Few surprises at Billboard Music Awards

The recent  Billboard Music Awards  held at the MGM Grand Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, saw some predictable results.

Of course, the Billboard Music Awards are based on Billboard charts and album sales, so if you’ve been following the trends regarding who’s always on radio, it was pretty obvious who was going to be walking away with the awards at the end of the night. If the awards were based on anything apart from sales, it would be a lot different.

Taylor Swift walked away with the Artist of the Year and Top Female Artists award. Taylor has had a fantastic year, no doubt, with huge hits like "Shake It Off", "Style" and "Blank Space". Her 15 minutes of fame never seem to end.

Other contenders for Artist of the Year Award were Ariana Grande and Katy Perry, One Direction and Sam Smith. With such a star-studded list of nominees, it’s hard to pick out just one winner.

Sam Smith has had a great year with his two breakout songs, Stay With Me and Not the Only One, which have catapulted him to the limelight.

Katy Perry’s performance at Super Bowl this year alone was enough to make her win this category. We all remember her and the notorious left shark which danced the Macarena  during the half-time show. That, coupled with the smash hit that was Dark Horse, also made her a really strong contender.

Florida Georgia Line continue their meteoric rise to country music superstardom, winning the Top Country Artist category.

This didn’t come as much of a surprise for the band which featured on WWE’s Tribute to the Troops show in 2014 and with their album, Anything Goes, debuting at number one in its first week, selling 197,000 copies.

John Legend beat a strong field of contenders that  included Pharell Williams’ Happy, to win the Top Radio Song Award for his 2014 hit single, All of Me.

This song was on every radio station and mobile phone music gallery for the past year and with his wife, Chrissy Teigen, co-hosting the show; it was a memorable moment for the beautiful couple to share.

Surprisingly, Iggy Azalea beat Nicki Minaj’s "Anaconda" to the grand prize in the Top Rap Song category with her song, "Fancy", which features Charli XCX. With all the radio and media hype, and obvious state of undress that the song Anaconda boasts, this award came as quite a surprise.

Into the rock and roll now, with the Top Billboard 200 Album: lo and behold, Taylor Swift did it yet again, beating Ed Sheeran’s X, Sam Smith’s In the Lonely Hour and Maroon 5’s V.

Ed Sheeran has had a good year with his new album, and if there were different criteria for getting the winners, there is no way X wouldn’t  have made it to the top of this category.

When Ed stepped out of his car on arrival, fans went wild. Not as wild as they did for Taylor Swift,  but Ed Sheeran is a demonstration to what a true artiste can achieve by playing his guitar and singing about love.

One Direction won the award for Top Duo/Group and this was no surprise. Every teenage girl is blowing her allowance at a music store somewhere buying every piece of merchandise these boys release.

Most deservedly, Sam Smith was voted Top New Artist. In this same group was Hozier, who later on won the Best Rock Artist Award, beating Fall Out Boy, Cold Play, Lorde and Bastille. This was thanks to the incomparable success of "Take Me to Church" and "Alone With You".

Notably, Hillsong United won the Top Christian Artist Award, beating fellow rockers Casting Crowns.

This just goes to show how rock and roll is making inroads into religion. Besides, Hillsong shows are selling out on their ongoing international No Other Name tour. Meanwhile, Cold Play won the Top Rock Album for "Ghost Stories", beating legends AC/DC.