Her Campus Logo Her Campus Logo

Music Mondays: 2016 Billboard Music Award Predictions

This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at UFL chapter.

It’s time of year again, folks! Award season is just about over, and it’s ticking down with one of the last award shows of the season – the Billboard Music Awards.

The Billboard Hot 100 and Billboard 200 charts track the most popular songs and albums of each genre, and are generally reviewed as the official charts of music. According to its website, “Billboard Music Awards finalists are based on key fan interactions with music, including album and digital songs sales, radio airplay, streaming, touring and social interactions on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, Spotify and other popular online destinations for music. These measurements are tracked year-round by Billboard and its data partners, including Nielsen Music and Next Big Sound. The awards are based on the reporting period of tracking dates March 23, 2015 through March 17, 2016 and Billboard chart dates April 11, 2015 through April 2, 2016.”

Not to pat myself on the back, but I find myself fairly accurate with award show predictions. And so – on to the next one. (And let’s pray Taylor’s #girlsquad doesn’t make another appearance.)

1. Top Artist:
*Adele*
Justin Bieber
Drake
Taylor Swift
The Weeknd

2. Top New Artist:
*Fetty Wap*
OMI
Charlie Puth
​Silentó
Bryson Tiller

3. Top Male Artist:
*Justin Bieber*
Drake
Fetty Wap
Ed Sheeran
The Weeknd

4. Top Female Artist:
*Adele*
Selena Gomez
​Ariana Grande
Rihanna
Taylor Swift

5. Top Duo/Group:
Maroon 5
*One Direction*
twenty one pilots
The Rolling Stones
U2

6. Top Billboard 200 Artist:
Adele
Justin Bieber
Drake
*Taylor Swift*
The Weeknd

7. Top Hot 100 Artist:
*Justin Bieber*
Drake
Fetty Wap
Taylor Swift
The Weeknd

8. Top Song Sales Artist:
Adele
*Justin Bieber*
Drake
Fetty Wap
The Weeknd

9. Top Radio Songs Artist:
Justin Bieber
Ellie Goulding
Ed Sheeran
*Taylor Swift*
The Weeknd

10. Top Streaming Songs Artist:
*Justin Bieber*
Drake
Fetty Wap
​Silentó
The Weeknd

11. Top Social Media Artist:
Justin Bieber
*Selena Gomez*
​Ariana Grande
Demi Lovato
Taylor Swift

12. Top Touring Artist:
Madonna
One Direction
The Rolling Stones
*Taylor Swift*
U2

13. Top R&B Artist:
Chris Brown
​Jeremih
Rihanna
Bryson Tiller
*The Weeknd*

14. Top Rap Artist:
*Drake*
Fetty Wap
Future
Wiz Khalifa
Silentó

15. Top Country Artist:
Zac Brown Band
*Luke Bryan*
Sam Hunt
Chris Stapleton
Carrie Underwood

16. Top Rock Artist:
Fall Out Boy
Elle King
twenty one pilots
*Walk the Moon*
X Ambassadors

17. Top Dance/Electronic Artist:
The Chainsmokers
DJ Snake
David Guetta
Major Lazer
​*Zedd*

18. Top Billboard 200 Album:
*Adele, 25*
Justin Bieber, Purpose
Ed Sheeran, x
Taylor Swift, 1989
The Weeknd, Beauty Behind The Madness

19. Top Soundtrack:
Empire: Original Soundtrack from Season 1
*Fifty Shades of Grey*
Furious 7
Guardians of the Galaxy: Awesome Mix Vol. 1
Pitch Perfect 2

20. Top R&B Album:
Chris Brown, Royalty
Rihanna, Anti
Bryson Tiller, T R A P S O U L
​Tyrese, Black Rose
*The Weeknd, Beauty Behind The Madness*

21. Top Rap Album:
Drake, If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late
Drake & Future, What A Time To Be Alive
Dr. Dre, Compton
*Kendrick Lamar, To Pimp A Butterfly*
Meek Mill, Dreams Worth More Than Money

22. Top Country Album:
Chris Stapleton, Traveller
Luke Bryan, Kill The Lights
Sam Hunt, Montevallo
Zac Brown Band, Jekyll + Hyde
*Carrie Underwood, Storyteller*

