Melissa McCracken thought everyone associated colors with music the same way she did. But she soon realized that her senses were unique. The Kansas City-based artist is a synesthete, and she is able to translate sound into vivid paintings. Talk about seeing the world in a different light.
Drake, The Chainsmokers, Rihanna, Beyonce & The Weeknd Lead Billboard Music Awards Nominations
The 2017 Billboard Music Awards nominations have been announced, with Drake and The Chainsmokers lead the pack with 22 nominations. Twenty One Pilots follows with 17 nominations, Rihanna with 14, The Weeknd with 13 and Beyonce with 8.
The Billboard Music Awards will air on May 21 at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.
See the full list of nominations below.
Billboard Music Awards nominees are based on key fan interactions with music, including album and digital songs sales, streaming, radio airplay, touring and social engagement. 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 March 18, 2016 through March 16, 2017.
Top Artist:
Adele
Beyonce
Justin Bieber
The Chainsmokers
Drake
Ariana Grande
Shawn Mendes
Rihanna
Twenty One Pilots
The Weeknd
Top New Artist:
Alessia Cara
Desiigner
Lil Uzi Vert
Lukas Graham
Zayn
Billboard Chart Achievement Award Presented by Xfinity:
Luke Bryan
Nicki Minaj
The Chainsmokers
The Weeknd
Twenty One Pilots
Top Male Artist:
Justin Bieber
Drake
Future
Shawn Mendes
The Weeknd
Top Female Artist:
Adele
Beyonce
Ariana Grande
Rihanna
Sia
Top Duo/Group:
The Chainsmokers
Coldplay
Florida Georgia Line
Guns N’ Roses
Twenty One Pilots
Top Billboard 200 Artist:
Beyonce
Drake
Prince
Twenty One Pilots
The Weeknd
Top Hot 100 Artist:
The Chainsmokers
Drake
Rihanna
Twenty One Pilots
The Weeknd
Top Song Sales Artist:
The Chainsmokers
Drake
Prince
Justin Timberlake
Twenty One Pilots
Top Radio Songs Artist:
Justin Bieber
The Chainsmokers
Drake
Rihanna
Twenty One Pilots
Top Streaming Songs Artist:
The Chainsmokers
Desiigner
Drake
Rihanna
Twenty One Pilots
Top Social Artist:
Justin Bieber
BTS
Selena Gomez
Ariana Grande
Shawn Mendes
Top Touring Artist:
Justin Bieber
Beyonce
Coldplay
Guns N’ Roses
Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band
Top R&B Artist:
Beyonce
Bruno Mars
Frank Ocean
Rihanna
The Weeknd
Top R&B Tour:
Beyonce
Lionel Richie
Rihanna
Top Rap Artist:
J. Cole
Desiigner
Drake
Future
Rae Sremmurd
Top Rap Tour
Drake
Future
Kanye West
Top Country Artist:
Florida Georgia Line
Blake Shelton
Keith Urban
Chris Stapleton
Jason Aldean
Top Country Tour:
Luke Bryan
Kenny Chesney
Dixie Chicks
Top Rock Artist:
Coldplay
The Lumineers
Metallica
Twenty One Pilots
X Ambassadors
Top Rock Tour:
Coldplay
Guns N’ Roses
Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band
Top Latin Artist:
J Balvin
Juan Gabriel
Los Plebes Del Rancho De Ariel Camacho
Maluma
Nicky Jam
Top Dance/Electronic Artist:
The Chainsmokers
Calvin Harris
Major Lazer
DJ Snake
Lindsey Stirling
Top Christian Artist:
Lauren Daigle
Hillsong Worship
Hillary Scott & the Family
Skillet
Chris Tomlin
Top Gospel Artist:
Jekalyn Carr
Kirk Franklin
Travis Greene
Tamela Mann
Hezekiah Walker
Top Billboard 200 Album:
Beyonce, Lemonade
Drake, Views
Rihanna, Anti
Twenty One Pilots, Blurryface
The Weeknd, Starboy
Top Soundtrack/Cast Album:
Hamilton: An American Musical
Moana
Purple Rain
Suicide Squad: The Album
Trolls
Top R&B Album:
Beyonce, Lemonade
Bruno Mars, 24K Magic
Frank Ocean, Blonde
Rihanna, Anti
The Weeknd, Starboy
Top Rap Album:
J. Cole, 4 Your Eyez Only
Drake, Views
Kevin Gates, Isla
DJ Khaled, Major Key
A Tribe Called Quest, We Got It From Here…Thank You For Your Service
Top Country Album:
Jason Aldean, They Don’t Know
Florida Georgia Line, Dig Your Roots
Blake Shelton, If I’m Honest
Chris Stapleton, Traveller
Keith Urban, Ripcord
Top Rock Album:
The Lumineers, Cleopatra
Metallica, Hardwired…To Self Destruct
Radiohead, A Moon Shaped Pool
Red Hot Chili Peppers, The Getaway
Twenty One Pilots, Blurryface
Top Latin Album:
J Balvin, Energia
CNCO, Primera Cita
Juan Gabriel, Los Duo 2
Juan Gabriel, Vestido De Etiqueta: Por Eduardo Magallanes
Los Plebes del Rancho de Ariel Camacho, Recuerden Mi Estilo
Top Dance/Electronic Album:
The Chainsmokers, Bouquet
The Chainsmokers, Collage
Flume, Skin
Kygo, Cloud Nine
Lindsey Stirling, Brave Enough
Top Christian Album:
Casting Crowns, The Very Next Thing
Lauren Daigle, How Can It Be
Joey + Rory, Hymns
Hillary Scott & The Family, Love Remains
Skillet, Unleashed
Top Gospel Album:
Tamela Mann, One Way
Kirk Franklin, Losing My Religion
Travis Greene, The Hill
Tasha Cobbs, One Place: Live
Hezekiah Walker, Better: Azusa – The Next Generation 2
Top Hot 100 Song:
The Chainsmokers Featuring Halsey, “Closer”
The Chainsmokers Featuring Daya, “Don’t Let Me Down”
Drake Featuring WizKid & Kyla, “One Dance”
Justin Timberlake, “Can’t Stop The Feeling!”
Twenty One Pilots, “Heathens”
Top Selling Song:
The Chainsmokers Featuring Halsey, “Closer”
The Chainsmokers Featuring Daya, “Don’t Let Me Down”
Drake Featuring, WizKid & Kyla “One Dance”
Justin Timberlake, “Can’t Stop The Feeling!”
Twenty One Pilots, “Heathens”
Top Radio Song:
The Chainsmokers Featuring Halsey, “Closer”
The Chainsmokers Featuring Daya, “Don’t Let Me Down”
Drake Featuring WizKid & Kyla, “One Dance”
Sia Featuring Sean Paul, “Cheap Thrills”
Justin Timberlake, “Can’t Stop The Feeling!”
