Dion, who made her first live TV gig since her husband Rene Angelil's death, was honored with the Icon Awards while The Weeknd and Adele dominated the complete winner list.
- May 23, 2016
AceShowbiz - Celine Dion had a bittersweet night at the 2016 Billboard Music Awards. Making her first major award show appearance since losing her husband Rene Angelil and brother Daniel Dion earlier this year, the songbird got emotional as she was honored with the Billboard Icon Award during the ceremony which took place at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas Sunday, May 22.
Before receiving the award, she performed a moving cover of Queen's "The Show Must Go On". Looking radiant in a golden gown, she dramatically sang the tune while accompanied by an orchestra and violinist Lindsey Stirling.
Later, she broke down in tears when son Rene Charles joined her on the stage to present her with the Icon Award. "I'm so sorry," she said. "I'm sorry for crying. I want to be so strong for my family and my kids, and ... I don't want to cry in front of you."
"This is such a tremendous honor, of course," Dion told the crowd of her latest achievement. "You know, music has been my passion since before I can almost remember. So many people have helped me get where I am today... Most especially, I wanna thank the fans for traveling through music with me, in good and bad times."
She then thanked everyone including her late husband, whom she believed would "continue to watch over me from up above." She ended her speech by declaring, "The show must go on!"
Dion was hardly the only act who had their career celebrated that night. The BBMAs handed out a bunch of awards to a bunch of musicians who have been dominating the Billboard charts in the past year.
The Weeknd and Adele were among those singers taking home the most BBMAs. The former bagged a total of 8 trophies from multiple categories like Top R&B Artist, Top R&B Album for "Beauty Behind the Madness", Top R&B Song for "The Hils" and Top Streaming Songs Artist.
Adele, meanwhile, was named Top Artist, Top Female Artist and Top Billboard 200 Artist. She also won the Top Billboard 200 Album Award for her records-breaking, multi-platinum selling latest LP "25", and the Top Selling Song Award for its first single "Hello".
Justin Bieber, Wiz Khalifa and Twenty One Pilots were other acts walking away with multiple BBMAs. The Canadian heartthrob nabbed the Top Male Artist and Top Social Media Artist Awards. Khalifa won the Top Rap Song and the Top Hot 100 Song Awards thanks to his collaboration with Charlie Puth, "See You Again". As for Twenty One Pilots, the duo won the Top Rock Artist title and had their "Blurryface" named Top Rock Album.
- Top Artist: Adele
- Top Male Artist: Justin Bieber
- Top Female Artist: Adele
- Top New Artist: Fetty Wap
- Billboard Chart Achievement: Rihanna
- Top Hot 100 Song: Wiz Khalifa feat. Charlie Puth, "See You Again"
- Top Billboard 200 Album: Adele, "25"
- Top Social Media Artist: Justin Bieber
- Top Streaming Songs Artist: The Weeknd
- Top Hot 100 Artist: The Weeknd
- Top Billboard 200 Artist: Adele
- Top Song Sales Artist: The Weeknd
- Top Radio Songs Artist: The Weeknd
- Top Touring Artist: Taylor Swift
- Top Duo/Group: One Direction
- Top R&B Artist: The Weeknd
- Top R&B Album: The Weeknd, "Beauty Behind the Madness"
- Top R&B Song: The Weeknd, "The Hills"
- Top Rap Artist: Drake
- Top Rap Album: Meek Mill, "Dreams Worth More Than Money"
- Top Rap Song: Wiz Khalifa feat. Charlie Puth, "See You Again"
- Top Country Artist: Luke Bryan
- Top Country Album: Chris Stapleton, "Traveller"
- Top Country Song: Thomas Rhett, "Die a Happy Man"
- Top Rock Artist: Twenty One Pilots
- Top Rock Album: Twenty One Pilots, "Blurryface"
- Top Rock Song: Walk the Moon, "Shut Up And Dance"
- Top Dance/EDM Artist: David Guetta
- Top Dance/EDM Album: Zedd, "True Colors"
- Top Dance/EDM Song: Major Lazer & DJ Snake Featuring MO, "Lean On"
- Top Latin Artist: Romeo Santos
- Top Latin Album: Juan Gabriel, "Los Duo"
- Top Latin Song: Nicky Jam & Enrique Iglesias, "El Perdon"
- Top Christian Artist: Hillsong UNITED
- Top Christian Album: Lauren Daigle, "How Can It Be"
- Top Christian Song: Hillsong UNITED, "Oceans (Where Feet May Fail)"
- Top Gospel Artist: Kirk Franklin
- Top Gospel Album: Kirk Franklin, "Losing My Religion"
- Top Gospel Song: Kirk Franklin, "Wanna Be Happy?"
- Top Soundtrack: "Empire" Original Soundtrack from Season 1
- Top Selling Song: Adele, "Hello"
- Top Radio Song: Walk the Moon, "Shut Up and Dance"
- Top Streaming Song (Audio): The Weeknd, "The Hills"
- Top Streaming Song (Video)" Silento, "Watch Me"