Photo: Press
It might be unlucky for some but Drake walked away with a 13 – count ‘em – gongs at the Billboard Music Awards last night (may 21), and in the process smashed Adele’s previous record of 12 awards in 2012.
Leaving Adele behind, Drake nabbed the nods for Top Male Artist, Top Rap Tour, Top R&B Song for ‘Once Dance’, Top Hot 200 album for Views and then just plain weird stuff like Top Song Sales Artist, which makes him sound like a double-glazing salesman.
Showing what a good sport he was while doubtlessly wondering about extra shelf space at home, Drake magnanimously declared: "I want to say, hold tight Adele, because when a new thing drops you'll be back to get the record back.”
As previously reported on Gigwise, Drake also became the first artist to hit 10 billion streams on Spotify.
The three-hour award show was hosted by Ludacris and former High School Musical star Venessa Hudgins and featured performances from Miley Cyrus, the Chainsmokers, Nicki Minaj and Imagine Dragons.
Other big winners included Beyonce who won five awards including Top Female Artist, Top Touring Artist and Top R&B for Lemonade – not that she was there to pick them up.
Elsewhere, Justin Timberlake's ‘Can't Stop the Feeling’ won Top Selling Song and Top Radio Song.
The Icon Award for achievement in music was awarded to Cher. The rock and pop veteran performed two of her biggest smashes with ‘Believe’ and ‘If I Could Turn Back Time’.
After accepting her award, Cher said: "I want to thank my mom because when I was really young, my mom said 'You're not going to be the smartest. You're not going to be the prettiest. You're not going to be the most talented, but you're going to be special.’”
