With funnyman Ken Jeong (The Hangover 2) set to host, Cee Lo, Nicki Minaj and Pitbull have been added to the roster of chart-topping performers for THE 2011 BILLBOARD MUSIC AWARDS. Jennifer Lopez, Black Eyed Peas, Rihanna, Keith Urban, Lady Antebellum and Taio Cruz will also take over the stage during the live show on Sunday, May 22 at 8 p.m. ET on CTV (visit CTV.ca to confirm local broadcast times).
Singer, songwriter, producer and two-time Grammy Award-winner Cee Lo Green’s “F*** You!” emerged as an instant hit when it was released in August 2010, charting #2 on the US Billboard Hot 100. Green’s album, The Lady Killer, is currently #2 on Billboard’s R&B Hip Hop Albums charts and #3 on the Digital Albums chart. He recently released his new single, “Bright Lights, Bigger City.” Green also appears as a coach on CTV’s new hit series THE VOICE airing Tuesdays on CTV, Wednesdays on MuchMusic and Saturdays and E! (visit CTV.ca, muchmusic.com and eonline.com to confirm local broadcast times).
Nicki Minaj is a finalist for four Billboard Music Awards, including Top New Artist, Top Rap Artist, Top Rap Album and Top R&B Song. Minaj’s studio album Pink Friday debuted in 2010, breaking into the Billboard 200. Minaj is the first artist to have seven songs in the Billboard Hot 100 at one time and is also the first artist to top the chart unaccompanied since 2002.
International superstar Pitbull was announced as a finalist for three Billboard Music Awards, including Top Latin Artist, Top Latin Song (“Bon Bon”) and Top Radio Song – Usher featuring Pitbull (“DJ Got Us Fallin’ In Love”). Besides playing around the globe, Pitbull has also collaborated with some of music’s biggest stars including Enrique Iglesias, Usher, Shakira and Jennifer Lopez.
THE BILLBOARD MUSIC AWARDS take a holistic look at artist performance based on key fan interactions with finalists and winners determined by chart performance and social and streaming activity as chronicled in Billboard magazine and on Billboard.com, during the eligibility period of February 28, 2010 through March 1, 2011. The 46 award categories are based on measures provided by Billboard’s data partners, including sales data shared by Nielsen SoundScan, radio airplay monitored by Nielsen BDS, streaming data measured by Tubemogul and Nielsen BDS, social media consumption gauged by Next Big Sound and tour grosses tracked by Billboard Boxscore.
THE 2011 BILLBOARD MUSIC AWARDS are co-executive produced by Richard D. Beckman, CEO of Prometheus Global Media, and Don Mischer of Don Mischer Productions.
