The Billboard Music Awards finally took place last night (14th), held at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, CA. Initially scheduled for April 29th, but due to the pandemic, the event was ultimately pushed back. While the ceremony itself appeared normal with Kelly Clarkson hosting, you will notice no applause or any reaction was coming from the audience since there wasn’t an audience in attendance. With that being said, there were a few and very few highlights in the rock and metal world at last night’s award ceremony.
Tool won the Top Rock Album for their 2019 record, Fear Inoculum. The group was up against, The Lumineers, Slipknot, Tame Impala, and Vampire Weekend. When it comes to touring, Metallica lost to Elton John for the Top Rock Tour award and lost to P!nk for the Top Touring Artist. In terms of other rock winning categories, winners include Panic! At the Disco, and that’s about it. You can see the full list of winners here.
The event did have an honorable moment remembering the legendary guitarist Eddie Van Halen who passed away last week at 65. The show played a clip of Van Halen performing “Panama” at the 2015 Billboard Music Awards, followed by a shot of a lone Frankenstrat guitar on stage in the spotlight. To continue with the tribute, Kelly Clarkson honored Eddie in the below video:
