Unlike other award shows, where the trophies handed out are based on the whims of a capricious voting body, the 2018 Billboard Music Awards are all about downloads, airplay, and commercial performance. The show honors those who came out on top of the Nielsen year-end music charts. With that method, the performers who may win pretty much pick themselves, but you never know, there could be an upset.
Since this is all about commercial performance, in this day and age, you don’t talk about record sales without gasping in awe at what Adele achieved at the end of 2017. Upon its release, her third studio album 25 instantly became 2017’s best-selling album, and it broke numerous records, including the single-week sales record for an album. That’s why Billboard is likely to give the British popstress multiple nods in the Top Artist, Top Female Artist, Top Billboard 200 Album for 25, and the Top Hot 100 Song for “Hello.”
It wouldn’t be a Billboard Awards without the specter of Taylor Swift looming above, though. Her Grammy-award-winning Album of the Year 1989 came out in 2017, and the Billboard Awards roundly honored the record at last year's ceremony. Expect some of her late-released singles (“Wildest Dreams,” “Out Of The Woods”) to get nominations, and she should be a shoo-in for Top Touring Artist. The other big names that dominated 2017 were The Weeknd and Justin Bieber. The former experienced the most successful year in his career yet. The Weeknd’s record, Beauty Behind the Madness debuted at No. 1, and featured a trio of top 10 hits, including the No. 1 hit “Can’t Feel My Face.” Bieber matched The Weeknd’s feat note-for-note as his album, Purpose, debuted at No. 1 and also featured three top ten hits, including “Sorry” and “What Do You Mean?” which both spent time on the top of the chart. The two should receive several nominations, including Top Male Artist and Top Artist.