Top Streaming Song (Audio):
The Chainsmokers Featuring Halsey, “Closer”
Drake Featuring WizKid & Kyla, “One Dance”
D.R.A.M. Featuring Lil Yachty, “Broccoli”
Rihanna, “Needed Me”
The Weeknd Featuring Daft Punk, “Starboy”
Top Streaming Song (Video):
The Chainsmokers Featuring Halsey, “Closer”
Desiigner, “Panda”
Zay Hilfigerr & Zayion McCall, “JuJu On That Beat (TZ Anthem)
Rae Sremmurd Featuring Gucci Mane, “Black Beatles”
Twenty One Pilots, “Heathens”
Top Collaboration:
The Chainsmokers Featuring Halsey, “Closer”
The Chainsmokers Featuring Daya, “Don’t Let Me Down”
Drake Featuring WizKid & Kyla, “One Dance”
Sia Featuring Sean Paul, “Cheap Thrills”
The Weeknd Featuring Daft Punk, “Starboy”
Top R&B Song:
Drake Featuring WizKid & Kyla, “One Dance”
Bruno Mars, “24K Magic”
Rihanna, “Needed Me”
Rihanna Featuring Drake, “Work”
The Weeknd Featuring Daft Punk, “Starboy”
Top R&B Collaboration:
Drake Featuring WizKid & Kyla, “One Dance”
PARTYNEXTDOOR Featuring Drake, “Come And See Me”
Rihanna Featuring Drake, “Work”
The Weeknd Featuring Daft Punk “I Feel It Coming”
The Weeknd Featuring Daft Punk, “Starboy”
Top Rap Song:
Desiigner, “Panda”
Drake, “Fake Love”
D.R.A.M. Featuring Lil Yachty, “Broccoli”
Migos Featuring Lil Uzi Vert, “Bad And Boujee”
Rae Sremmurd Featuring Gucci Mane, “Black Beatles”
Top Rap Collaboration:
D.R.A.M. Featuring Lil Yachty, “Broccoli”
Zay Hilfigerr & Zayion McCall, “JuJu On That Beat (TZ Anthem)
Machine Gun Kelly & Camila Cabello, “Bad Things”
Migos Featuring Lil Uzi Vert, “Bad and Boujee”
Rae Sremmurd Featuring Gucci Mane, “Black Beatles”
Top Country Song:
Kenny Chesney Featuring Pink, “Setting The World On Fire”
Florida Georgia Line, “H.O.L.Y.”
Florida Georgia Line Featuring Tim McGraw, “May We All”
Little Big Town, “Better Man”
Keith Urban, “Blue Ain’t Your Color”
Top Country Collaboration:
Dierks Bentley Featuring Elle King, “Different For Girls”
Kenny Chesney Featuring Pink, “Setting The World On Fire”
Eric Church Featuring Rhiannon Giddens, “Kill A Word”
Florida Georgia Line Featuring Tim McGraw, “May We All”
Chris Young Featuring Vince Gill, “Sober Saturday Night”
Top Rock Song:
Lil Wayne, Wiz Khalifa & Imagine Dragons with Logic & Ty Dolla $ign Featuring X Ambassadors, “Sucker For Pain”
Twenty One Pilots, “Heathens”
Twenty One Pilots, “Ride”
Twenty One Pilots, “Stressed Out”
X Ambassadors, “Unsteady”
Top Latin Song:
Daddy Yankee, “Shaky Shaky”
Enrique Iglesias Featuring Wisin, “Duele El Corazon”
Nicky Jam, “Hasta El Amanecer”
Shakira Featuring Maluma, “Chantaje”
Carlos Vives & Shakira, “La Bicicleta”
Top Dance/Electronic Song:
The Chainsmokers Featuring Halsey, “Closer”
The Chainsmokers Featuring Daya, “Don’t Let Me Down”
Calvin Harris Featuring Rihanna, “This Is What You Came For”
Major Lazer Featuring Justin Bieber & MO, “Cold Water”
DJ Snake Featuring Justin Bieber, “Let Me Love You”
Top Christian Song:
Lauren Daigle, “Trust In You”
Hillary Scott & The Family, “Thy Will”
Skillet, “Feel Invincible”
Ryan Stevenson Featuring GabeReal, “Eye Of The Storm”
Zach Williams, “Chain Breaker”
Top Gospel Song:
Jekalyn Carr, “You’re Bigger”
Tasha Cobbs, Featuring Kierra Sheard “Put A Praise On It”
Kirk Franklin, “Wanna Be Happy??”
