AWARD WINNERS
For full list of winners, see billboard.com.
Top Artist
Taylor Swift
Top Female Artist
Taylor Swift
Top Male Artist
Sam Smith
Top Billboard 200 Album
Taylor Swift, "1989"
Top Duo/Group
One Direction
Top New Artist
Sam Smith
LAS VEGAS — Taylor Swift dominated the Billboard Music Awards with eight wins, including top artist, while Kanye West was booed during his performance that closed the three-hour event.
Swift also won top Billboard 200 album and top female artist Sunday night.
"This is kind of a graduation for us," Swift said to the audience of top musicians.
West, however, was booed during his smoky performance of "All Day."
Swift kicked off the awards by debuting her action-filled music video for "Bad Blood," which stars Selena Gomez and Lena Dunham and showcases Swift as a fighting vixen.
The video opened with Swift and Gomez fighting men in an office and then fighting each other. It ended with Swift's and Gomez's armies going head to head. Other stars in the clip included Mariska Hargitay, Ellen Pompeo, Jessica Alba and Ellie Goulding, and Hayley Williams of Paramore.
Swift swapped her first two verses with new ones from rapper Kendrick Lamar for "Bad Blood," a song rumored to be about Swift's friendship with Katy Perry.
"I am so excited I got to show the world," Swift told the audience.
One Direction, which recently downsized to four members, won the night's first award for top duo/group.
"There is one more person to share this with, and that's our brother Zayn," Liam Payne said of Zayn Malik, who left the group.
The boy band also won top touring artist.
Iggy Azalea won top rap song for "Fancy," as well as top streaming artist and rap artist.
Hosts Ludacris and Chrissy Teigen offered some jokes Sunday night: The rapper described why he's a good host, namechecking his music and acting credits. Teigen, a model, replied, "And I bang a musician" as her husband, John Legend, stood up.
Legend later won top radio song for his No. 1 hit, "All of Me."
"I have to thank, of course, my beautiful co-host, my lovely wife, Chrissy Teigen," he said. "I am so proud that we won this award together tonight."
Ludacris offered some words about the late B.B. King and his renowned career while the camera panned to a guitar on an empty stage.
Swift was the lead nominee with 14 nominations. Smith, who recently had vocal surgery, didn't attend the show. He won top male artist and wrote his thank you speech on cue cards, which aired via video.
AWARD WINNERS For full list of winners, see billboard.com. Top Artist Taylor Swift Top Female Artist Taylor Swift Top Male Artist Sam Smith Top Billboard 200 Album Taylor Swift, "1989" Top Duo/Group One Direction Top New Artist Sam Smith |