23. Top Rock Album:
Alabama Shakes, Sound & Color
David Bowie, Blackstar
Coldplay, A Head Full Of Dreams
Mumford & Sons, Wilder Mind
*twenty one pilots, Blurryface*

24. Top Dance/Electronic Album:
David Guetta, Listen
Major Lazer, Peace Is The Mission
​ODESZA, In Return
​*Skrillex & Diplo, Skrillex and Diplo Present Jack Ü*
​Zedd, True Colors

25. Top Hot 100 Song:
Adele, “Hello”
Fetty Wap, “Trap Queen”
*Wiz Khalifa ft. Charlie Puth, “See You Again”*
The Weeknd, “Can’t Feel My Face”
The Weeknd, “The Hills”

26. Top Selling Song:
*Adele, “Hello”*
Wiz Khalifa ft. Charlie Puth, “See You Again”
OMI, “Cheerleader”
Rachel Platten, “Fight Song”
The Weeknd, “The Hills”

27. Top Radio Song:
Adele, “Hello”
Wiz Khalifa ft. Charlie Puth, “See You Again”
Mark Ronson Featuring Bruno Mars, “Uptown Funk!”
*Walk the Moon, “Shut Up And Dance”*
The Weeknd, “Can’t Feel My Face”

28. Top Streaming Song (Audio):
*Justin Bieber, “Sorry”*
Justin Bieber, “What Do You Mean”
​Fetty Wap, “Trap Queen”
The Weeknd, “The Hills”
Drake, “Hotline Bling”

29. Top Streaming Song (Video):
​Fetty Wap, “Trap Queen”
*Wiz Khalifa ft. Charlie Puth, “See You Again”*
Mark Ronson Featuring Bruno Mars, “Uptown Funk!”
​Silentó, “Watch Me”
The Weeknd, “The Hills”

30. Top R&B Song:
Alessia Cara, “Here”
​Omarion Featuring Chris Brown & Jhene Aiko, “Post To Be”
*The Weeknd, “Can’t Feel My Face”*
The Weeknd, “Earned It (Fifty Shades of Grey)”
The Weeknd, “The Hills”

31. Top Rap Song:
Drake, “Hotline Bling”
​Fetty Wap, “Trap Queen”
​Fetty Wap, “679” feat. Remy Boyz
​Silentó, “Watch Me”
*Wiz Khalifa ft. Charlie Puth, “See You Again”*

32. Top Country Song:
Sam Hunt, “Break Up In A Small Town”
Sam Hunt, “Take Your Time”
*Little Big Town, “Girl Crush”*
Thomas Rhett, “Die A Happy Man”
Chris Young, “I’m Comin’ Over”

33. Top Rock Song:
Fall Out Boy, “Uma Thurman”
Elle King, “Ex’s & Oh’s”
twenty one pilots, “Stressed Out”
*Walk the Moon, “Shut Up And Dance”*
X Ambassadors, “Renegades”

34. Top Dance/Electronic Song:
The Chainsmokers Featuring ROZES, “Roses”
DJ Snake & AlunaGeorge, “You Know You Like It”
David Guetta feat. Nicki Minaj, Bebe Rexha & Afrojack, “Hey Mama”
Major Lazer & DJ Snake Featuring MØ, “Lean On”
*Skrillex & Diplo, “Where Are Ü Now” with Justin Bieber*

Disclaimer: I eliminated the categories that I had no flyin’ clue who’d win.

While The Weeknd may lead the number of nominations, I think the night will go to Adele, Justin Bieber and/or Taylor Swift. Taylor’s 1989 album just won’t die and she keeps churning out singles; Justin dominated the charts with singles from Purpose; Adele… Well, she’s just Adele. Don’t forget to watch the BBMAs on May 22 at 8/7c on ABC.

Photo credit: latimes.com

Courtney is a third-year journalism major from Jacksonville and could not be more excited to start her first semester with Her Campus. With her love for concerts starting in kindergarten, she's seen almost 100 shows in seven states to date. When she's not daydreaming about Harry Styles, she’s catching up on CBS reality shows, online shopping or chugging sweet tea (and, probably, still daydreaming about Harry Styles).