Future, Drake and Fetty Wap Among 2016 Billboard Music Award Nominees

The 2016 Billboard Music Awards nominees are out and unsurprisingly, hip-hop’s heavyweights are represented well. Drake and Fetty Wap are both finalists 11 times in 10 different categories, including Top Male Artist and Top Hot 100 Artist. Future is nominated for Top Rap Artist and Top Rap Album for What a Time To Be Alive. The Weeknd leads all artists with 19 nominees in 16 categories.
According to Billboard, the awards finalists are “based on key fan interactions with music, including album and digital songs sales, radio airplay, streaming, touring and social interactions on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, Spotify and other popular online destinations for music. These measurements are tracked year-round by Billboard and its data partners, including Nielsen Music and Next Big Sound. The awards are based on the reporting period of tracking dates March 23, 2015 through March 17, 2016 and Billboard chart dates April 11, 2015 through April 2, 2016.  Since 1940, the Billboard charts have been the go-to guide for ranking the popularity of songs and albums, and are the ultimate measure of a musician’s success.”
Check out the full list of awards and nominees at Billboard.
Hosts Ciara and Ludacris announced the nominees earlier today (April 11) and there was an awkward moment when the duo went through the “Top Rap Artist” category. After naming Drake and Fetty Wap, Ciara paused awkwardly when Future, her ex-boyfriend, popped up on the screen. Following a brief pause, Luda blurted out Future before Ciara continued naming the nominees.