Kelly Clarkson thrills the crowd with electrifying opening act while hosting Billboard Music Awards... and delights Cardi B with cover of I Like It

It was her second time hosting the awards show. 

And Kelly Clarkson made the most of her opportunity on Wednesday night, thrilling the crowd with an electrifying opening medley at the 2019 Billboard Music Awards in Las Vegas, Nevada.

The 37-year-old songstress even impressed Cardi B with a scintillating recreation of her Best Rap Song award winning hit, I Like It.  

Working it: Kelly Clarkson made the most of her hosting opportunity on Wednesday night, thrilling the crowd with an electrifying opening medley at the 2019 Billboard Music Awards in Las Vegas, Nevada

Working it: Kelly Clarkson made the most of her hosting opportunity on Wednesday night, thrilling the crowd with an electrifying opening medley at the 2019 Billboard Music Awards in Las Vegas, Nevada

The American Idol-winning songstress began her hosting duties with a skit that poked fun at her Academy of Country Music Awards mishap earlier this year.

At the event, Kelly was mistaken for a seat filler by security - and she recreated the embarrassing scenario with New England Patriots star Rob Gronkowski playing a guard who again tries to eject her from her seat. 

So Clarkson attempts to prove she's truly the show's host, by busting into a medley of current hits, including songs by BTS and Cardi B.

In fact, her rendition of Cardi's I Like It drew applause from the rap superstar herself as she watched on from her seat.  

The 37-year-old songstress even impressed Cardi B with a scintillating recreation of her Best Rap Song award winning hit, I Like It

The 37-year-old songstress even impressed Cardi B with a scintillating recreation of her Best Rap Song award winning hit, I Like It

She likes it: In fact, her rendition of Cardi's I Like It drew applause from the rap superstar herself as she watched on from her seat

She likes it: In fact, her rendition of Cardi's I Like It drew applause from the rap superstar herself as she watched on from her seat

However 'Gronk' is unmoved and despite her protests that she's the host, Clarkson is dragged away by the NFL star. 

Clarkson wore a host of flattering outfits for her hosting duties.

The Since U Been Gone hitmaker took to the red carpet in a shimmering, high neck black gown.

A thigh-high split revealed her rainbow-strapped stilettos, as well as the singer's shapely gams. 

Dragged out: The American Idol-winning songstress began her hosting duties with a skit that poked fun at her Academy of Country Music Awards mishap earlier this year

Dragged out: The American Idol-winning songstress began her hosting duties with a skit that poked fun at her Academy of Country Music Awards mishap earlier this year

Practical: For her opening medley, Kelly swapped the restrictive gown for a little black dress that allowed her to dance more freely

 Practical: For her opening medley, Kelly swapped the restrictive gown for a little black dress that allowed her to dance more freely

Kelly mixed up high neck dresses with low cut numbers
Kelly rocked a little black dress for her medley
Leggy: Clarkson shows off her gams in dark leggings

Looking good: Clarkson wore a host of flattering outfits for her hosting duties

For her opening medley, Kelly swapped the restrictive gown for a little black dress that allowed her to dance more freely.

She paired the classic LBD with a pair of ankle boots.

The Grammy-winning musical artist wore her wavy blonde tresses loose and cascading across her shoulders for the performance, and she modeled chic black nails courtesy of celebrity manicurist Kim Truong, who used KISS Gel Fantasy Nails to create the look.

'Kelly loves KISS nails for the red carpet because she can quickly switch up her look the very next day,' Kim revealed. 

'She wanted a gel effect black manicure tonight to compliment her sequined red carpet dress and knew it would for sure coordinate with all of her looks throughout the night.' 

Good hair day: The Grammy-winning musical artist wore her wavy blonde tresses loose and cascading across her shoulders for the performance

Good hair day: The Grammy-winning musical artist wore her wavy blonde tresses loose and cascading across her shoulders for the performance

Chart-toppers of all genres will celebrate their success at the Billboard Music Awards tonight.

