Sunday night saw the coming of the 2016 Billboard Music Awards. Of course, Black Twitter gathered to point out the highs, the lows and the moments that we just had to talk about. The show previously faced harsh criticism for tapping Madonna to do a Prince tribute, so before the first award was presented, it was guaranteed to be an interesting night.
Here are 21 thoughts that went through everyone’s mind.
1. Britney Spears opened the show, and you just had to recognize her status.
I grew up on Britney Spears yall will respect the princess of pop 😤😤
— Zarriah (@drakegroupie) May 23, 2016
2. Co-hosting the show along with Ciara, we knew Ludacris would deliver expert-level shade…
"Unlike the oscars, we have black nominees" -Ludacris #BBMAs pic.twitter.com/ZRvpT4z3Kn
— Pop Crave (@PopCrave) May 23, 2016
3. ..but then it didn’t make sense when he only mentioned one black artist performing.
Did Ludacris refer to Ariana Grande and Nick Jonas as black or is that my Hennessy kicking in? #BBMAs
— ᴅᴏʟʟᴀʀ (@callmedollar) May 23, 2016
4. Girl group Fifth Harmony earned numerous kudos.
Glad that @FifthHarmony served us with LIVE vocals tonight unlike some OTHER artists… 🐸☕️ #BBMAs pic.twitter.com/maU99Hohq6
— Sāvion (@SavionWright) May 23, 2016
5. People were OVER Pink for twirling all around the arena again.
aw hell..she getting ready to fly thru the air.. I'm fed up #BBMAs pic.twitter.com/W9hAiwLSHp
— S.Rene (@Mofochronicles) May 23, 2016
6. But some just want her to put out another R&B album.
One. More. R&B. Album. PLEASE. @pink
— K a r i o. (@karrry_) May 23, 2016
7. If ‘Lemonade’ wasn’t on the set list, we didn’t need any country performances.
The only country performance I want to see is "Daddy Lessons" #BBMAs
— Esta Fiesta (@ItsEstaFiesta) May 23, 2016
8. Some people had to remind us who they were bringing to the cookout.
I hope y'all ready for me to show up at the cookout with Nick Jonas. #BBMAs 😍 pic.twitter.com/VzRCOhgKyZ
— Raquel Willis (@RaquelWillis_) May 23, 2016
9. Demi Lovato gave vocals while slamming North Carolina’s anti-LGBT legislation.
Has anyone else noticed that #DemiLovato vocal ability has skyrocketed? She just hit a note that gave me chills. She can 'SANG'. #BBMAs
— Prince of Nostalgia (@PrinceTheAuthor) May 23, 2016
10. Adele acted like Beyonce at the 2011 BET Awards.
.@Adele pulled a '@Beyonce at the @BETAwards.' #pressplay #BBMAs pic.twitter.com/vJASfk7Nko
— Brandon Gates (@TheBGates) May 23, 2016
11. Kesha finally returned to the stage and we truly felt for her.
Kesha 😭 She looked so happy and grateful for her standing ovation. I'm sobbing!!!! #BBMAs
— Kingsley (@kingsleyyy) May 23, 2016
12. We are all confused at the R&B wins, and how the Weekend basically owned all the categories, with multiple nominations all over.
do yall know there are actual r&b artists making actual r&b music @billboard
— crissle (@crissles) May 23, 2016
13. Many didn’t know how to feel about Rihanna performing…
Me during any Rihanna performance just hoping she makes it to the end pic.twitter.com/EygWz3yOzo
— Maffew. (@MathewNoKnowles) May 23, 2016
14. …but you won’t hear anything bad about her from most of us for a while.
rihanna been workin that muscle!
— Tracy Clayton (@brokeymcpoverty) May 23, 2016
Us @ Rihanna #BBMA pic.twitter.com/RJcVMSBWCU
— Shanice B Jordan (@S_Rizzleee) May 23, 2016
This is Rihanna's best live vocal performance. Ever. Don't @ me.
— Jasmine (@hausofJazzy) May 23, 2016
15. Legendary artist Celine Dion received the icon award, which comes after a year after she lost her husband and brother. She delivered, and proceeded to get in our feelings.
Celine is THAT voice. Star power, for real. Her work ethic is the gold standard.
— A Love Bizarre (@FeministaJones) May 23, 2016
Celine lost her brother and her husband…. Do you see the strength she has. THE SHOW MUST FUCKING GO ON. She's an inspiration.
— commas & da decimals (@triggaNIZER) May 23, 2016
16. Ariana Grande sang the heck out of her song, per usual.
The crazy thing is Ariana Grande is young and already THIS great….she is only gonna get better. Whoa
— Mark Hood (@MarkJPHood) May 23, 2016
17. .but we still can’t go a day without telling her to get rid of the ponytail.
Y'all know I love me some @ArianaGrande but the ponytail has to go sis.. ⏰
— Rik'ki (@RikLaflare) May 23, 2016
18. The time came for the Madonna tribute, and people weren’t feeling it.
I'm bout to go on stage and help Madonna pic.twitter.com/0v9nib7WJ4
— yeatre (@yeahhtre) May 23, 2016
19. Luckily, Stevie Wonder came on stage to ease some of the pain.
#BBMAs thank u Stevie wonder for saving this #PrinceTribute … Still horrible tribute tho pic.twitter.com/Ii540AM8Tp
— ѕιм ѕιммα (@GnarlyPromo16) May 23, 2016
20. But no L can be taken appropriately without the Jordan meme treatment.
The glasses have taken me out of here 😂😂😂😂😂 RT @Rallo_331: I love Twitter 😂😂😂😂 pic.twitter.com/vzm2KZ31N1
— Young Rello (@HKL23) May 23, 2016
21. But we are just hoping BET comes through next month.
Waiting on the BET awards to HOPEFULLY do a better tribute like #BBMAs pic.twitter.com/mP5PgA6L5q
— Brittanie (@ItsBriittaniiee) May 23, 2016
#BETAwards #PrinceTribute pic.twitter.com/VTNYE0POvD
— BET (@BET) May 23, 2016
While we’ve seen better, this awards show wasn’t completely offensive. Want to know why?
This award show has been lit because you know who was missing pic.twitter.com/UYZcIZ10IA
— Morg (@hotbeansmorgan) May 23, 2016
What did you think of this year’s Billboard Music Awards? Let us know in the comments!