Travis Greene, “Made A Way”
Hezekiah Walker, “Better”
Justin Theroux on Tabloid Rumours and Offers Up A New Suggestion
“I think it would be funny to do a compilation of those headlines. Let’s assume these characters we play in the tabloids are real people. I would love to take them to a shrink and have them analyzed. Like, are these people insane? Yes, they fight every day, they’re constantly getting divorced, they’re hoarding children at this point. Imagine what those people would actually be like! They’d be f****** bananas! They’d be the most bipolar people on the planet. Constantly storming in and storming out! Devastated! Crying! Rage! Someone should give a clinical diagnosis of one year in our lives. It would be super funny. What medication would you give these people to help them out?” – Justin Theroux
Watch Don Rickles Roast Zach Galifianakis, Amy Poehler, Jimmy Kimmel, and Paul Rudd
Don Rickles, the bark-is-bigger-than-his bite comedian who died Thursday morning, was still working until the end. Before he died from kidney failure, the comic was working on a new series with AARP titled Dinner with Don, which featured the star having dinner comedians and actors.Watch the comedian gently roasting famous funny people like Zach Galifianakis, Amy Poehler, Sarah Silverman, Jimmy Kimmel, and Paul Rudd.
RZA and Paul Banks Tag Team Spicy Wings
Wu-Tang Clan sensei RZA and Interpol frontman Paul Banks have been making music together since 2011, but they haven’t really tested the bonds of their relationship until now, when Banks dragged RZA into the Hot Ones studio without telling him what was in store. Of course, the Abbot has plenty of Shaolin powers to draw upon while facing down the Scoville sword style of Pain 100% and Mad Dog 357. Find out how the pair do against five wings of death in HOT ONES.
The Melvins’ Drummer Released A 12-Sided Record
Dale Crover, the drummer for the Melvins who spent part of 1988 in Nirvana, came up with a pretty-cool idea – a vinyl-only solo album called Skins. But here’s where it’s different: Its 12 songs only total about five minutes of music, and it has 12 sides.
The Bill Simmons Podcast: Ep. 118: Olympics With Malcolm Gladwell
HBO and The Ringer’s Bill Simmons and Malcolm Gladwell on ways to fix track and field (3:00), how sports doping has changed over the years (10:00), Michael Phelps’s status as one of the world’s biggest athletes (29:00), and what the NBA can learn from FIBA (41:00).
Isaac Gracie Got Signed From One Song. Here’s The Reason Why
21-year-old Englishman Isaac Gracie got a record deal on the strength of one song, Last Words. And watch this video, and you’ll know why. I tell a lot of artists to never be afraid to go out to the streets and play. It’s wonderful practice, and you get a piece of video out of it. Here’s Isaac in Paris, singing Last Words and Terrified, both on his EP Songs from My Bedroom.
How Toronto’s The Police Picnic Influenced Questlove’s Own Festival
Questlove’s work spearheading the annual Roots Picnic provides the best way to think about what his unique sensibilities look like writ large. Since 2008, the fest has brought eclectic lineups to Quest’s native Philadelphia, and last October 1 and 2, the one-day affair expands to a two-day concert at New York City’s Bryant Park.
Why did you want to start your own festival in the first place?
Questlove: The genesis of it all was when I went to Japan in ’97 and picked up all sorts of concert footage. At that point in life, I literally was YouTube. Especially during the Voodoo sessions with D’Angelo, I was carrying these large Kipling bags full of nothing but videotapes and DVDs of performances you couldn’t find anywhere. One of those performances I always held dear was an event called the Police Picnic, which happened in Toronto every year between ’81 and ’83. Each member of the Police curated each night, and the lineup was really diverse, from the Specials to B.B. King to P-Funk All Stars. Now America has finally caught onto festival culture—it’s not close to Europe but at least there’s a good 20 to 30 festivals going on in the United States that are worth making a pilgrimage to—and I think it’s more special when artists curate them.
Guy’s Thumbs Are Guns N’ Roses Members For a Four-Track Cover of Sweet Child O’ Mine
The incredibly talented musician Steve Onotera aka Samuraiguitarist dressed up his thumbs as individual members of Guns N’ Roses who showed their “faces” during their respective parts in an gripping version of their momentous “Sweet Child O’ Mine“.