious ICON award, which she was presented by Janet Jackson, and the music superstar reflected on the true meaning of an “icon” and how hard she’s worked to achieve the status.

“The way the world is now, I think people think icons are born that way, that they become a legend overnight, but that is definitely not the case. It takes a lot of time, hard work, and a lot of surviving, trial and error, to achieve greatness,” she shared, later adding, “The message of my music has always been that we are not alone in our struggles and I’m not alone now. For so long I was searching for real love, but I finally found my real love — and that real love is me.”

For more on the big winners at last year’s show, check out the full list here! The BBMAs will roll out performances and awards across BBMAs and Billboard social channels, as well as via BBMAs.watch on Sunday, November 19.

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