| 2011 Billboard Music Awards | |
|---|---|
| Date | May 22, 2011 |
| Location | MGM Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. |
| Hosted by | Ken Jeong |
| Most awards | Eminem and Justin Bieber (6 each) |
| Most nominations | Rihanna (18) |
| Television/radio coverage | |
| Network | ABC |
The 2011 Billboard Music Awards were held May 22, 2011 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada and hosted by Ken Jeong. The awards recognized the most popular artists and albums from 2010.
Winners are listed in bold.[1]
| Nominations | Artist |
|---|---|
| 18 | Rihanna |
| 17 | Eminem |
| 15 | Lady Gaga |
| 11 | Justin Bieber |
| Bruno Mars | |
| Katy Perry | |
| 10 | Usher |
| 7 | Taio Cruz |
| Lady Antebellum | |
| Mumford & Sons | |
| Shakira | |
| Taylor Swift | |
| 6 | Ke$ha |
| Linkin Park | |
| 5 | Drake |
| 4 | The Black Eyed Peas |
| Nicki Minaj | |
| 3 | B.o.B. |
| The Black Keys | |
| Enrique Iglesias | |
| Kings of Leon | |
| Mercy Me | |
| Pitbull | |
| Snoop Dogg | |
| tobyMac | |
| Trey Songz | |
| will.i.am | |
| 2 | Akon |
| Jason Aldean | |
| Bon Jovi | |
| Susan Boyle | |
| Florence + The Machine | |
| Freshlyground | |
| Jack Johnson | |
| Alicia Keys | |
| Lil Wayne | |
| Ludacris | |
| Monica | |
| Muse | |
| Nelly | |
| Neon Trees | |
| Prince Royce | |
| La Roux | |
| Skillet | |
| Sugarland | |
| Chris Tomlin | |
| Train | |
| U2 | |
| Hayley Williams | |
| Zac Brown Band |
| Wins | Artist |
|---|---|
| 6 | Justin Bieber |
| Eminem | |
| 4 | Taio Cruz |
| 3 | Lady Gaga |
| Mumford & Sons | |
| Rihanna | |
| Taylor Swift | |
| Usher | |
| 2 | Katy Perry |
| Shakira | |
| Chris Tomlin | |
| Train |
Overall, critics praised the performances in whole. Critics, however, noted Beyoncé as the standout performer of the night.[2] However, some controversy was generated from the show. The Parents Television Council criticized Rihanna and Britney Spears' performance of "S&M", calling it "explicit", with PTC president saying "I cannot imagine what would possibly lead the ABC television network to air a profanity-laced, S&M sex show on primetime broadcast television", while criticizing the choice to air the performance first, on what they claim is a normally family targeted time slot (the show aired at 8:00 p.m.).[3]
