It’s spring, which means the second batch of award shows are upon us. The MTV Movie Awards, Radio Disney Music Awards, mtvU Woodie Awards, and the ACMs all air in the spring, but my personal favorite is the Billboard Music Awards. The show first aired in 1989 and aired annually until 2006.

   For unknown reasons, the show was off air from 2007 to 2010, and returned with a bang in 2011 to be an annual event once again. The award winning artists, albums, and songs are determined by end of the year chart performance, which in turn is determined by three factors: Nielsen data sales, number of downloads, and total airplay.

High honors such as Artist of The Decade, which Mariah Carey won for the 90s and Eminem won for the 2000s, the Billboard Millennium Award, which Beyoncé won in 2011 and the late Whitney Houston won in 2012, and the Milestone Award, which was given to Justin Bieber in 2013 are all featured on the show. This year’s show will be nothing short of spectacular as it has been an awesome year for music.

     This year’s confirmed performers are Luke Bryan, Jason Derulo, Imagine Dragons, John Legend, and OneRepublic. This is a solid lineup as Imagine Dragons and OneRepublic have already demonstrated that they can rock awards shows.

John Legend is sure going to please after his iconic performance in 2012 with Jordin Sparks. Jason Derulo will likely perform “Talk Dirty To Me,” as that is his biggest hit at the moment.

Though  I’m not a big fan of country, I think Luke Bryan is an excellent performer, though no performance can top Beyoncé’s “Run The World (Girls)” at the 2011 Billboard Music Awards.

   The categories cover many genres such as Country, Pop, R&B, Rock, Rap, Dance/Electronic, Latin, and Christian/Gospel. There are other awards such as Top Hot 100 Artist, Top Streaming Artist, and Top Social Artist. Janet Jackson currently holds the title of most wins with 33 wins.

This year Imagine Dragons and Lorde are tied for the most nominations (12), Justin Timberlake with 11, Katy Perry with 10, Miley Cyrus with 9, and Macklemore & Ryan Lewis with 8. Beyoncé’s Beyoncé, Lana Del Rey’s Born To Die, Zedd’s Clarity, Lady Gaga’s Artpop, and Eminem’s The Marshall Mathers LP 2 are nominated for various awards.

The biggest songs on the charts such as Pitbull’s and Kesha’s “Timber,” Miley’s ‘Wrecking Ball,” and “Drunk In Love” by Beyoncé and Jay Z are nominated for awards as well.
The Milestone Award is being presented for a second time and fans can vote for the winner. The nominees are Carrie Underwood, Imagine Dragons, John Legend, Luke Bryan, Ellie Goulding, and OneRepublic.

Here are my predictions:

Artist of the Year: It will either be Justin Timberlake or Miley Cyrus.
New Artist of the Year: I’ll be rooting for Ariana Grande, but Lorde will most likely win.
Top Male Artist: Justin Timberlake
Top Female Artist: Beyoncé
Top Billboard 200 Artist: Either Justin Timberlake or Beyoncé
Top Hot 100 Artist: Miley Cyrus
Top Duo/Group: Macklemore & Ryan Lewis
Top Touring Artist: Beyoncé
Top Radio Songs Artist: Lorde
Top Radio Song: “Royals”
Top Digital Songs Artist: Miley Cyrus
Top Digital Song: “Roar”
Top Social Artist: Justin Bieber
Top Streaming Artist: Miley Cyrus
Top Streaming Song(Audio): “Blurred Lines”
Top Streaming Song(Video): “Wrecking Ball”
Billboard Milestone Award: Imagine Dragons
Top Billboard 200 Album: Beyoncé
Top Christian Artist: Skillet
Top Christian Song: “Overcomer”
Top Christian Album: Rise
Top Country Artist: Florida Georgia Line
Top Country Song: “Cruise”
Top Dance/Electronic Artist: Either Zedd or Avicii
Top Dance/Electronic Song: “Clarity”
Top Dance/Electronic Album: Clarity
Top R&B Artist: Beyoncé
Top R&B Song: Either “Drunk In Love” or “Happy”
Top R&B Album: Beyoncé
Top Rap Artist: Eminem
Top Rap Song: “Timber”
Top Rap Album: Either The Marshall Mathers LP 2 or The Heist
Top Rock Artist: Imagine Dragons (though I would love for Fall Out Boy to win)
Top Rock Song: “Radioactive”
Top Rock Album: Night Visions