Apr 10, 2017 There are more trophies in Drake’s future. The More Life rapper leads the nominees for the 2017 Billboard Music Awards. The 6 God, along with The Chainsmokers, racks up 22 nominations ahead of this year’s May 21 event. Drake is nominated in categories including Top Artist, Top Male Artist, Top Billboard 200 Artist, Top Hot 100 Artist, and Top Songs Sales Artist, among others. He faces off against J. Cole, Desiigner, Future, and Rae Sremmurd for Top Rap Artist. Meanwhile, Views will battle J. Cole’s 4 Your Eyez Only, Kevin Gates’ Isla, DJ Khaled’s Major Key, and A Tribe Called Quest’s We Got It From Here…Thank You For Your Service in the Top Rap Album category. Drizzy also leads the way in some R&B categories. His WizKid and Kyla-assisted “One Dance” is up against his RiRi collaboration “Work” for Top R&B Song. Both tracks will duke it out with Bruno Mars’ “24K Magic,” Rihanna’s “Needed Me,” and The Weeknd’s Daft Punk-assisted “Starboy” for that title. Behind Drake’s 22 nods are Rihanna with 14, The Weeknd with 13, and Beyoncé with 8 nominations. All of these artists are up against one another in the Top Artist category, which also includes Adele, Justin Bieber, Ariana Grande, Shawn Mendes, and Twenty One Pilots. The 2017 Billboard Music Awards are set to air May 21 on ABC. http://www.rap-up.com/2017/04/10/drake-leads-billboard-music-awards-nominations/ Spoiler: Full list of nominations for 2017 Billboard Music Awards TOP ARTIST Adele Beyoncé Justin Bieber The Chainsmokers Drake Ariana Grande Shawn Mendes Rihanna Twenty One Pilots The Weeknd TOP NEW ARTIST Alessia Cara Desiigner Lil Uzi Vert Lukas Graham Zayn BILLBOARD CHART ACHIEVEMENT AWARD PRESENTED BY XFINITY Luke Bryan Nicki Minaj The Chainsmokers The Weeknd Twenty One Pilots TOP MALE ARTIST Justin Bieber Drake Future Shawn Mendes The Weeknd TOP FEMALE ARTIST Adele Beyoncé Ariana Grande Rihanna Sia TOP BILLBOARD 200 ARTIST Beyoncé Drake Prince Twenty One Pilots The Weeknd TOP HOT 100 ARTIST The Chainsmokers Drake Rihanna Twenty One Pilots The Weeknd TOP SONG SALES ARTIST The Chainsmokers Drake Prince Justin Timberlake Twenty One Pilots TOP RADIO SONGS ARTIST Justin Bieber The Chainsmokers Drake Rihanna Twenty One Pilots TOP STREAMING SONGS ARTIST The Chainsmokers Desiigner Drake Rihanna Twenty One Pilots TOP TOURING ARTIST Justin Bieber Beyoncé Coldplay Guns N’ Roses Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band TOP R&B ARTIST Beyoncé Bruno Mars Frank Ocean Rihanna The Weeknd TOP R&B TOUR Beyoncé Lionel Richie Rihanna TOP RAP ARTIST J. Cole Desiigner Drake Future Rae Sremmurd TOP RAP TOUR Drake Future Kanye West TOP GOSPEL ARTIST Jekalyn Carr Kirk Franklin Travis Greene Tamela Mann Hezekiah Walker TOP BILLBOARD 200 ALBUM Beyoncé, Lemonade Drake, Views Rihanna, ANTI Twenty One Pilots, Blurryface The Weeknd, Starboy TOP SOUNDTRACK/CAST ALBUM Hamilton: An American Musical Moana Purple Rain Suicide Squad: The Album Trolls TOP R&B ALBUM Beyoncé, Lemonade Bruno Mars, 24K Magic Frank Ocean, Blonde Rihanna, ANTI The Weeknd, Starboy TOP RAP ALBUM J. Cole, 4 Your Eyez Only Drake, Views Kevin Gates, Isla DJ Khaled, Major Key A Tribe Called Quest, We Got It From Here…Thank You For Your Service TOP R&B SONG Drake Featuring WizKid & Kyla, “One Dance” Bruno Mars, “24K Magic” Rihanna, “Needed Me” Rihanna Featuring Drake, “Work” The Weeknd Featuring Daft Punk, “Starboy” TOP R&B COLLABORATION Drake Featuring WizKid & Kyla, “One Dance” PARTYNEXTDOOR Featuring Drake, “Come and See Me” Rihanna Featuring Drake, “Work” The Weeknd Featuring Daft Punk, “I Feel It Coming” The Weeknd Featuring Daft Punk, “Starboy” TOP RAP SONG Desiigner, “Panda” Drake, “Fake Love” D.R.A.M. Featuring Lil Yachty, “Broccoli” Migos Featuring Lil Uzi Vert, “Bad and Boujee” Rae Sremmurd Featuring Gucci Mane, “Black Beatles” TOP RAP COLLABORATION D.R.A.M. Featuring Lil Yachty, “Broccoli” Zay Hilfigerr & Zayion McCall, “JuJu On That Beat (TZ Anthem)” Machine Gun Kelly & Camila Cabello, “Bad Things” Migos Featuring Lil Uzi Vert, “Bad and Boujee” Rae Sremmurd Featuring Gucci Mane, “Black Beatles” TOP GOSPEL SONG Jekalyn Carr, “You’re Bigger” Tasha Cobbs, Featuring Kierra Sheard “Put A Praise On It” Kirk Franklin, “Wanna Be Happy??” Travis Greene, “Made A Way” Hezekiah Walker, “Better”