The performance-heavy honors are set to impress as they take the stage at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.

Kicking off the Kelly Clarkson-hosted festivities, Taylor Swift will regale audiences with a rendition her brand new track ME! besides Panic At The Disco frontman Brendon Urie.

And though she hasn't had an album since 2017's Reputation, the 23-time Billboard winner is also nominated for the Top Female Artist and Top Touring Artist awards tonight.

The Jonas Brothers will serenade the crowd with their ear-worm Sucker while superstar Mariah Carey is set to take the stage to since her classic Always Be My Baby and new track A No No. 

Performer Ariana Grande will not appear in person, but will offer a rendition of her favorite 7 Rings, which was Pre-recorded from the Sweetener World Tour at Rogers Arena in Vancouver.

All that glitters: The Since U Been Gone hitmaker took to the red carpet in a shimmering, high neck black gown

All that glitters: The Since U Been Gone hitmaker took to the red carpet in a shimmering, high neck black gown

Famous friends: The American Idol winner posed on the red carpet with Desperate Housewives star Eva Longoria

Famous friends: The American Idol winner posed on the red carpet with Desperate Housewives star Eva Longoria

Madonna is joining forces with Colombian crooner Maluma for a live performance of their track Medellin. (The star reportedly shelled out $5m of her own money for the lavish performance, according to TMZ.)

Halsey will team up with K-pop hotshots BTS as they grace their second ever Billboards.

And Paula Abdul will perform a medley of her greatest hits as the evening's recipient of The Icon Award.

Also set to hit the stage: Ciara, Lauren Daigle, Dan + Shay, Tori Kelly, Khalid, and Panic! At The Disco.

And there are plenty of trophies to hand out this evening. 

Cardi B has the most nominations, competing 21 times in 18 categories - almost beating Drake and The Chainsmokers records for most noms. 

The Bronx talent will even compete against herself in three categories, as she's up for honors in top Hot 100 song, as well as top selling song, and top collaboration.

Repeat offender: It was Kelly's second time hosting the awards show

Repeat offender: It was Kelly's second time hosting the awards show

Pretty in pink: Clarkson didn't just host, she also performed her song from the movie UglyDolls called Broken and Beautiful

Pretty in pink: Clarkson didn't just host, she also performed her song from the movie UglyDolls called Broken and Beautiful

Picture perfect: Clarkson also looked amazing in this final costume change from her night of hosting

Picture perfect: Clarkson also looked amazing in this final costume change from her night of hosting

Meanwhile, Post Malone and Drake follow close behind with a commendable 17 nominations a piece. Travis Scott joins the elite nominees with 12 nods.

Fans can expect an A-list collection of presenters as well. 

Among the presenters: Asher Angel, Becky G, Chrissy Metz & Justin Hartley, Cobie Smulders, Dave Bautista & Kumail Nanjiani, David Guetta, Erin & Sara Foster, Eva Longoria, Florida Georgia Line, Jennifer Hudson, Jesse Spencer, Julia Michaels, Julianne Hough, Kane Brown, Olivia Wilde, Beanie Feldstein & Kaitlyn Dever, Ralph Macchio, Rob Gronkowski, Ross Lynch & Kiernan Shipka, Sabrina Carpenter, Sophie Turner & Tye Sheridan, Terry Crews and William Zabka.

The Billboard Music Awards will air Wednesday May 1 at 8pm EST on NBC. 

2019 Billboard Awards Winners

ARTIST AWARDS

TOP ARTIST

Cardi B

Drake - WINNER

Ariana Grande

Post Malone

Travis Scott

Drake was a big winner at the awards

Drake was a big winner at the awards

BILLBOARD CHART ACHIEVEMENT AWARD

Dan + Shay

Drake

Ariana Grande - WINNER

Lady Gaga & Bradley Cooper

Dua Lipa

TOP FEMALE ARTIST

Cardi B

Ariana Grande - WINNER

Halsey

Ella Mai

Taylor Swift

TOP BILLBOARD 200 ARTIST

Drake - WINNER

Ariana Grande

Post Malone

Travis Scott

XXXTentacion 

TOP STREAMING SONGS ARTIST

Cardi B

Drake - WINNER

Ariana Grande

Post Malone

XXXTentacion

Though Swift didn't have an album this year, she competed for two honors

TOP RADIO SONGS ARTIST

Cardi B

Drake - WINNER

Ariana Grande

Maroon 5

Post Malone

TOP TOURING ARTIST

Beyoncé & JAY-Z

Bruno Mars

Ed Sheeran - WINNER

Taylor Swift

Justin Timberlake

TOP R&B MALE ARTIST

Khalid

The Weeknd - WINNER

XXXTentacion

Top R&B Female Artist

H.E.R.

Ella Mai - WINNER

Queen Naija

TOP RAP MALE ARTIST 

Drake - WINNER

Post Malone

Travis Scott

TOP RAP TOUR

Beyoncé & JAY-Z - WINNER

Drake

Travis Scott 

TOP COUNTRY ARTIST

Jason Aldean

Kane Brown

Luke Combs - WINNER

Dan + Shay

Florida Georgia Line 

Imagine Dragons won top Rock Artist

Imagine Dragons won top Rock Artist

TOP COUNTRY DUO/GROUP

Dan + Shay - WINNER

Florida Georgia Line

Old Dominion

TOP ROCK ARTIST

Imagine Dragons - WINNER

Lovelytheband

Panic! At The Disco

Queen

Twenty One Pilots

TOP DANCE/ELECTRONIC ARTIST

Calvin Harris

Kygo

Marshmello

Odesza

The Chainsmokers - WINNER

TOP GOSPEL ARTIST

Kirk Franklin

Koryn Hawthorne

Tori Kelly

Tasha Cobbs Leonard - WINNER

Marvin Sapp
 

 

ALBUM AWARDS

TOP BILLBOARD 200 ALBUM

Cardi B 'Invasion of Privacy'

Drake 'Scorpion' - WINNER

Post Malone 'beerbongs & bentleys'

Travis Scott 'ASTROWORLD'

XXXTentacion '?'

TOP R&B ALBUM 

 H.E.R. 'H.E.R.'

Ella Mai 'Ella Mai' 

Khalid 'American Teen'

The Weeknd 'My Dear Melancholy,'

XXXTentacion '17' - WINNER

TOP COUNTRY ALBUM

Jason Aldean 'Rearview Town'

Kane Brown 'Kane Brown'

Luke Combs 'This One's For You' - WINNER

Dan + Shay 'Dan + Shay'

Carrie Underwood 'Cry Pretty'

TOP LATIN ALBUM

Anuel AA 'Real Hasta la Muerte'

Bad Bunny 'X 100PRE'

J Balvin 'Vibras'

Maluma 'F.A.M.E.'

Ozuna 'Aura'   - WINNER

Panic! At The Disco won Top Rock Album

Panic! At The Disco won Top Rock Album

TOP CHRISTIAN ALBUM

Cory Asbury 'Reckless Love'

Lauren Daigle 'Look Up Child'- WINNER

For King & Country 'Burn The Ships'

Hillsong Worship 'There Is More'

Zach Williams 'Chain Breaker'


 

SONG AWARDS

TOP HOT 100 SONG

Cardi B, Bad Bunny & J Balvin 'I Like It'

Juice Wrld 'Lucid Dreams'

Maroon 5 ft. Cardi B 'Girls Like You' - WINNER

Post Malone 'Better Now'

Travis Scott 'SICKO MODE'

TOP STREAMING SONG (Video)

Drake 'In My Feelings' - WINNER

Juice Wrld 'Lucid Dreams'

Maroon 5 ft. Cardi B 'Girls Like You'

Travis Scott 'SICKO MODE'

XXXTentacion 'SAD!'

