While all the winners of the 2014 Billboard Music Awards, were non-black. The lack of black performers, during the broadcast was even more puzzling. The music industry, and more importantly black artists are suffering from what appears to be a systematic demise. To be honest, I stopped watching after the first 2 hours and came to a few basic assumptions:
- Billboard’s charts changes in 2012 have given pop-oriented artists a distinct advantage over R&B and Hip-Hop.
- Iggy Azalea, Robin Thicke, Macklemore and Justin Timberlake are proof that black music is thriving.
- Since Michael Jackson was the only live performance by a black artist in the first two hours, holograms are a great way to include a dying art form.
- Black musicians and vocalists are now a thing of the past. While other genres of music have bands and great live performances, I should assume blacks can only rap over samples.
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- The article “Notice to Black Artists: Your Services Are No Longer Needed” was not a satire.
- Beyonce and Jay-Z were not available for the Billboard Music Awards.
I expect to be chastised for acknowledging the lack of black artists performing during one of the music industry’s most coveted award shows. I’m also waiting for the exclusion is actually inclusion defense from people of all colors. Maybe, I should fall victim to “the music is crossing barriers” train of thought. Check the list of winners below.
A list of winners at the 2014 Billboard Music Awards:
TOP ARTIST: Justin Timberlake
TOP 100 HOT SONG: “Blurred Lines,” Robin Thicke (featuring T.I. & Pharrell)
TOP BILLBOARD 200 ALBUM: “The 20/20 Experience,” Justin Timberlake
TOP DUO/GROUP: Imagine Dragons
TOP NEW ARTIST: Lorde
TOP TOURING ARTIST: Bon Jovi
TOP MALE ARTIST: Justin Timberlake
TOP FEMALE ARTIST: Katy Perry
TOP HOT 100 ARTIST: Imagine Dragons
TOP BILLBOARD 200 ARTIST: Justin Timberlake
TOP DIGITAL SONGS ARTIST: Katy Perry
TOP RADIO SONGS ARTIST: Justin Timberlake
TOP SOCIAL ARTIST: Justin Bieber
TOP STREAMING ARTIST: Miley Cyrus
TOP R&B ARTIST: Justin Timberlake
TOP RAP ARTIST: Eminem
TOP COUNTRY ARTIST: Luke Bryan
TOP ROCK ARTIST: Imagine Dragons
TOP LATIN ARTIST: Marc Anthony
TOP DANCE/ELECTRONIC ARTIST: Daft Punk
TOP CHRISTIAN ARTIST: Chris Tomlin
TOP R&B ALBUM: “The 20/20 Experience,” Justin Timberlake
TOP RAP ALBUM: “The Marshall Mathers LP2,” Eminem
TOP COUNTRY ALBUM: “Crash My Party,” Luke Bryan
TOP ROCK ALBUM: “Night Visions,” Imagine Dragons
TOP LATIN ALBUM: “3.0,” Marc Anthony
TOP DANCE/ELECTRONIC ALBUM: “Random Access Memories,” Daft Punk
TOP CHRISTIAN ALBUM: “Precious Memories: Volume II,” Alan Jackson
TOP DIGITAL SONG : “Blurred Lines,” Robin Thicke (featuring T.I. & Pharrell)
TOP RADIO SONG: “Blurred Lines,” Robin Thicke (featuring T.I. & Pharrell)
TOP STREAMING SONG (AUDIO): “Radioactive,” Imagine Dragons
TOP STREAMING SONG (VIDEO): “Wrecking Ball,” Miley Cyrus
TOP R&B SONG: “Blurred Lines,” Robin Thicke (featuring T.I. & Pharrell)
TOP RAP SONG: “Can’t Hold Us,” Macklemore & Ryan Lewis (featuring Ray Dalton)
TOP COUNTRY SONG: “Cruise,” Florida Georgia Line (featuring Nelly)
TOP ROCK SONG: “Royals,” Lorde
TOP LATIN SONG: “Vivir Mi Vida,” Marc Anthony
TOP DANCE/ELECTRONIC SONG: “Wake Me Up,” Avicii
TOP CHRISTIAN SONG: “Hello, My Name is,” Matthew West
ICON AWARD: Jennifer Lopez