The 2023 Billboard Music Awards finalists have been announced, and among the top hip-hop and R&B leaders are SZA, Drake and The Weeknd.
Drake, the most decorated BBMAs artist of all time with 34 wins, is up for 14 additional awards, including Top Artist, Top Male Artist, Top Billboard 200 Artist and Top Hot 100 Artist.
Recognized in some of the same categories as Drake is SZA, who’s up for 16 awards with 17 entries. She’s also a finalist for Top Female Artist. SZA narrowly follows Taylor Swift, who leads this year as a finalist in 20 categories.
The Weeknd, with 16 entries, is up for 13 awards, five of them for “Die For You,” his song with Ariana Grande. The Weeknd’s collaboration with Metro Boomin and 21 Savage, “Creepin,” received recognition as a finalist in four categories, including Top Hot 100 Song.
This year, the BBMAs have introduced nine new categories, including Top Hot 100 Songwriter, for which SZA and Drake are nominated; Top Afrobeats Artists, which recognizes Burna Boy, Tems and Wizkid, and Top Afrobeats Song.
Other notable finalists include Beyoncé, Chris Brown and Rihanna, who are all up for Top R&B Artist; Lil Baby and Travis Scott, recognized as Top Rap Artist, and Ice Spice, Nicki Minaj and Doja Cat, who nabbed spots on the Top Rap Female Artist list.
The 2023 BBMA finalists were determined by performance of the Billboard charts dated from November 19, 2022, through October 21. The ceremony will be held across the BBMAs and Billboard social media accounts on November 19.
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