TOP RADIO SONG

Khalid & Normani 'Love Lies'

Maroon 5 ft. Cardi B 'Girls Like You' - WINNER

Post Malone 'Better Now'

Bebe Rexha & Florida Georgia Line 'Meant to Be'

Zedd, Maren Morris & Grey 'The Middle'

Halsey is a performer and nominee

Halsey is a performer and nominee

TOP R&B SONG

DJ Khaled ft. Justin Bieber, Chance The Rapper & Quavo 'No Brainer'

Ella Mai 'Boo'd Up' - WINNER

Ella Mai 'Trip'

Khalid 'Better'

Lil Dicky ft. Chris Brown 'Freaky Friday' 

TOP COUNTRY SONG

Kane Brown 'Heaven'

Luke Combs 'She Got the Best of Me'

Dan + Shay 'Speechless'

Dan + Shay 'Tequila'

Bebe Rexha & Florida Georgia Line 'Meant to Be' - WINNER

Drake took home a whopping 12 trophies

Drake took home a whopping 12 trophies

TOP LATIN SONG

Bad Bunny ft. Drake 'Mia'

Daddy Yankee 'Dura'

DJ Snake ft. Selena Gomez, Ozuna & Cardi B 'Taki Taki'

Nicky Jam & J Balvin 'X'

Casper Magico, Nio Garcia, Darell, Nicky Jam, Bad Bunny & Ozuna 'Te Bote'  - WINNER

TOP DANCE/ELECTRONIC SONG

DJ Snake ft. Selena Gomez, Ozuna & Cardi B 'Taki Taki'

Calvin Harris & Dua Lipa 'One Kiss'

Marshmello & Bastille 'Happier'

Tiësto & Dzeko ft. Preme & Post Malone 'Jackie Chan'

Zedd, Maren Morris & Grey 'The Middle' - WINNER

 

TOP NEW ARTIST

Bazzi

Juice Wrld - WINNER

Lil Baby

Dua Lipa

Ella Mai

TOP MALE ARTIST

Drake - WINNER

Post Malone

Travis Scott

Ed Sheeran

XXXTentacion 

TOP DUO/GROUP

BTS - WINNER

Dan + Shay

Imagine Dragons

Maroon 5

Panic! At The Disco

TOP HOT 100 ARTIST

Cardi B

Drake - WINNER

Ariana Grande

Juice Wrld

Post Malone

K-pop favorites BTS performed

K-pop favorites BTS performed

TOP SONG SALES ARTIST

Drake - WINNER

Ariana Grande

Imagine Dragons

Lady Gaga

Post Malone

TOP SOCIAL ARTIST

BTS - WINNER

EXO

GOT7

Ariana Grande

Louis Tomlinson

TOP R&B ARTIST

H.E.R.

Khalid

Ella Mai - WINNER

The Weeknd

XXXTentacion

TOP RAP ARTIST

Cardi B

Drake

Juice Wrld

Post Malone

Travis Scott

Cardi B was Top Rap Female, in addition to her five other honors

Cardi B was Top Rap Female, in addition to her five other honors

TOP R&B TOUR

Beyoncé & JAY-Z - WINNER

Childish Gambino

Bruno Mars

TOP RAP FEMALE ARTIST

Cardi B - WINNER

City Girls

Nicki Minaj

TOP COUNTRY MALE ARTIST

Jason Aldean

Kane Brown

Luke Combs - WINNER

TOP COUNTRY FEMALE ARTIST

Maren Morris

Kacey Musgraves

Carrie Underwood - WINNER

TOP COUNTRY TOUR

Luke Bryan

Kenny Chesney - WINNER

Shania Twain

TOP ROCK TOUR

Elton John - WINNER

The Rolling Stones

U2

TOP LATIN ARTIST

Anuel AA

Bad Bunny

J Balvin

Ozuna - WINNER

Romeo Santos

TOP CHRISTIAN ARTIST

Cory Asbury

Lauren Daigle - WINNER

For King & Country

Hillsong Worship

MercyMe

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

TOP SOUNDTRACK

'13 Reasons Why: Season 2'

'A Star is Born' by Lady Gaga & Bradley Cooper

'Bohemian Rhapsody' by Queen

'Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse'

'The Greatest Showman' - WINNER

The late XXXTentacion won Top R&B

The late XXXTentacion won Top R&B 

TOP RAP ALBUM

Cardi B 'Invasion of Privacy'

Drake 'Scorpion' - WINNER

Post Malone 'beerbongs & bentleys'

Travis Scott 'ASTROWORLD'

XXXTentacion '?'

TOP ROCK ALBUM

Dave Matthews Band 'Come Tomorrow'

Imagine Dragons 'Origins'

Mumford & Sons 'Delta'

Panic! At This Disco 'Pray For The Wicked' - WINNER

Twenty One Pilots 'Trench'

TOP DANCE/ELECTRONIC ALBUM

Clean Bandit 'What Is Love?'

David Guetta '7'

Kygo 'Kids in Love'

Major Lazer 'Major Lazer Essentials'

The Chainsmokers 'Sick Boy' - WINNER

 

 

 

 

  

TOP GOSPEL ALBUM 

Snoop Dogg & Various Artists 'Snoop Dogg Presents Bible of Love'

Aretha Franklin 'Gospel Greats'

Koryn Hawthorne 'Unstoppable'

Tori Kelly 'Hiding Place' - WINNER

Jonathan McReynolds 'Make Room'

Tori Kelly was nominated for in the three top Gospel categories

Tori Kelly was nominated for in the three top Gospel categories

TOPS STREAMING SONG (Audio)

Cardi B, Bad Bunny & J Balvin 'I Like It'

Juice Wrld 'Lucid Dreams'

Post Malone 'Better Now'

Travis Scott 'SICKO MODE' - WINNER

XXXTentacion 'SAD!'

TOP SELLING SONG

Cardi B, Bad Bunny & J Balvin 'I Like It'

Drake 'In My Feelings'

Halsey 'Without Me'

Lady Gaga & Bradley Cooper 'Shallow'

Maroon 5 ft. Cardi B 'Girls Like You'- WINNER

TOP COLLABORATION

Cardi B, Bad Bunny & J Balvin 'I Like It'

Khalid & Normani 'Love Lies'

Maroon 5 ft. Cardi B 'Girls Like You'

Marshmello & Bastille 'Happier'

Post Malone ft. Ty Dolla $ign 'Psycho'

TOP RAP SONG

Cardi B, Bad Bunny & J Balvin 'I Like It' - WINNER

Drake 'In My Feelings'

Juice Wrld 'Lucid Dreams'

Post Malone 'Better Now'

Travis Scott 'SICKO MODE'

TOP ROCK SONG

Foster The People 'Sit Next to Me'

Imagine Dragons 'Natural'

Imagine Dragons 'Whatever It Takes'

Lovelytheband 'broken'

Panic! At The Disco 'High Hopes' - WINNER

TOP CHRISTIAN SONG

Cory Asbury 'Reckless Love'

Lauren Daigle 'You Say' - WINNER

For King & Country 'joy.'

Hillsong Worship 'Who You Say I Am'

Tauren Wells 'Known'

TOP GOSPEL SONG

Todd Dulaney 'Your Great Name'

Koryn Hawthorne 'Won't He Do It' - WINNER

Tori Kelly ft. Kirk Franklin 'Never Alone'

Jason Nelson 'Forever'

Brian Courtney Wilson 'A Great Work' 

Dan + Shay are up for six awards at the event


 

 

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Kelly Clarkson thrills the crowd with electrifying opening act while hosting Billboard Music Awards

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